Documentary in a day excursion | Stage 3 English | Field of Mars EEC

Cost and details

Cost 2026	DoE $27 per student – GST free Non-gov $37 per student – GST free, min charge $750 per class Term 1 – Non-gov weeks 3 to 6 cost = DoE cost – GST free, min charge $750
Classes	Recommended maximum 4 classes with up to 30 students per class.
Risk assessment	See location tile below.
Bring	Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag.
View	Preparing for your excursion Nature documentary learning resource Documentary in a day social story
Welfare	Rugged bushwalking, limited wheelchair accessibility. May not suit recently unwell participants. For medical or special needs, notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student numbers and classes 7 days in advance.
Cancellation fee	Less than 30 working school days – $600 Less than 7 working school days notice – full cost Weather or fire danger cancellation – $0

Activities

Activities may vary depending on student needs, timing and weather.

Workshop

Students explore what makes an effective documentary as an informative text. Through guided examples, students identify how narration, visuals and sound work together to engage an audience and communicate ideas.

Working in pairs, students collect a documentary toolkit and learn the step-by-step workflow for the day. Students are introduced to the planning guide, success criteria and checklists that will support them to plan, film and edit efficiently.

Mobile filmmaking

Students plan their documentary structure and draft short, informative scripts using descriptive language and subject vocabulary. Students match each part of their script to planned footage so visuals clearly complement and strengthen the narration.

In bushland, students practise a range of camera techniques (angles and movements) and apply them to capture engaging nature footage. Students film sequences that show habitat features and living things, making purposeful choices to support their script.

Editing

Students build their documentary in iMovie by sequencing clips, refining timing and recording voice-over narration. Students learn key editing steps such as adjusting clip length to sync with narration, removing unwanted audio, adding titles and finalising a cohesive multimodal text.

Students add a soundtrack and create a closing credits scene, then export a final version of their documentary. Students share their work with peers and reflect on how effectively their visuals, narration and sound communicated key ideas about the natural environment.

All completed videos will be returned to your school via Google Drive.

Suggested timetable

Time	Activities
9.45 - 10.15	Cinematography workshop
10.15 - 10.30	Recess and toilets
10.30 - 12.30	Mobile filmmaking
12.30 - 1.00	Lunch and toilets
1.00 - 2.00	Post production
2.00 - 2.15	Pack up and depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

analyse, justify, structure, sequence, engage, communicate, evaluate, documentary, storyboard, cinematography, narration, voiceover, footage, timeline, post-production

Syllabus outcomes and content

English K-10 Syllabus (2022)

Vocabulary

Outcome

• Extends Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary through interacting, wide reading and writing, morphological analysis and generating precise definitions for specific contexts EN3-VOCAB-01

Content

Learning and using words

• Identify newly encountered words from interactions and wide reading, and use them in writing, discussions and presentations

Creating written texts

Outcome

• Plans, creates and revises written texts for multiple purposes and audiences through selection of text features, sentence-level grammar, punctuation and word-level language EN3-CWT-01

Content

Text features for multiple purposes

• Use word repetition and word associations as cohesive devices across texts
• Experiment with figurative language for effect and to engage the reader, including metaphor, hyperbole, oxymoron and allusion
• Create written texts that include multiple paragraphs with clear, coherent transition of ideas
• Choose multimodal features suited to a target audience and purpose, to reinforce and extend ideas

English K–10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2022.