Introductory Lesson: Pupils explain and discuss possible theories of Creation

• In small groups, pupils share their personal thoughts about how the earth was created; recount the traditional Christian story; and discuss a scientific explanation for our existence.
• On sugar paper, pupils draw and map all of the different forces and energies behind the creation, i.e. Time, the Supernatural, the Planets etc.

• In pairs, pupils represent members of the public who have come together to tell their stories about supernatural experiences. On the panel there is a UFO expert, Fortune Teller, Psychic, Owner of a haunted house, Astronaut, Astronomer etc who all have a story to tell. Other members of the class act as the audience by asking questions.
• Pupils create a questionnaire to research why people are so fascinated by the supernatural. They interview members of the public about the Science Fiction programmes that they watch, any supernatural experiences that they have had, whether they believe in ghosts, etc.

• Comparison of the opening of Science Fiction stories: establishing a glossary of language, types of characters, settings, plots etc.
• Pupils write their own opening of a famous Science Fiction novel in 2050 A.D. This piece of work is word processed and read to the class.

• Pupils' considerable knowledge of the programme is established in a class discussion about Mulder and Scully, and the binary oppositions that exist within each episode: appearance v reality; truth v conspiracy; supernatural v scientific; faith v fact etc.
• The opening scene is closely analysed to establish plot, character, alien, generic conventions.
• The opening sequence is watched once more to study the way that music, light, camera shot and colour is used to heighten tension.
• Pupils write a succinct description of the opening sequence.

Before comparing two very different alien movies from different eras, I explained how the historical context of Science Fiction films had changed. During the Cold War the "Alien" was often cast as a Russian or German "enemy" who posed a threat to national security and the welfare of the planet. After the Cold War, alien films had to concentrate on perpetrators from outside of planet earth who were created in different shapes, textures and colours to represent a species very different from humans. Thus countries were united against this alien species.

• Film analysis of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" , when the flying saucer first lands, and the alien talks to the British authorities.
• Pupils use the A3 sheet to structure their note-taking for their coursework.

• Film analysis of "Independence Day" - opening scene and the first viewing of the aliens.
• Again, pupils use the A3 sheet to collect notes on special effects, lighting, music, camera shots, aliens, plot, stereotypes, ideology etc.

• Pupils compare the two films , identifying ways in which film technology has changed with regards to creating Science Fiction films.
• Pupils begin to write a report to the director general of the BBC about the public's growing interest into the paranormal.

• As a class they read through the daily "Times" newspapers, collecting as many articles about scientific advancements as possible.
• As a class we choose the five best articles to stick onto a A3 sheet for analysis.
• Pupils investigate: the language of science, the language of argument/persuasion regarding ethical issues, bias, fact, opinion etc. We discussed why it was so important that newspapers inform the public about scientific discoveries.

Pupils complete their BBC reports and redraft them for their coursework folders.