Fires (ATOM Study Guide)

A drama series about the devastating Australian bushfires of 2019–2020, Fires tells the story of how one summer changed us forever. As the fires threaten different communities around the country, new characters appear, whose stories are inspired by the experiences of ordinary people during Australia’s black summer. Characters include volunteer firefighters risking everything, families who lose homes and loved ones; people who have to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee and those who find themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.  

Curriculum Links:

Fires is most suitable for senior secondary students and serves as a stimulus to:

• Engage with themes such as loss, courage and resilience
• Discuss the impact of natural disasters on individuals and communities
• Consider how different individuals respond to crisis situations, and how crisis situations such as bushfires affect interpersonal relationships
• Examine how an imaginative text relates to real-life events

The series specifically links to the following senior English curriculum outcomes:

• Explaining the ways text structures, language features and stylistic choices are used in different types of texts (ACEEN005)
• Evaluating the impact of description and imagery, including figurative language, and still and moving images in digital and multimodal texts (ACEEN007)
• Analysing and evaluating how responses to texts, including students’ own responses, are influenced by the use of imaginative, persuasive and interpretive techniques. (ACEEN010)
• Analysing the style and structure of texts including digital texts (ACEEN022)
• Analysing the ways language features, text structures and stylistic choices shape points of view and influence audiences (ACEEN024)
• Analysing the effects of using multimodal and digital conventions such as navigation, sound and image (ACEEN026)
• Analysing how attitude and mood are created, for example, through the use of humour in satire and parody (ACEEN027)
• Analysing the values and attitudes expressed in texts (ACEEN038)
• Evaluating the effectiveness of texts in representing ideas, attitudes and voices (ACEEN039)
• Explaining how and why texts position readers and viewers (ACEEN040)
• Analysing language, structural and stylistic choices (ACEEN041)
• Analysing the techniques and conventions used in different genres, mediums and modes (ACEEN044)
• Analysing and evaluating how different texts represent similar ideas in different ways (ACEEN057)
• Undertaking close analysis of texts (ACEEN060)
• Analysing content, purpose and choice of language (ACEEN063)