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Heywire: Call from a war zone

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Teenager boy stands in park
Heywire: Call from a war zone

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  7–8


What is it like to have family in a danger zone?

Listen to this Heywire audio story for how Jordan Curran describes the certainties and uncertainties of life in his family's long relationship with the Australian Defence Force.

Could you write or record a similar story about yourself and/or your community?

The ABC's Heywire competition calls for stories from 16-22 year olds in regional Australia. Enter to get your story featured on the ABC and score an all-expenses-paid trip to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra. More: https://www.abc.net.au/heywire/


Things to think about

  1. 1.Modality refers to the words we use to show how certain we are. Some suggest we are uncertain (low modality) while others show we are very certain (high modality). Put these statements in order from lowest to highest modality.
    • It will rain today.
    • It could possibly rain today.
    • It will definitely rain today.
    • It might rain today.
    • It is likely to rain today.
  2. 2.Identify the words Jordan uses that reveal:
    • he is uncertain about what happened to his dad
    • he is uncertain the American forces can stop poverty in Afghanistan
    • he is certain his dad's passengers reach their destination unharmed
    • he is certain that missing anniversaries is hard on his dad
    • phone calls to his dad can be scary
    • his dad is certain he is serving his country.
  3. 3.Choose the most appropriate degree of modality for the following statements:
    • Jordan's dad (could have been / would have been) injured in the blast.
    • The Americans (are trying to / will definitely) end poverty in Afghanistan.
    • Being in the Army (could be / is) dangerous.
    • Jordan (certainly / probably) admires his father.
    • That Jordan will join the Army is (possible / certain).
  4. 4.Pretend you are Jordan and that it is Father's Day. Write a message for a Father's Day card explaining what your dad means to you and how you feel about him being in the army. Practise using appropriate words and phrases to create appropriate modality in your writing.



Date of broadcast: 31 May 2013


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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