Creating Dialogue for Year 9–10 (Age 15): Mother Nature vs City of Man — City of God as Nature, Ontological Argument for Sustainability — Untitled Goose Game Scene (ACARA v9-aligned)

Overview

This lesson helps 15-year-old students write and perform a short dramatic dialogue. The scene is set in the world of Untitled Goose Game: a mischievous goose, a tidy town, and two personified forces — Mother Nature (the City of God as nature) and City of Man. Students will practice voice, viewpoint, rhetorical moves and the idea of an "ontological" argument about sustainability (using a philosophical device to argue that a sustainable city is not only desirable but necessary). The lesson is delivered with a playful, internal-monologue cadence—think quick observations, humorous aside, breathy confessions (an Ally McBeal flavour) so students get dramatic rhythm as well as argument.

ACARA v9 connections (plain-language alignment)

• English (Years 9–10): Create imaginative, interpretive and persuasive texts; use dialogue to shape character and viewpoint; craft voice and tone to influence audience.
• English/Literature: Analyse how language and structure create meaning; explore how texts reflect and shape ideas about society and environment.
• HASS/Sustainability: Investigate sustainability issues in communities; consider values, decisions and consequences.
• General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, personal and social capability.

Learning objectives

1. Write a short dramatic dialogue (250–500 words) that uses character voice and rhetorical moves to argue a point about sustainability.
2. Use the ontological-style argument as a persuasive device (clearly explained and tested in dialogue).
3. Perform the scene with rhythm and internal monologue flourishes to communicate tone and viewpoint.
4. Reflect on how language choices shape audience response to sustainability ideas.

Materials

• Whiteboard or projector for examples.
• Print or digital copies of the sample script.
• Optional: short clips or screenshots from Untitled Goose Game to set scene (ensure appropriate usage).
• Timer for rehearsal and performance.

Lesson steps (45–60 minutes)

1. Warm-up (5 min) — Quick rhythm game. Teacher speaks a short two-line internal monologue in Ally McBeal cadence: parenthetical asides, breathy asides, a sudden honk (literal or mimed). Students mimic to practice timing and rhythm.
2. Introduce roles & concept (5–7 min) — Explain the three roles: Mother Nature (City of God as Nature — wise, moral, holistic), City of Man (practical, busy, defensive), and The Goose (mischief, interrupts, forces reveals). Define "ontological-style argument on sustainability" in simple terms:

   "Ontological-style" here means using the idea that the best possible city (a perfectly sustainable city) is not just desirable but conceptually necessary — you argue from the idea of 'what such a city would be' toward why it must be pursued. We treat it as a rhetorical/philosophical tool, not as formal theology.

3. Read sample script (5 min) — Teacher reads the sample aloud with cadence: quick asides, then big honk from the Goose. Students follow.
4. Analyse (8–10 min) — Quick unpack: identify examples of voice, rhetorical moves (ethos, pathos, logos), and where the ontological-style claim appears. Discuss how the Goose interrupts to reveal contradictions in City of Man's claims.
5. Writing activity (12–15 min) — In pairs, students write or remix a 6–10 exchange scene that: a) uses an ontological-style claim from Mother Nature, b) includes at least one interruption from the Goose that shifts meaning, c) shows City of Man responding with evidence or worry. Encourage short, punchy lines; allow parentheses for inner thought asides (Ally McBeal cadence). Teacher circulates and gives micro-feedback.
6. Performances & reflection (10–15 min) — Pairs perform quickly (1–2 min each). Class gives one positive feedback about voice and one question about the argument's clarity. Quick written reflection: "Which line made you rethink sustainability?"

Sample script (Ally McBeal cadence + Untitled Goose Game setting)

  [Scene: A neat town square, bicycles, noticeboards, and a pond. A goose honks in the background — mischief obvious. A gentle wind carries a leaf like a little sermon. Cue internal monologue: tender, sardonic, sudden honk.]

  MOTHER NATURE (soft, but firm): "Listen — the river remembers the mountain. It sings because we let it. A city that calls itself 'good' must let rivers sing. If the perfect city is one where waters run clean, then the perfect city — by definition — is sustainable."

  CITY OF MAN (rushed, practical): "Definitions don't fix pipes. We budget and build. You speak of perfection, but people need jobs and roofs. Your idea sounds... abstract."

  THE GOOSE (honks loudly; wanders, steals a gardener's hat): (aside, gleeful) "Is the perfect city quiet? Because this one needs a broom. Also — honk."

  MOTHER NATURE (measured): "Perfection is our guide, not our excuse. If we can imagine the best city — where trees cool streets, where neighbors share power — then that ideal isn't a fairy tale. It is the standard we must live toward. If the ideal can be conceived, then ‘trying toward it’ is necessary."

  CITY OF MAN (defensive, then softer): "Trying costs. Taxes. Change. People resist change. How do we turn 'conceivable' into a plan that pays rent?"

  THE GOOSE (interrupts, hands a muddy sock to CITY OF MAN): (cheeky) "Maybe you start by cleaning the pond before someone honks about it. Also — who left the gate open?"

  MOTHER NATURE (earnest): "We begin with small necessities that reflect the ideal. The ontological—tall word — only says: if a most-sustainable city is the best possible city, then morally and practically we owe it to ourselves to act as if it can exist. Concrete steps follow imagination."

  CITY OF MAN (slows, considers): "Act as if... So we plan with that 'best city' in mind. Not perfection overnight, but a direction."

  THE GOOSE (final honk, triumphant): "Honk. Direction taken. Also — caught a ribbon. You're welcome."

  [Blackout. Beat. A leaf falls. An idea — like a small goose feather — drifts into a puddle and ripples outward.]
  

Teaching notes on the "ontological-style" device

Use the ontological-style move as a rhetorical tool: Mother Nature claims that the idea of a "best possible city" carries normative force. Explain: this is not a literal metaphysical proof that sustainability must exist; it's a persuasive move that converts imagination into obligation. Students should learn to:

• State the ideal clearly (what does a perfectly sustainable city look like?).
• Show why imagining that ideal creates standards (if we can imagine better, we should aim for it).
• Follow the idea with practical steps (small, testable policies or behaviours) so the argument moves from abstract to actionable.

Assessment ideas

• Assess the written dialogue for: clarity of voice, use of rhetorical moves (ethos/pathos/logos), presence and clarity of the ontological-style claim, and use of the Goose as a device to reveal contradiction or truth.
• Performance rubric: timing and cadence, delivery of inner monologue, ability to communicate argument and emotion in 1–2 minutes.
• Reflection: short paragraph explaining whether the ontological-style argument persuaded them and why, and one practical step they would propose for their own town.

Extension ideas

• Rewrite the scene from the Goose's perspective as a short monologue that accidentally persuades the City of Man.
• Research real-world sustainability policies and add a factual line to City of Man's response (logos) — make the argument more balanced.

Quick teacher tips

• Encourage short lines — the game-world is quick, so the dialogue should be punchy.
• Model the cadence: use asides in parentheses, quick breathy comments, then full statements — students pick up the rhythm.
• Keep the ontological move accessible: tie imagination to concrete next steps so students see both the idea and its application.

End with a final class honk — everyone on their feet, one breath, one shared laugh — then a minute of silence to think of one action they can do to move their own city toward that imagined 'best' one.