Associated Teachers’ TV programme
KS1/2 English: Reading Film – The Lesson

CranmerPrimary School

Literacy – Year 6 - Miss P. Higgs

LESSON ONE

Text

The Monk and the Fish – short film

Objectives

T2: To take account of viewpoint… through identifying the narrator; explaining how events might look from a different point of view

W3: To use independent spelling strategies

Text Level Work

  • Play the soundtrack of the film. In groups, children will have a specific focus – people/places/time/story. Give children focus cards with prompted questions on them and whiteboards to record their thoughts.
  • PEOPLE: Can they hear anybody in the soundtrack? If not, does the music prompt them to imagine someone? If so, what kind of person? What are they doing? What do they look like? How do you think they are feeling?
  • PLACES: Where do they think this is set? Is it in a particular country? Where does the story happen? What would it look like? What would it smell like? Is it another country? What makes you think so?
  • TIME: What period of time is it set in? Does the music make them think of a particular time of the day?
  • STORY: What is happening in this story? Whose story is it? How do we know? What do you think the dilemma is and what events build up to this dilemma? What would be the first line of this story and why?
  • Listen to the soundtrack up to where it is night
  • Feedback of their interpretations and make notes on the Interactive Whiteboard
  • Watch the film up to the same point that we listened to. Discuss any differences/similarities to what they imagined. Whose viewpoint is this story?

Word/Sentence Level work

  • Sculpted and Sculptor – ask children to get into pairs. One is going to be the sculptor and one the sculpted person. Divide the pairs into thirds. 1/3 will sculpt the monk when he is trying to catch the fish at the start (they must also think of a plaque); the 2/3 is going to sculpt the monk when he is at the river with the crossbow; the 3/3 will sculpt the monk when he is reading his book. Teacher/PLA to photograph the children using the digital camera. Some of these images will be shown to the whole class for the sculptor to explain their plaque and reasons for the sculpture.
  • Using Freeze frame images of the Monk throughout the film, ask the children what the images tell us about the character. What would he be thinking at each of these parts of the film? Fill in a thought bubble on the whiteboard images

Independent/Guided Work

Green: Write a character description of the Monk and his relationship with the fish.

Pink/ Purple: In the role of the monk, write a diary entry of your day in the monastery in first person.

Blue group: Children use the provided stills with the thought bubbles to write sentences to explain what the monk is thinking at different points of the film. Children cut up and order the pictures into their books.

Yellow group (With TA): As above with adult support

Plenary

Thinking Thumbs – children to think of one really good question to ask the monk to try to find out how he is feeling and what he is hoping to achieve. Children to Hot seat the role of the monk – put a cross around a child’s neck as a prop.

RESOURCES: Digital camera, Smart board, DVD/CD player; images of the Monk with thought bubbles; cross around a child’s neck, individual whiteboards

LESSON TWO

Text

The Monk and the Fish – short film

Objective

T9: To prepare a short section of story as a script (or storyboard) e.g using stage directions, location/setting

W3: To use independent spelling strategies

Text Level Activity

  • Recap what we learnt last lesson. Whose story was it? How do we know? What did we learn about the monk?
  • Watch the film up to the point just as the fish swims onto the crossroads
  • In talking partners, children predict how the story is going to end. If you had five more shots to storyboard, what would happen? Would the monk catch the fish? Would he give up?
  • Take feedback

Word Level Activity

  • On whiteboard, model how to complete a storyboard and list the appropriate vocabulary (take suggestions: close up; medium shot; long shot; high angle; low angle; pan; track; SFX)

Independent Activity

  • Children must resolve the story in 5 more storyboard frames
  • More able can add the dialogue/sound effects for each frame

Plenary

  • Take some feedback about what they storyboarded.
  • Show the ending of the film
  • How did this compare with the ending that the filmmaker used? Which do you prefer? Did you like the ending?

ResourcesSmart board, DVD/CD player; images of the Monk with the storyboard; blank storyboard frames for the children to complete independently, individual whiteboards