Using Video in the Classroom.

Techniques of Presentation

Video:
Active listening & watching techniques for children
Before showing the film
  • Elicit the children's knowledge of the subject or theme.
  • Show the title and / or the first images and ask the children to imagine what is going to happen.
Ask the children, when they hear a certain word, phrase or structure, to:
  • Raise a finger.
  • Touch or show a picture or an object.
  • Make a gesture.
  • Do an action.
  • Say the word or phrase.
Ask the children to count the number of times they:
  • See a person, animal, object or action.
  • Hear a given word, phrase or structure.
Ask the children to notice:
  • Something new.
  • The name of something.
  • Something the same as something else (a previous story, a picture, etc.)
  • Another way of saying something known. Ex: Goodbye / Bye bye.
  • Something said by a given character.
  • A specific piece of information.
Ask the children to speak:
  • At the same time as one or more of the characters (on 2nd or later viewing).
  • To the characters (warn them, tell them what to do, etc.)
Show the film with no sound, stop frequently and ask the children to:
  • Describe what's happening.
  • Say what's already happened.
  • Imagine what's going to happen next.
  • Imagine a dialogue.
  • Watch a person's mouth and guess what they're saying.
Cover the screen, or ask the children to close their eyes, and ask them to listen and:
  • Guess who's speaking.
  • What's happening? where? when?
Position the class so that only half the children can see the screen. With or without the sound.
  • Those that can see describe what they see to the others.
  • Those that can't see ask questions.
Half the class sees one side of the screen and half the other. Stop the film frequently.
  • The children share information to work out what's happening.
Play a sequence backwards
  • The children work out what happened in the correct order.
After viewing the film
  • The children put pictures, objects, written words or sentences in the chronological order of the film.
  • The children draw scenes from the film in chronological order with a few "speech bubbles."
  • In small groups the children act out the film with or without dialogue.
  • Children, individually or in small groups, mime something from the film. The others guess what it is.
  • Write on the board: What? Where? Who? How many? etc. The children ask each other questions about the film.
  • Teacher/child recounts the film with deliberate mistakes, the other children correct them.
  • Teacher/child assumes the identity of a character, the children ask questions to discover who it is.
©Pamela Albert, Glenys Hanson, Donna L'Hôte,
Centre de linguistique appliquée, Université de Franche-Comté, 1996 - 2004