BRAZIL: WILDLIFE FILM SCRIPT ACTIVITY – Teachers’ Notes

Who is it for?7-11 years old

How long will it take?The activity is designed as a 1 hour session.

Learning outcomes: Students will be introduced to the topics of Brazil and the Amazon before discovering some of the animals that live there and considering why some species may be endangered. They will then use fact sheets to research and write a script for their own wildlife film about an endangered species from the Amazon.

What do you need?

  • Interactive whiteboard or projector
  • Computer to connect to whiteboard or projector
  • Arkive’s Amazon PowerPoint classroom presentation
  • Amazon Fact Files (one per pair)
  • Species Fact Files (a mixture of species, enough for one per pair)
  • Film Script Worksheet (one per student, if desired)

Summary:

This creative writing activity is designed to teach 7-11 year olds about the Amazon and some of the species that live there, as well as introducing the concept of endangered species and considering why some species may be at risk. Using the fact sheets provided and the Arkive website if desired( they will research information to use in scripts for their own wildlife films.

Younger or less able students may benefit from using the Film Script Worksheet as a guide to write their scripts, while older or more able students may wish to write their own script from scratch.

Preparation guidelines:

  1. Download the Amazon PowerPoint classroom presentation.
  2. Read through the notes to familiarise yourself with the topic.
  3. Print out the Fact Files and Film Script Worksheets.

How to run the session:

  1. Find out what the students already know about the Brazil and the Amazon, this makes a good starting point for further discussion.
  1. Introduce the topic by working through the Amazon PowerPoint classroom presentation, using the slide notes for guidance.
  1. Explain the script writing task and hand out the Fact Files to the students (one Amazon Fact File and one Species Fact File per pair, and one Film Script Worksheet per student if desired).

Suggestions for extension activities:

  • As an extension activity, you could ask the students to perform their scripts for the rest of the class. If desired you could add props, costumes or even get some of the students to create masks and pretend to be the animals, making the script into a short drama piece.