Housing Affordability

Questions for discussion

As a class, discuss the BTN Housing Affordability story. What were the main points of the discussion?
What does the average Australian house cost?
Where do most people get money from to buy a house?
Australians on average, earn more than ______times what they did 30 years ago.
Houses now are around 30 times more expensive that they were 30 years. True or false?
What does that mean for people wanting to buy a house now?
What are people in other countries doing to find more affordable housing?
Which cities in Australia are some of the least affordable in the world?
What is the government doing to help people who want to buy a house?
What do you understand more clearly since watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Skinny Model Laws

Discuss the Skinny Model Laws story with another student and record the main points of the discussion.
How can images of unhealthily thin models affect people?
Finish the following sentence: A lot of images aren’t realistic because they have been…
Which countries already have laws that ban models if they are unhealthily skinny?
Which country has announced that they are introducing the same laws?
Paris is known as the ______capital of the world.
What will models have to do to prove they’re a healthy weight?
What are the consequences for companies that break the law?
What is the new law being introduced about using digitally changed images of models?
Do you think the laws should be introduced in Australia? Explain your answer.

Check out the Skinny Model Laws resource on the Teachers page

Vote in the BTN Online Poll

Wipe Out Waste

What was the main point of the BTN Wipe out Waste story?
Briefly explain what the students at Immanuel Primary School doing?
Every year, Australians throw out around ______million tonnes of waste?
What are students at Star of the Sea school doing to reduce waste?
What are they hoping will happen by term 4?
Why are the students planning to do more nude food?
What advice do the students give to reduce the amount of waste we produce?
Why do the schools have an audit every term?
What does your school do to reduce the amount of waste produced?
How has your thinking changed since watching the BTN story?

Do the quiz on the BtN website

How does the Internet Work?

What does the BTN story explain?
In which decade was the internet invented?
1950s
1960s
1970s
Explain how the internet started.
In which year did Tim Berners-Lee create a system for sharing information around the world?
What did he call it?
How is information transmitted around the world?
Describe the cables used to transmit the data.
Why are cables quicker and more reliable than satellites?
How does Jesse describe the process of sending a picture overseas via the internet?
What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Screen It Competition

Explain the BTN Screen It Competition story to another student.
Which competition are the students entering their films in?
Who is running the competition?
What is the theme for the competition?
Which element of time did the students decide to focus on?
What types of films are the students making?
The students at Hallett Cove Primary are making films. True or false?
What did the students like about creating films and video games?
What skills do you think filmmakers need to have?
What did you like about the BTN story?

Check out the Screen It Competition resource on theTeachers page.

©ABC 2017

Teacher Resource

Model Laws

Discuss the Skinny Model Laws story with another student and record the main points of the discussion.
How can images of unhealthily thin models affect people?
Finish the following sentence: A lot of images aren’t realistic because they have been…
Which countries already have laws that ban models if they are unhealthily skinny?
Which country has announced that they are introducing the same laws?
Paris is known as the ______capital of the world.
What will models have to do to prove they’re a healthy weight?
What are the consequences for companies that break the law?
What is the new law being introduced about using digitally changed images of models?
Do you think the laws should be introduced in Australia? Explain your answer.

Note taking

Students will practice their note-taking while watching the BTN Model Lawsstory. After watching the story, ask students to reflect on and organise the information into three categories.

What information in the story was...?

Positive
Negative or
Interesting

Hold a class discussion about the information in the Model Laws story. Brainstorm students’ responses to the following questions. and respond to the following questions:

What is body image?
What is positive body image?
What is negative body image?
What factors affect your own body image?
Who do you think influences you more – your friends (peers), adults, the media?
Why is the way you see yourself important? (self-esteem, confidence, physical wellbeing)

Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about body image.

Define: What do I want to know?
Key questions to research
Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:

Does body image affect male and females in the same way?
How does the idea of beauty differ in other cultures?
How has the idea of beauty changed over time?
Who controls what images we see?
Do you think Australia should introduce laws banning unhealthily skinny models? Explain your response.

Locate: Where do I find the information?
What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.
Select: What information is important for the investigation?
Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.
Organise: How do I make sense of the information?
Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.
Present: How do we let others know about this information?
Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:

A `Did You Know’ Fact sheet
Create an infographic using Canva
Prezi presentation
Oral presentation
Glogster

Evaluate: What have we learnt?
Students reflect on what they have learnt about body image and respond to the following.

What I learned...
What I found surprising...

Students watch the BTN Skinny Models story then answer the following questions:

What is the average dress size of Australian women?
About what size do catwalk models need to be?
Describe the decision Vogue magazine made.
Why was Vogue criticised?
Do you think Vogue’s decision will have any impact on the body image issue? Explain your answer.
What factors do you think affect a person’s body image?

Body image and advertising

Discuss with students the role the media plays in influencing a person’s body image. Ask students to consider the following:

What sorts of images are we exposed to from popular media (advertising, magazines, TV, movies)?
What techniques are used to alter or change images? Why are the techniques used?
Is diversity shown in advertising (consider cultural background, body shape, age)?

Look through a range of fashion magazines and select and cut out images of male and females that you think portray negative, unrealistic, unhealthy, or distorted body images. Create a collage using the images. What message are the images sending to young people?

Find examples in the media of fashion or beauty companies that are trying to portray a more realistic view. What strategies are they using? Do you think it is effective? An example is the Dove Evolution commercial

Ask students if they think the commercial is effective. Why or why not?

Working in pairs or small groups, students create their own advertisement that encourages young people to have a positive body image.

BBC News – France bans extremely thin models

BTN – Skinny Models

Kids Helpline – The truth about body image

BTN - Fresh Faced Friday

Reach Out – What is body image?

Child and Youth Health – Body Image

©ABC 2017

Teacher Resource

Screen It Competition

Explain the BTN Screen It Competition story to another student.
Which competition are the students entering their films in?
Who is running the competition?
What is the theme for the competition?
Which element of time did the students decide to focus on?
What types of films are the students making?
The students at Hallett Cove Primary are making films. True or false?
What did the students like about creating films and video games?
What skills do you think filmmakers need to have?
What did you like about the BTN story?

Class Discussion

After watching the BTN Screen It Competition story, respond to the following questions:

Students develop a glossary of words and terms that relate to film making. Below are some words to get them started. Add words and meanings to your glossary as you come across unfamiliar words throughout your research. Consider using pictures and diagrams to illustrate meanings.

Stop Motion / Animation / Storyboard
Live action / Green screen / Dialogue

Create a simple animation

Students will begin by making a simple animation – either a flipbook or a thaumatrope.

Flipbook

Flipbooks are one of the easiest ways to create the illusion of movement and are a good place to begin exploring animation.

Download – Make your own flipbook by following these instructions

Students will begin this activity by thinking of a simple movement they would like to show in their flipbook animation, for example, a balloon being blown up, a flower growing or a dog chasing a cat.

Thaumatrope

A thaumatrope is a card with different pictures on opposite sides that seem to combine when the card is twirled. Watch thisYouTube Videoto see how a thaumatrope works.

Materials / Instructions

Piece of cardboard
Rubber bands or string
Drawing equipment
Hole punch

Before you begin, choose two related pictures to draw – for example, a fish and a fishbowl, a bird and a birdcage.
Cut a circle from a piece of cardboard.
On one side of the cardboard, draw a fish (or a bird).
On the other side of the cardboard,draw a fishbowl (or another picture). Remember one image must be upside down
Punch a hole in each side of the cardboard circle.
Attach the rubber bands or string to each hole.
Twist the string/rubber bands and pull tight to spin the cardboard. The two images should appear as one.

Stop motion animation

Create your own short 3D clay animation film using stop motion animation. Follow these steps to animate a plasticine ball using smartphones or tablets.

Step 1 / Download a Stop Motion App from the App Store
Some of the best apps are Stop Motion Studio and Lego Movie Maker.
Step 2 / Create a small workspace
A large sheet of paper taped up against a table and a wall provides a nice simple backdrop.
Step 3 / Position and secure the camera
Place your device so that the camera is facing your workspace. Blu-tack and masking tape work well, or for extra stability use a device holder.
Step 4 / Prepare the shot
Place a ball of plasticine in front of the camera so that you can see it on the screen.
Step 5 / Start taking pictures
You can now start by taking your first photo, which is usually the large red button on most apps.
Step 6 / Move the ball
Move the ball slightly to the right about half a centimetre.
Step 7 / Take another photo
Once you’ve moved your hand out of the way, take another photo.
Step 8 / Move the ball again, then take another photo
Now move the ball half a centimetre in the same direction, then take another photo. Repeat the process of moving the ball and taking photos.
Step 9 / Play the animation
Once you have a sequence of photos you can play the video to see how it looks. When you’ve mastered rolling a ball around, maybe you can move on to something a little trickier. Try morphing the ball into another shape, or create a character out of plasticine and bring them to life with animation!

Make your own short film

Working in small groups, students will create they own short film. Ask each group to think about ideas for their film. Each group needs to answer the following questions:

What is your story about?
Where is the story set?
Who are the characters in the story?
What are the characters going to say? (dialogue)
What is the problem in the story?
’How is the problem solved?

When students have worked out a basic idea for their film, they can create a storyboard. Storyboards look like comic books and have a picture for every shot in the film. The ACMI website has a storyboard generator to help students plan their story.

Students can use devices such as smartphones or tablets to record their films.The Behind the News website has some tips to help students with the filming process.

Enter the ACMI Screen It competition. Entries close 25 September 2017. Go to the ACMI website for all the details.

ACMI – Screen It Competition

BTN – Tropfest

BtN: Episode 12 Transcript 16/05/17

Hi, I'm Nathan Bazley and this is BTN!

Coming up today:

Should unhealthily thin models be used in fashion? France is now saying no but what do you think?

We take a look at how some schools are looking to go bin-free in the near future.

And in BTN Investigates how does the internet work? We sent Tash undercover for some reason to find out.

You can see all that and more soon but first:

Housing Affordability

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: The 2017 budget was released last week and in it there was some bad news for uni students, the big banks and taxpayers. While there was good news for school students disabled people and older people there was also some good news in there for people trying to buy their first home. That's been a big issue recently that you might have heard called 'housing affordability'. Here's more on what that is and why it's a problem.

What would your dream house look like?

KID 1 So I would have a three-story house in the country with a big swimming pool in the back, a lot of metres with the swimming pool.

KID 2 My dream house would be in the hills. It would be two storeys and it would be accessible to cats everywhere you went.

KID 3 It would be three storeys in a grassland area and there'd be umm three stories and there'd be a balcony so you could see animals walk past, there would also be a petting zoo and I'd have a pet unicorn!

KID 4 I would have a house in the middle of the desert with a movie cinema for a loungeroom and the AFL oval for a backyard.

Owning a home is something a lot of people dream about! But while the average Australian probably won't end up with one with a huge swimming pool or a movie theatre, there've been worries lately that many won't be able to afford a house at all. Houses are the most expensive things most people will ever buy and unfortunately, they're getting pricier.

AMELIA, REPORTER Today, the average Australian house costs around $656,800. I don't know about you, but that's definitely more than I have!

It's more money than most people have, which is why they borrow money from a bank to buy one. Then you have to pay it back plus interest, which is extra money you're charged on top of what you borrowed.

Houses have never been more expensive than now. Meanwhile, people's wages haven't gone up as much. So, to put that in perspective: Australians on average earn more than ten times what they did 40 years ago, but houses now are around 30 times more expensive than back then. That means compared to around the time your grandparents might've bought a house, houses now are more expensive to buy and harder to pay off.

We're definitely not the only country struggling with house prices, and governments everywhere are trying to work out how to fix the problem. But in some big cities, people are already finding creatively cheaper ways to become home-owners like living in a canal boat in London, or in an old shipping container in Denmark! Hmm not bad.

That said, Australians are still worse off than Britain, America, Canada and most of Europe when it comes to housing affordability! In fact, Sydney and Melbourne now have some of the least affordable real estate in the world! So now, the government says it has a plan (and no, it doesn't involve houseboats or shipping containers). In its new budget, it's doing a few things to try to help people who want to buy a house: It's making it easier for people to save for their first home, it's making it harder for people from overseas to buy homes as an investment so Australians won't have to compete against them to buy, and it's trying to encourage older people to sell their homes and move into smaller ones to make room for young families.