Course: Teaching Literacy Through Film

Throughout this course we have looked at short narrative-based films as a tool for analytical and critical analysis. In this section of the course we will look at how we …

You’ll be amazed by the excitement that predictive writing will cause amongst students. They will talk about the ending at lunchtime and will badger their teacher to reveal the ending …

In our final activity for Week 3 we will focus on using film as stimulus for predictive writing. Predictive writing is one of the easiest and most fulfilling activities you …

Now it’s your chance to try your hand at creating a poetic masterpiece. In this instance the stimulus will be the Lumière brothers’ film from Week 1 – Snowball Fight. …

Teachers working to improve literacy will know that creating poetry can be challenging for young people who may struggle with narrative structure. A blank page may seem an unassailable mountain …

We can extend creative writing effectively by linking each shot to a particular activity when writing. Linking camera shots and positions to a series of stills can provide a great …

Without watching any of the film, download and print the Nightshift film sequencing template and Shot List template from the Downloads area below. Cut out the seven individual stills and …

Now that we’re familiar with camera shots, positions and movement, we’re going to use some frames from the short film Nightshift (2004) to look at how the sequence in which …

Camera movement is one of the most powerful aspects of camera. It can be used to reveal information to the audience, pan across vast vistas or move closer to a …

Working from the information in the previous step, watch this short film and see how many of the different camera positions you can recognise. Again, this is a great way …

Another facet of camera work that can have a big impact on our interpretation of a shot is the position of the camera. Imagine, for example, a silhouetted figure framed …

Over the next six steps, we will look at camera shots, camera positioning and camera movement, their impact on the viewer, as well as how camera can be used to …

Once you’ve created your Force of Nature story, you can develop your sound ideas further by creating a soundtrack either live with pupils or by recording sound into your computer. …

After creating your sound effects, write down as many keywords as you can, and use these to generate sentences. Use the words and images as inspiration to create a narrative …

Having listened to the sound, here is the clip with the accompanying visuals. Was there anything in the clip that puzzled you? Was this clip like anything you have seen …