(CNN Entertainment, 2013)
‘my FAVOURITE SCENE’ learning resource
The ‘My Favourite Scene’ learning resource features a creative and well-rounded task provided by Lesson Bucket that requires students to utilise their knowledge of media elements to write about their favourite scene from a television show or film (Lesson Bucket, 2015). Within this resource, students are asked to take notes on how filmmakers use these elements and vocabulary types to create meaning and reflect this in a written piece.
I found an interest in this resource because I liked the idea of students learning about how their favourite film or television show uses film elements and conventions to convey meaning and ultimately engage audiences like themselves. I believe that allowing students to choose their own subject will inspire and encourage a deep level of engagement while being purposeful towards students learning key components of screen and storytelling. Through writing about something that they enjoy, the task will hopefully elicit a richer engagement than if an unrelative film was provided to them.
This resources webpage layout is simple and easy to follow, clearly outlining the objectives for the task and what is expected of students. Through a planning section, students are provided with some hints as to what type of media elements they should look to identify. This list will also be helpful to teachers when it comes to marking and knowing what type of engagements to look for in students’ written work. The resource further provides some overhanging instructions to follow when writing that introduce students to the writing conventions that are encouraged within the subject area. The resource further displays ‘useful phrases’ to support students in using correct and expressive language, and student examples are provided so that students can view what a media analysis piece should look and sound like.
(Lesson Bucket, 2015)
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2010). Media Arts F-10 Curriculum. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/media-arts/
Cable News Network (CNN) Entertainment. (2013). Chris Hemsworth stars as the Norse god Thor in the sequel Thor: The Dark World. [Image]. https://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/08/showbiz/movies/thor-the-dark-world-review/index.html
Lesson Bucket. (2015). My Favourite Scene. [web resource]. https://lessonbucket.com/media/year-9/my-favourite-scene/
The Everygirl. (2021). Outer Banks Stars Running. [Image]. https://theeverygirl.com/outer-banks-season-2-thoughts/
Walt Disney Company. (2019). Carl, Russell, and Dug in what would become Up‘s iconic image. [Image]. Rotten Tomatoes. https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/most-memorable-movie-moments-up-ellie-carl-opening-scene/
(Walt Disney Company, 2019)
(The Everygirl, 2021)
Through viewing the Australian Curriculum year 7 and 8 bands, this resource aligns strongly with the content descriptor (ACAMAM068), where students are required to “develop and refine media production skills to shape the technical and symbolic elements of images, sounds and text for a specific purpose and meaning” (ACARA, 2010). Through engaging with this resource, students will explore forms and elements to learn about the definitions of genre and how to create meaning within a narrative (ACARA, 2010). Students will also analyse and evaluate the structural choices of media such as “including a point of conflict, building characters and achieving a resolution” (ACARA, 2010). Due to the written nature of the task, students have a considerable opportunity to build upon their literacy and critical thinking capabilities while interacting with media forms through communication technologies.
For teachers, this resource serves to support lesson plans in outlining clear goals and expectations, including what not to do. This will make work easier to assess and identify what components have been touched on in a student’s analysis. It’s worth mentioning that this task is usually set for a year 9 level, so to counteract this, teachers could for example choose only a selection of elements they want students to analyse or identify. This task I believe would be best undertaken over two lessons, one giving the students time to choose their film/show and identify elements and the other to write.