Films for KS1: First Outings Teachers' Pages

Activities on Reading a film

The areas shown below are common activities that can be used for all films shown during First Outings.

Film Narrative | Film Posters | Film Settings| Characterisation

Please note: Links to children's section opens a new window. Please read the introductory page since it gives important technical information to view the interactive children's section.

Film Narrative

Most stories follow the same basic structure as shown below and in the children’s section.

The main characters are introduced at the beginning

Something happens to disrupt their world

Something is done to solve the problem

The story has a happy ending

Familiarise the class with narrative by going through the steps of a familiar story such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, for example:
• We meet the Three Bears going out for a walk and Goldilocks arriving at their house.
• Goldilocks enters the house without being invited and causes havoc.
• The Bears come home and chase her away.
• Goldilocks goes home and the Bears live happily ever after.

Read aloud the film synopsis of Piglet's Big Movie below before looking at the narrative example within the children’s section. The children can then rearrange this as an activity:

As a class, try to write out the narratives for other films. (There may be more than one problem shown in the film that needs solving. Ask the children to list each problem in turn or concentrate only on one.)

Write out the suggested narrative as a class on the board or on screen before asking the following questions:

What do the class think the film will be about? Can they fill in the gaps?

Who are the main characters? Who are the goodies and who are the baddies? How can they tell?

Will the film be funny, scary or action-packed?

Every new film released will need a poster campaign to help make potential audiences aware of the movie.

Show the class examples of film posters using the example or by showing them video sleeves or adverts for films from newspapers and magazines.

Analyse a poster with the class and ask them what they think the film will be about. Ask them what colours are used, what characters and settings they can see etc.

Point out the main elements that make up the poster including:

• the title
• the picture
• the certificate
• the release date
• the stars
• the tagline

In the children’s section, there is a game to play which involves rearranging a film poster.

Ask the class to create a poster for a new film or for a film they are about to see. Perhaps brainstorm the sorts of pictures, characters and colours that could be included as a class before breaking off into groups.

Film Settings

The setting refers to where the story takes place and what we can see in the background of the film. For example, the landscape, the buildings, the weather etc. The setting gives us clues about what type of story the film will be. For instance, is it set in the city, the countryside, in a factory or a castle?

The historical time period is also important and this is shown in the film through the costumes, props, buildings etc. All the films shown under First Outings have very strong settings. The Little Polar Bear is set in the Arctic, Stuart Little 2 is set in New York, Monsters, Inc. is set in a factory and Chicken Run is set on a farm.

1. Can the class find the places seen in the film on a map?
2. Ask the children to describe the settings and write down key words on the board e.g. the smells, the sounds, the temperature etc.
3. Ask the children to draw maps and pictures of these settings
4. Ask the children to use these settings in their own descriptive writing.
5. There is an activity in the children’s section where children can make their own film scenes using settings and characters.

It should be explained to the class that each character in a film has their own finely defined personality created by the film makers. Some may be out and out goodies or baddies whilst some may be more complex characters.

1. Ask the class what they think makes a goodie/hero or a baddie. Ask them to give examples.
2. What do they look like?
3. What do they sound like?
4. What will their personality be like?
5. What sorts of names will they have?

Do baddies always look frightening or do we have to discover that they are bad through their actions? Can the class think of any other goodies or baddies from books or films they have read or seen recently?

Do they share any features in common?

Show the class images of characters on this website to analyse.

If the film has been adapted from a book (e.g. (e.g. Piglet’s Big Movie, Stuart Little 2, The Little Polar Bear, Jungle Book 2), make sure that you first read out descriptions of the characters to discuss with the class.

Write down adjectives on the board for each character.

How do the children think they are going to look from the description?

Ask them to draw a picture based on these descriptions.

How are they going to sound?

Draw ‘wanted posters’ or passports of the characters to extend this work.