Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at"

Rosalind Darleen Patterson
6 years ago
Views:

1 Activity Pack See, think, make. Imagine intofilm.org

2 See, think, make. Imagine intofilm.org Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity Pack Nothing gets everyone more in the mood for Christmas than Charles Dickens timeless tale, A Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge, and when you add Muppets into the mix this heartwarming tale gets an extra sprinkling of fun. This special Into Film Christmas resource focuses on and contains fun film and Christmas activities plus games. To complete these activities you will need a copy of DVD. This pack also features ideas for Christmas games and activities and an Into Film Christmas Quiz to hold with your group. Contents 3 Activities: Subtitle singalong! 6 Act the grump! 7 Warm up games 9 Flick book 10 Practical animation 12 Storyboarding 13 Christmas pitch 15 Christmas quiz - answers 16 Christmas quiz 17 intofilm.org 2

3 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Building the mood The film opens with a broad cross-section of Muppet life in Victorian England, but what kind of Victorian England is this? Watch the clip Opening setting {time code 00:02:26-00:03:40} Ask students to think, pair and share five adjectives they would use to describe the setting. Ask the group to give an example of something that they saw or heard in the clip to justify their choice of adjective. The Three Ghosts One of the most well known elements of the Dickens story is the appearance of the three ghosts. In The Muppet Christmas Carol they are all introduced in very different ways to build different moods: Watch the following The Ghost of Christmas Past {00:29:50-00:31:20} The Ghost of Christmas Present {00:44:03-00:45:56} The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come {00:59:45-01:01:24} Divide the class into three groups assigning each one the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, or Yet to Come. Ask each group to draw an outline of their ghost and divide the drawing into three sections: Ask each group to feedback and discuss how the use of colour, camera, setting and sound affects the way that a viewer sees each character. Empathy with Ebenezer Throughout the story, Ebenezer Scrooge is presented as the archetypal grumpy old man and we see Scrooge as a child at school to understand where his negative feelings and bitterness came from. Watch the clip Ebenezer sees himself at school {00:33:00-00:36:02} Ask the group to work in pairs or threes to prepare a 60 second persuasive speech starting with the sentence Ebenezer Scrooge was an unhappy old man because of his childhood experiences... Groups can choose to persuade the audience that Scrooge s behavior in later life is right or wrong. intofilm.org 3

4 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Listen to the groups speeches and discuss whether the group has sympathy for Scrooge, and whether his experiences as a child justify his actions and attitude in later life. Empathy with Ebenezer as an old man Watch the clip You there, boy! {01:09:55-01:12:15} Ebenezer receives his first ever Christmas present at the end of this scene. You could include this in the above activity and ask the group to think, pair and share why they think Ebenezer is so grateful to receive the gift. How might this influence the rest of his life? The Yes and No game This game has many names, and everyone loves it. Watch the clip the yes and no game {00:48:49-00:50:31} Ask each member of the group to think of something connected to Christmas and write it down on a slip of paper to see if the rest of the class can guess what it is by asking one question at a time. Remember, you can only answer with yes or no. Each person in the group is allowed to ask one question, and they have to try to guess the answer in 20 questions or less. Narration game! features two narrators. Ask the group to think, pair and share why films have a narrator, and why this film has two narrators. Ask members of the group to play the roles of Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Rizzo the rat. Give the volunteers a hat or prop to indicate who is in which role and speaking. For each clip a new pair can take on the roles. Play each of the following clips with the sound turned off, and ask the people in the roles to narrate the scene. If you have not watched the whole film recently, you may like to start by playing the film with sound and then carry out the narration task, to see what people have remembered. Give each pair about 30 seconds, from these suggested starting places for each pair: Scrooge arrives at work 00:08:21 Bob Cratchit has questions for Ebenezer 00:09:42 Scrooge is asked to donate to charity 00:11:45 Bob Cratchit has more questions for Ebenezer 00:14:46 Scrooge receives a visit from Jacob and Robert Marley 00:23:27 Christmas at the Cratchit home 00:51:59 intofilm.org 4

5 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Subtitle singalong! Nothing is as festive as a singalong, and this is one of the most heart-warming songs in the film. Play the clip Thankful Heart {01:12:13 01:15:03} with the DVD subtitles, or print out the lyrics on page 6. Act the grump! Watch the clip Merry Christmas {01:15:06 01:16:13} Ask for 3 volunteers to re-enact the scene. Divide your group into groups of 3. Ask each group to write three acting notes for each volunteer. These should be three points that the actor has in mind when they are re-enacting the scene, for example Scrooge never smiles, Bob Cratchit is always slouching, etc. Ask the volunteers to re-enact the scene by using the script, and demonstrating their understanding of the characters and the story. intofilm.org 5

6 SUBTITLE SINGALONG! Thankful Heart: Music and lyrics by Paul Williams With a thankful heart, with an endless joy, With a growing family, every girl and boy, Will be nephew and niece to me. (Nephew and niece to me) Will bring love, hope and peace to me. (Love, hope and peace to me) Yes, and every night will end, And every day will start, With a grateful prayer, and a thankful heart. With an open smile, and with open doors, I will bid you welcome, what is mine is yours. With a glass raised to toast your health. (With a glass raised to toast your health) And a promise to share the wealth. (A promise to share the wealth) I will sail a friendly course, File a friendly chart, On a sea of love and a thankful heart. Life is like a journey, Who knows when it ends? Yes, and if you need to know The measure of a man You simply count his friends. Stop and look around you. The glory that you see Is born again each day, Don t let it slip away How precious life can be. With a thankful heart that is wide awake, I do make this promise every breath I take, Will be used now to sing your praise. (Used now to sing your praise) And to beg you to share my days. (Beg you to share my days) With a loving guarantee, That even if we part, I will hold you close in a thankful heart. 6

7 ACT THE GRUMP! Script Ext. Victorian Street - Day Ebenezer Scrooge knocks on Bob Cratchit s door. SCROOGE Bob Cratchit! Bob opens the door slowly. SCROOGE (CONT D) So here you are! Mr Scrooge... BOB CRATCHIT SCROOGE You sir, were not at work this morning as we had discussed. BOB CRATCHIT But, Mr Scrooge sir, we did discuss it. It s Christmas Day sir. Yo SCROOGE I? I, Ebenezer Scrooge? Would I do a thing like that? BOB CRATCHIT No. I mean yes, but you did. SCROOGE Emily Cratchit comes bursting out. EMILY CRATCHIT intofilm.org 7

8 ACT THE GRUMP! Script BOB CRATCHIT Emily, Emily... BOB CRATCHIT No. I mean yes, but you did. SCROOGE And ther EMILY CRATCHIT And there SCROOGE EMILY CRATCHIT An pavement... pardon? Pardon? BOB CRATCHIT SCROOGE Yes B mortgage on this house. Emily Cratchit laughs nervously. BOB CRATCHIT Please, sir. Come inside. Yes, yes. SCROOGE Bob y? Emily and Bob Cratchit both gasp. SCROOGE (CONT D) Merry Christmas. 8

9 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Warm-up Games Snowball fight (Suitable for 7+) This is a quick and fun game to play with your group. Ask your students to write the title of their favourite Christmas film and a movie that they wish they had starred in (explaining their reasons why) on a piece of paper. Students then have 5 seconds to throw their snowballs (not at each other!). Ask students to stop and pick up a random snowball, unravel it, read it aloud, and try to guess who it belongs to. Equipment: Pens, scrap paper Miming (Suitable for 9+) Write as many film titles as students in the group onto sticky notes or stickers. Stick a film title from our Comedy Christmas topic to each student s back. They must walk around the room and show their title to other students, who will mime their film title back to them. If a student guesses their title correctly they must sit down. This can also work with characters for a more simple guessing game. Suggested film titles: (1992, U), The Snowman (1986, U), Home Alone (1990, PG), Miracle on 34th Street (1947, U) Suggested film characters: Father Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge, Kevin (Home Alone), Doris Walker Equipment: Stickers or sticky notes Christmas Primary favourites: Christmas Articulate This (Suitable for 7+) Split the group into two teams; one person from the first team will come to the front whilst a slide with a Christmas themed word is shown behind them. They can t see the slide. Their team needs to shout out clues (without saying any of the words on the slide) in order for the person at the front to guess what s on the screen. Give each team a minute and count the points scored before swapping to the next team. This game can be a nice vocabulary exercise and a fun way to link to the day s theme. Downloads: Search Christmas Activity Days on the website to find the download link to the Christmas Articulate slides. Christmas Board Race (Suitable for 7+) Ask the students to get into teams and give them two minutes to write as many words or phrases on the board/flipchart paper on a given topic, e.g. Christmas films, best ever presents, etc. They must write up their words relay-style and the team with the most words on the board at the end of the time wins. Different themes can form different rounds for a longer game. Equipment: Whiteboard pens, white board / flip chart intofilm.org 9

10 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Activities: Flick Book Suitable for: 7+ Estimated time: 60 minutes This activity will work with: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965, U) 5+ Activity Description: 1. Plan out the simple storyline for your flick book on scrap paper (15 mins) 2. Give out the prepared blank flick books (instructions below) 3. Ask students to choose a character they would like to animate 4. Ask them to draw it in the bottom right hand corner of the flick book. Then they can add a background and develop pictures. 5. Refer back to the previous page while drawing the next one to check that the flick book does not jump dramatically from one picture to the next 6. Keep drawing and colouring in while sticking to your plan (Steps 2-6 will take about 30 mins) 7. Check that your book works by flicking through it 8. Have a gallery of flick books and allow students to view each other s flick books (15 mins) What you will need: Downloads: None Top Tips: How to make a flick book: Try flicking through backwards to tell your story in reverse! We have also included a handy flick book template that you can use too. More from Into Film: You can order and review A Charlie Brown Christmas on the website from intofilm.org 10

11 Flick book template Instructions Plan out the storyline for your flick book, making sure to keep most of the action in the bottom right hand corner. Keep your story simple and make sure you tell the story entirely though your drawing. Something quick and easy always works well, like a bouncing ball or jumping frog. Once you have drawn your story, cut around each box and stick the boxes together (you may want to number each box to make sure you keep them in the right order). STICK STICK STICK STICK STICK STICK Top Tips: You can also make an easy flick book by using a pack of sticky notes or drawing in the corner of a notepad intofilm.org 11

12 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Activities: Practical Animation Suitable for: 11+ Estimated time: 90 minutes This activity will work with: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, PG) 7+ Activity Description: 1. In small groups students storyboard an idea for a simple stop-motion animated film with a Christmas theme (15 mins) 2. Students design their sets (5 mins) 3. Create their characters by adding googly eyes to objects in the classroom (they can be as simple as a pencil running away from a pencil sharpener) (5 mins) 4. Take multiple shots using an ipad/tablet, moving the characters one bit in every photo (20 mins) 5. Import the pictures into the timeline in imotion or istop Motion (or a similar piece of animation software) on the ipad/tablet and edit the film using imovie, or a similar piece of software (30 mins) 6. Add music and voices and, if there is time, titles and credits 7. Play all the films What you will need: Downloads: Storyboard template (Search Christmas Activity Days on the website to find the download link) Top Tips: More from Into Film: Search stop-motion on the website to read an in-depth article on stop-motion animation Into Film now offer teachers free CPD sesions on stop-motion animation. For more details you can get in touch with us at cpd@intofilm.org intofilm.org 12

13 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Activities: Storyboarding Suitable for: All ages Estimated time: 30 minutes This activity will work with: (1993, U) 5+ Activity description: 1. After viewing create a storyboard of a Christmas past, present, and future for yourself. In order to do the storyboards well students should make drawings of what we would see in each scene and write down stage directions, props, costumes, etc 2. If there s time, they can present their storyboards for the rest of the group to look at What you will need: Top Tips: place them on the two best pieces of work (not including their own!). The one with the most stickers is the winner More from Into Film: You can order and review on the website There are also Interviews with two Storyboard Artists on the Into Film website: Batman Begins (2005, 12) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010, 12) Jim Cornish: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007, 12) Dan Maslen: intofilm.org 13

14 intofilm.org

15 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Activities: Christmas Pitch Suitable for age Estimated time: 90 minutes Activity description: 1. Ask students to think of ideas for a new Christmas film in small groups (15 mins) 2. Create their narrative on a storyboard worksheet making sure that there is dialogue and pictures while using the Top Tips for reference (30 mins) 3. Prepare a pitch to give in front of the rest of the class on their film idea (15 mins) 4. Listen to the pitches (20 mins) 5. The leader should act as an investor and choose which film they would like to produce (10 mins) What you will need: Downloads: Storyboard worksheet (Search Christmas Activity Days on the website to find the download link) Top Tips: Leaders Ages 7-11 Ages 11+ The pitch: The basic story of the film intofilm.org 15

16 Our downloadable resources are designed to be used in conjunction with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at Activity pack Christmas Quiz - Answers Round 1: Muppet Christmas Carol 1. b 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. a Round 2: General Knowledge 1. He was a fully grown man 2. To a party with lots of other snowmen 3. Tim Burton 4. He has to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars 5. His heart 6. He is the real Santa Claus 7. He is going to be turned in to chocolate 8. He is his son 9. A train 10. He has to take on the role of Santa Claus himself 11. A BB gun 12. Mr Poppy 13. Blooming 14. The true meaning of Christmas intofilm.org 16

17 CHRISTMAS QUIZ Round 1: Muppet Christmas Carol 1/ What is the part that The Great Gonzo plays in the film? a. Charles Dance b. Charles Dickens c. Darles Chickens 2/ Who accompanies Gonzo and helps narrate the film? a. Rizzo the Rat b. Rat Stevens c. Rat Deeley 3/ What is Scrooge s first name? a. Ezekiel b. Eddie c. Ebenezer 7/ Which ghost visits Scrooge first? a. The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come b. The ghost of Christmas Present c. The ghost of Christmas Past 8/ What does Fozziwig s factory make? a. Mince pies b. Rubber chickens c. Weapons grade Christmas crackers 9/ What does the Ghost of Christmas Present say will happen to Tiny Tim? a. He won t survive until next Christmas b. He will live to be 101 years old c. He is going to go on the X Factor and have number one Christmas single 4/ Which actor plays the part of Scrooge? a. Michael J. Fox b. Michael Caine c. Princess Michael of Kent 5/ What is the name of the song that Kermit sings? a. One More Month til Christmas b. Christmas is Still Ages Away c. One More Sleep til Christmas 6/ What are the names of the Marley brothers? a. Jacob and Robert b. Bob and Ziggy c. Martin and Marvin 10/ What is it that finally causes Scrooge to change his ways? a. He realises that he secretly loves Christmas b. He is shown his own funeral with only some businessmen attending for a free lunch c. He realises there s more profit to be made by embracing Christmas 11/ What year did get released? a b c / When and where is the film set? a. Victorian London b. 1920s New York c. The Sahara desert

18 CHRISTMAS QUIZ Round 2: General Knowledge 1/ In the film Elf what was unusual about Buddy the Elf? 8/ How is Arthur Christmas related to Father Christmas? 2/ Where does the Snowman take the boy in the animated film The Snowman? 9/ What kind of vehicle is The Polar Express? 3/ Who wrote the film A Nightmare Before Christmas? 10/ What does the dad Scott have to do in the film The Santa Clause? 4/ What does Kevin have to do when he finds himself left behind in the film Home Alone? 11/ What Christmas present is Ralphie desperate to get in A Christmas Story? 5/ Which part of the Grinch is described as being two sizes too small? 12/ What is the name of the silly Teacher s Assistant in Nativity? 6/ What does Kris Kringle prove to the court in Miracle on 34th Street? 13/ In Father Christmas what word does Father Christmas say when he s grumpy? 7/ What do the children have to save Santa from in the film When Santa Fell to Earth? 14/ What is Charlie Brown searching for in A Charlie Brown Christmas?

19 CHRISTMAS QUIZ Round 3: Festive Film Pitches Cut up the table below so that you have: Ten locations Ten props Ten characters Divide your film club into groups of three and give them one card from each section. Ask the students to come up with a story and festive film pitch, which involves all elements that they have been given. Each group can pitch their film ideas to the rest of the group: E.G My film is about a group of mischievous elves who decide they want the latest most popular toy in the world. So they sneak onto Santa s sleigh to go to town, but end up having to take part in a Primary school nativity play. Locations The North Pole The toy department of a busy department store Props The tallest Christmas tree in the world A stocking Characters Father Christmas A sleigh and 12 flying reindeer A big house in the countryside with a huge log fire 100,000 mince pies A mean Scrooge-like character Victorian London A Christmas present addressed to the character that does not say who it is from A young girl in an orphanage who loves Christmas more than anything A busy family home on Christmas Eve A primary school Nativity play The worst snow blizzard in years The latest, most popular toy in the world A knitted Christmas jumper that s been passed down through the generations A roll of magic holographic 3D wrapping paper A bunch of mischievous elves A very successful pop star with a Christmas number one song A carpenter who makes wooden toys A dark coniferous forest with a small log cabin in the middle of it A giant Christmas pudding A hard-working woman who never gets any thanks from anyone A star that mysteriously moves across the desert sky at Christmas A map of treasure buried deep beneath the snow in Lapland An alien who lands on Earth on Christmas Day The studio where they re filming the Christmas episode of X Factor A sprig of mistletoe Two competitive brothers who always try to outdo each other intofilm.org

A DICKENS TALE. No space of regret can make amends for one life s opportunity misused. -Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

A DICKENS TALE. No space of regret can make amends for one life s opportunity misused. -Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. www.brightstartheatre.com A DICKENS TALE Based on A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens By Bright Star Touring Theatre ABOUT THE SHOW! ************************************************ Charles Dickens was