Introduction

Why use short films in early years?

Watching and planning the use of moving image texts

Film, language and literacy

Why use short films in early years?

Following on from Starting Stories, Starting Stories 2 aims to explore further the advantages of studying moving image media and equip teachers with the teaching tools to gain the maximum learning potential from each viewing experience. Key reasons for using short films in the classroom include:

• Young children's attention needs to be captured quickly and their interest held. Short films can easily be viewed at one sitting and offer a complete narrative.
• Short films allow for easy repetition of viewing, which is important if children are to be allowed to critically engage with material on a meaningful level. Their increased familiarity with a text allows them to feel confident and secure in discussing it in detail.
• Because of the ease of repeated viewing, work on specific areas of film language, a short film can be watched several times with a different focus without losing children's interest. Indeed, young children thrive on repetition as a means of embedding information, concepts and ideas in their thinking.
• Short films must put across their narrative in a clear and accessible way. This makes it easier, particularly for very young children to see structure and form clearly. In turn this helps them to develop their own abilities to create a structured stories or narratives.
•  A wide variety of films can be used, offering opportunities for comparisons and a more diverse range of material can be viewed over a relatively short time.

Watching and planning the use of moving image texts

It may seem obvious to stress the importance of watching a film before sharing it with a class, but it is vital preparation for maximising the use of the text. If you watch each film and spend some time reviewing its contents and your own responses to it, you will find yourself rewarded by a much greater appreciation of its potential for classroom work. Then you will be able to think more creatively about how you can use the text and how you envisage children engaging practically with it.

The aim of this teaching guide is to provide you with background information about how films work as texts and indicate successful approaches to studying and using films in the classroom. We introduce concepts central to the construction of meaning in film and then suggest approaches to teaching with them.We offer suggestions initiating creative and dramatic play, role-play and practical activity stimulated by film. 

We also indicate how work around film texts can link with curriculum-based work and enhance key areas of learning, such as those identified in the Primary Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and for Key Stage 1 in England. In particular:

Foundation	Key Stage 1
Personal, social and emotional development	PHSE
Communication, language and literacy	English
Knowledge and understanding of the world	Science, History and Geography
Creative development	Art, Music, Design and technology

Some points to remember when preparing use of a film text include:

• Watch the film to understand the storyline and identify key points to focus on. Familiarise yourself with the text so that you are comfortable with introducing a class to it.
• Watch the film more than once. Each time you will see new elements and may respond differently. If you are working across year groups it is a good idea to watch with other teachers who may respond in different ways - as you will find children do.
• Assess the content in terms of suitability for your children.
• Plan an introduction for the film. You can highlight points for the children to look out for to help focus their attention, introduce a simple version of the storyline and/or refer to other texts or experiences with which children are familiar.
• Identify particular scenes or shot sequences which you may wish to analyse closely with the children. If you are unfamiliar with working with moving image texts, 'rehearse' some questions to instigate discussion or practical activities following viewing.

Film, language and literacy

The development of children's language is fundamental to the development of all areas of learning. Their ability to express themselves clearly and confidently opens up a world of communication, creativity and imagination. Learning outcomes for cineliteracy are indicated in Look Again (p23-28). The learning progression acknowledges that certain outcomes will be tackled cyclically in increasing depth as children accumulate skills of cineliteracy from the Foundation stage onwards. The parallels between learning goals for the national literacy framework and cineliteracy include:

Learning goals for the Primary Literacy Framework and cineliteracy can be syncopated as follows:

Primary Framework for Literacy (samples)

Moving image learning outcomes

Children should be able to: Speaking FS: Use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events Y1: Retell stories, ordering events using story language Y2: Tell real and imagined stories using the conventions of familiar story language Listening and responding FS: Sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard by relevant comments, questions or actions Y1: Listen to tapes or video and express views about how a story or information has been presented Y2: Respond to presentations by describing characters, repeating some highlights and commenting constructively Understand and interpret texts FS: Show an understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of events, and openings Y1: Make predictions showing an understanding of ideas, events and characters Y2: Give some reasons why things happen or characters change

Children should be able to:  Identify and talk about structuring features such as music, changes in locations, settings, actors and presenters. Use key words to refer to elements of film language when describing events in a story Identify and talk about structuring features such as music, changes in locations, settings, actors and presenters Use key words to refer to elements of film language when explaining personal preferences Suggest reasons why different people may have different responses to the same text Identifying how a film introduces a character Use key words in talking about character types, as well as referring to clues such as dress, casting and performance Discuss how film can show characters and their behaviour Identify the use of shots to show character's viewpoints

Through watching, listening to, responding to and talking about film, children develop their skills in group discussion. Through drama and role play they can recreate and explore character, mood and atmosphere. Short films also provide accessible opportunities for engaging with and responding to texts, exploring their organisation and structure and creating and shaping them.

As well as these learning objectives relating to film language, other film learning objectives to develop children's ability to analyse film texts include:

Producers and audiences

Use credits, DVD covers and posters to identify titles and actors' names, likely audience category, and theme or genre;

Identify broad categories of intended audience, eg 'this is for little children', and give reasons;

Identify common features between film/video/TV (FVT), book and game versions of generic texts, eg myth, fairy tale, space adventure etc.

Messages and values

Identify and talk about different levels of 'realism', eg naturalistic drama vs cartoon animation;

Use key words to refer to elements of film language when explaining personal responses and preferences;

Identify devices such as flashback, dream sequences, exaggeration - discuss why they are needed and how they are conveyed.

In addition they should be able to:

Use a DVD player to find and repeat short sequences of FVT to support analysis and discussion.

Work co-operatively with others to discuss or make moving image sequences;

Use ICT software to sequence still or moving images to tell story or convey information;

Transfer a narrative sequence from one medium to another, eg poem to film/photo story; film sequences to written text or cartoon strip;

Add music or commentary to a moving image sequence.