Lesson plan:

Section 1.1: Introducing the Dogstar series

Discussing

Encourage students to visit and explore the Dogstar website: http://www.dogstar.tv

1. Use an interactive whiteboard (or data projector connected to a computer with web access) to locate and view Clip 1: Dogstar promo on the website. Watch the promo several times to help facilitate a class discussion related to the questions that follow.
   
   
2. Alternatively, provide opportunities for students to work with a partner to access the website and to use Worksheet 1: Dogstar website to respond to these questions:
   
   -What is the Dogstar series about?
   -Who are the characters in the series?
   -What messages might be found within the series?
   -What humour is evident in the promo? Consider the images and the soundtrack? Does the humour rely on one more than the other? Give examples to support your ideas.
   -What type of voice is used in the narration?
   -What is the purpose of the promo? Does it achieve this goal successfully? Why or why not?
   
   
3. In pairs, have students visit the USI News section of the Dogstar website to complete Worksheet 2: USI News:
   
   - What are the screening times for Dogstar in your area?
   - Where throughout the world is Dogstar screening? Locate each place on a map. Find out what language is spoken in that country.
   - What nominations for awards are listed for Dogstar? Has the series won any awards?
   - What has been released by Penguin (Australia) and (Puffin (UK) to support Dogstar?

 Doing

1. Ask each student to view the Character Descriptions section of the website to assist them to complete the character quiz provided on Worksheet 3: Character quiz or use the questions to conduct a class quiz.
   
   
2. Encourage students to explore the website further by becoming a member of the Dogstar Club, playing the Dogstar games and colouring and adding text to the storyboard sheets.
   
   
3. Students could imagine that they are a character from Dogstar and play Hot-seat roleplay. This activity allows students to select a character that they associate with. They draw from the series actual facts about the character or role play (embellish) on what they feel the character could be like or could do.
   
   
4. Additionally, students could complete Worksheet 4: Television Hall of Fame – Best character nomination form.

Books, films and TV programs can be categorised into genres. Genres are types or groups of films or TV programs that have similar form or filmic techniques or conventions such as time and place (settings), plot, key narrative events, character types, props, content, atmosphere and mood, recurring icons or motifs and themes. It is possible for films, TV programs and books to ‘fit’ several genres.

 Discussing

1. Have students locate the news clips on the Dogstar website and view each clip.
   Ask students:
   - What is each clip about?
   - What do you think is the purpose of each clip?
   
   
2. As a class, view Clip 2: Dogstar news clips on the website. Discuss each clip and complete Worksheet 5: Website news clips and Worksheet 6: Website news clips to guide the discussion.

A news broadcast has a particular genre or style. As a class, discuss the characteristics that indicate that these clips are using a news broadcast style. Use the board or large sheets of paper to list key characteristics of clips, for example, a person who is the anchor interviews another person.

Record a TV news report and screen it for students to examine. Alternatively, students might visit the ABC website http://www.abc.net.au/news/  and select ‘Latest News’ to examine an online news report.

NB: In both cases the content will need to be previewed by the teacher.

3. Following the screening of the TV or online news report, discuss the following as a class and complete Worksheet 7: TV news:

-How does the news start?
- What is the role of the interviewer or anchor?
- What does the anchor look like?
- What does the anchor sound like?
- How does the anchor behave?
- What messages are conveyed by the appearance and sound of the anchor?
- Are other people involved onscreen in presenting the news? What are their roles?
- Is music used during the news broadcast? When and for what purpose?
- What types of visual images are used? Are they still or moving images?
- What types of news sets are used?

 Doing

1. Have students visit the BBC website to practice news reading skills by engaging with an online game that allows you to alter the speed of a teleprompter, found at:
   www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/presspack/gamesroom/newsreader.shtml

2. Students could role play as an anchor or a news reporter in the field. In character, they could be invited to write a news report about a Dogstar character or an imaginary character from a book they have read. They should use Worksheet 8: Quest story structure to develop their report.

3. Using Kahootz 3, 3-D animation software program, create an Xpression of a news report. The news report will need to be scripted and imported as a sound file, the set can be constructed from the Kahootz worlds and objects. Students could upload their completed expression/movie to the web (for example, YouTube, TeacherTube)

 Discussing

1. Provide opportunities for pairs of students to visit the Planetman section of the website and view Clip 3: Planetman ‘trailer’. As a class, discuss the following questions. As a result of the discussion have students complete Worksheet 9: Planetman trailer.
   
   -What do you see?  What do you hear?
   -What genre do you think these ‘trailers’ might be?  Why do you think that? 
   -Give examples of other moving images you have seen that are similar in some way?  Where did you see them?
   -What was the purpose of them?
   - What is an advertisement?
   - Who usually produces advertisements?
   - Why are they produced? What is the purpose of an advertisement?
   - Why do you think these have been included on the website?
   - What do you think children need to learn about advertisements? Why?

 Doing

1. To design an action hero figurine:

 Have students collect advertisements from newspapers, magazines or the internet for as many different action hero figurines as possible. Make sure that they are both male and female characters and/or animal/electronic.

If possible, build a display of actual action figures that students bring in from home.

As a class, discuss and list the characteristics of figurine design:
Shape, size, proportion, colour, costume, hair, face, expression, body flexibility, sound, among other characteristics.

List the similarities and the differences between each.

Ask students to imagine their own action hero figurine. Have them draw this design on paper or on the computer from different angles of view: front, back, R-side, L-side.

As an extension, have students:

- Build the figurine from plasticine, modeling clay or paper mache
- Create a costume from found materials to wear in a parade of action heroes
- Design a comic strip of six (6) frames for their action hero
- Create a diorama where the action hero figurine is in action
- Design and construct the packaging and advertising poster for the action hero figurine
- Create a MySpace page for your action figurine

2. Using Kahootz 3, 3-D animation software program, create a super hero and an action trailer expression. The super hero and trailer can be designed and constructed from the worlds and objects within Kahootz 3. Students could upload their completed Xpression/movie to the web (for example, YouTube, TeacherTube)

 Discussing

1. As a class, brainstorm TV program and film titles and create a large list of these. In pairs, have students group these titles to create genre categories, for example, documentary, romance, drama. Encourage diverse responses, for example, animals, magic, scary, documentary, news, reality TV, comedy, quiz shows, soapies, science fiction. As a clue, students may find it helpful to think about how video or DVD stores use categories to organise films.
   
   
2. As a class, use an interactive whiteboard to visit the Dogstar website: http://www.dogstar.tv/Default_Fversion.html. Listen to Clip 1: Dogstar promo and read the story outline, then list the clues it provides about the genre of this series. Draw upon students’ understandings based upon this list to develop a class definition of science fiction. Ask students to list the science fiction TV programs or films they have viewed. In pairs, have students complete Worksheet 10: Science fiction genre to record understandings about the science fiction genre.
   
   
3. View Dogstar Episode 1: A Dog’s Tale. As a class, discuss what students find out about the series, its characters, messages and genre in this episode. Use the episode synopsis and the key discussion questions (reproduced below) from the Dogstar Study Guide provided by the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) to guide the discussion. Available from: http://www.metromagazine.com.au/studyguides/issues.asp?whichpage=2&pagesize=20

Doing

1. Designing a space craft: invite students to find a photo/drawing/design for the Dogstar space craft. Ask students to observe its shape, color, size, features and dimensions and to evaluate how suitable it was to transport so many dogs.
   
   Invite students to view examples of Kahootz 3 Xpressions referring to ‘space’. Discuss how the designs are made. Invite them to sketch their own designs for a space craft. This space craft could be for groups of animals, birds or fish that they feel should be saved. Talk about the parts of the space craft that are needed, for example, rockets, nose, aerials, windows, propellers, etc. Have students suggest what basic shapes these may be and how they would fit together.
   
   Using Kahootz 3, 3-D animation software program, design a space craft to carry a number of ‘animals’ across the galaxy.
   
   
2. As an extension:
   
   - Build the space craft in Lego blocks (or similar)
   - In pairs, students construct the space craft in paper mache
   - Design and construct a robot with found materials

 Discussing

1. While Dogstar fits the genre of science-fiction, it can also be described as TV comedy. As a class, view Episode 2: Obedience School and Episode 3: Fetch. In pairs, have students share aspects of the episodes they found humorous. Ask them to list these and share them with the class.
   
   
2. Humour, like drama, arises from conflict, that is, a clash occurs between opposing goals. The resulting tension between ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ often offers opportunities for humour, for example, the plot or storyline might send up unattractive or evil qualities of baddies such as greed, dishonesty or selfishness. As a class, list and discuss contrasting characteristics between ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ evident in Dogstar Episode 2: Obedience School and Dogstar Episode 3: Fetch.
   
   
3. In an animated series caricature can also be used to create humorous images. Caricature relies upon outlandish stereotypes and exaggerated appearances, where the qualities of a person or character are exaggerated for humorous effect. List humorous examples from the episodes viewed and establish what elements make them funny, for example, contrasts between characters, caricature, a mis-match between visual images and dialogue. Discuss whether the humour is reliant upon rhythm and timing or is it another technique that makes the viewer laugh?

 Doing

Drawing a caricature:

1. View Dogstar Episode 4: Pedigree. Encourage students to use Worksheet 11: Goodies and baddies to identify stereotypical physical characteristics of ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ portrayed on TV, film and the media (advertising, newspapers, magazines, comic books, games).
   
   
2. Students are invited to pair with another student and draw the face of the other as a simple line drawing. Students then trace another two other versions of this drawing in pencil. Ask students to consider what they need to do to one of the drawings to enhance the person as a bad character (for example, exaggerate the nose, elongate the neck, narrow the eyes, darken the hair colour, introduce a scare, etc). Design and create this drawing as a caricature of a ‘baddie’.
   
   
3. Consider the second drawing and what is needed to convert this image to a ‘goodie’ caricature (wider eyes, curly hair, wide smile, rounded face, small nose, etc).
   
   
4. When all three drawings are complete, frame them in a row with the actual representation of the person in the middle, to the left the ‘baddie’ caricature, and to the right the ‘goodie’ caricature.

Discussing

1. The concept of satire might be introduced to older or more able students by looking at caricatures in newspaper or magazine cartoons. Satire can be used to send something up for a serious purpose. Ask students to examine newspapers or magazines for examples where cartoonists ridicule a subject's personality traits, physical features or situations in which they are involved.
   
   
2. As a class, discuss how satire may be used to ‘send something up’ through:
   
   - parody - funny exaggeration
   - irony - when superficial praise highlights or reveals faults
   - sarcasm - bitter criticism.
   
   
3. View Dogstar Episode 4: Pedigree again. Have students identify when satire makes viewers laugh. Discuss:
   
   -Who are the characters in Dogstar Episode 4: Pedigree?
   -How is satire used in each case? Encourage students to explain whether examples use parody, irony or sarcasm.
   - What do you think is the purpose of satire in each case? Is there a serious point or issue the satire is attempting to make viewers think about? If so, what is it?

 Doing

1. Ask each student to design and create a cartoon strip or storyboard to show a possible opening scene for the next episode of Dogstar. Use Worksheet 12: Storyboard to develop the design. Encourage students to use what they know about characters, issues explored by the series and their knowledge of humour, caricature and satire.
   
   
2. Share and discuss students’ ideas, then view Dogstar Episode 5: Dogfight to compare students’ ideas with those explored in the previous episode.