Lesson plan:

About mind maps

Mind mapping is a powerful, creative, thinking tool. A mind map is a way of organising ideas seen or heard in a film, TV program, lecture or class lesson. Or it can be used to organise your own thoughts. Rather than writing the ideas in a list, the mind map organises the ideas as an image just as ideas/concepts are stored in the brain. Our brains are relational - they organise ideas according to the relationships or associations between them. A mind map is easy and fun to create and easy to remember because it is an image rather than a list of words.

The basic structure of a mind map is:

The mind maps illustrated here have been created on computer to assist reading online but they are more effective and much quicker to create if hand drawn.


Previewing

Discuss with students the idea of a mind map, perhaps using some examples from Buzan's books. Give each student a blank sheet of paper and colored pens and pencils to draw their own mind map from scratch. Tell students they are going to think about smells!

Start by asking students to draw a smell shape in the middle of the sheet (about 4cm x 4cm). They then write the senses underneath their drawing. Ask them to draw lines extending from the drawing with each line long enough to hold one word. On each line students write something they know about their senses. This is the start of a mind map. Students can extend the branches with associated words and images.

Advise the students that after viewing Skunkman they will discuss how the film maker tells the story and they will create a mind map that shows the main topics raised in the program.

View The Skunkman

After viewing, discuss with students the story and the film techniques used to tell the story.

Discuss the film techniques used.
Bronson comments that smell is the most powerful of our five senses. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we don't yet have smellavision! How does the film maker tell the viewer that the smells in the show are awful?

View again the scene where the Gribble Gang is playing their music. How do the actors indicate to the viewer that the music is very loud?

The camera is used effectively to show the power of Skunkman. View again the scene where Skunkman interrupts the Gribble's music practice. Discuss why the director chose to film Skunkman from a low angle shot (makes him look bigger, more powerful). Discuss why the Gribble Gang is shown in a mid shot (rather than long shot or close up) after they run from the room (the camera focuses on their reactions).

The film has a number of supers (supertitles) like Pooh! Reek! Whiffo. Supers are common in comedy films about superheroes. They add a cartoon-like look to the show eg Batman and Robin. Discuss what supers add to the show.

Create mind maps

Give students another A4 sheet each. Have them draw an image in the middle of their sheets. The image should represent the program eg a drawing of Skunkman, a stink bomb, or a large S for Skunkman. The image should be colorful to be effective. Students then draw six short thick lines from the central image. Ask students to identify the six topics the film presented and write one topic on each line. Each theme or topic has a different color line and text.

Work in groups

In groups of 3-4, students extend their maps with additional lines each containing one word and/or image that adds related ideas to the main topics. Or they might add questions raised by the topics.

The final mind map should provide a good summary of the TV program for each student. Here is a sample mind map for Skunkman. 

Research a topic

Students reform into groups. They might work in their previous groups or could form new groups. Some students might work in pairs. Students choose one of the six topics to research. The aspects of the topic to be investigated have been identified in their mind maps. They might then plan their research with a mind map so extending the topic for investigation.

Present findings to class

Each group can make notes on their research then present an oral report to the class. Their report will be more effective if the students can write an electronic slide show to go with it. Students may find the instructions for creating an effective slide show a useful guide. Alternatively, students could presents their findings as a mind map.

Publish findings

Students can select the best two reports to publish in the school newsletter or on the school's web site. Their Powerpoint slide shows can also be uploaded to the web site