TV
Tie Ins Teaching Kit
TV Tie In Teaching Kit |
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Lesson Plan: What are TV Tie-Ins? While many films and some TV programs are made from existing books, many books are also written as tie-ins after the film or television series script has been written and produced. These books are called TV Tie-Ins, as they ‘tie-in’ with the existing story line, characters and setting of the show. TV Tie-Ins have been used since the early 1960s. Children and adult readers are often attracted to these books, particularly if they enjoyed the original movie or television program and could relate to the characters. Reluctant Readers From a teacher’s perspective, film can aid literacy and enhance a student’s understanding and enjoyment of the written text. Watching the movie or television program, and completing relevant activities, allows students to develop their visual literacy skills. With use of the TV Tie-Ins students are able to visualise the characters from the screen. This may assist in their understanding of the written text and encourage reluctant readers, as they are able to find out more about the characters or re-live a favourite television series through the associated books. Because tie-in books are usually much closer to the original dramatic text than perhaps an adaptation of a book into a film or TV program, they are also an invaluable literacy resource for less skilled readers. As many teachers know, 'beginner' and 'at risk' readers process print text more comfortably when they have a prior knowledge of the story structure and of the concepts they will meet in the text. Improving Understanding of the Story A visual text with a tie-in book offers students the opportunity to understand and appreciate the plot, characters, theme and cultural perspectives of a story through the original television version before moving on to the now familiar story structure in the book version. As well as encouraging students to read, TV tie-in books also offer classroom opportunities for students to explore texts through comparing and analysing the original television version and its interpretation by an author. Exploring the Translation from Film to Text A key aspect to explore is how the author translates visual and audio features which communicate essential story information from a television scene into print. How is information about the characters, setting and dialogue conveyed in print form? After interviews and discussions have been held with authors who have written text tie-ins, more information on this process will be added during 2004. Visual literacy and Information Communication Technologies Kahootz, a software package and collaborative online community developed by The Australian Children’s Television Foundation, allows you to use three-dimensional worlds and objects to create your own animations. Kahootz allows students to demonstrate their visual literacy skills by creating their own stories, inventions and animations. The following examples demonstrate how Kahootz has been used at Sunbury Downs Secondary College in Victoria. Students watched a movie and then recreated part of it in Kahootz. This is slightly different to TV Tie-Ins, however it outlines how Kahootz can be used with students after viewing a movie to demonstrate their comprehension of the movie and thus their visual literacy skills. There are two Kahootz examples below. If you have the Kahootz software you can download the Xpression.
Related Lesson Plans From
TV to Book, years 5-8
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