Lesson 1

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Compare and contrast the affordances of two versions of the transmedia text (i.e., printed text vs narrative film) in contributing to the meaning-making potential of the modes they support.

Use the media strategies (mood, intimacy, music and involvement) and the appropriate metalanguage to describe the effective use of the semiotic modes (visual, gestural, spatial and audio) in a narrative film.

INTRODUCTION
(10 mins)

Tuning-in Activity

Distribute blank paper to the students and get them to draw how they think the main character, Auggie, might look like based on the description given by his sister, Via, in the excerpt.

Key questions:

What are the words/phrases that helped guide your decision to draw certain features of Auggie?
Was it easy or difficult to draw Auggie based on the descriptions given? (Expected responses: Easy – very vivid descriptions; Difficult – drawings are two-dimensional, so for certain descriptions like "waxy appearance", it is difficult to represent them on paper)
What then, could help you to better visualize how Auggie looks like? (Expected responses: Photos, videos)

Play this short featurette of Auggie from the film "Wonder" for the students. Now is the time for them to sit back, relax and enjoy...

Key questions:

What are the similarities and differences between viewing the character’s appearance and traits through the printed text (the excerpt) and the film version (the short segment)?
- Collate and organise the students' responses into a mindmap on Popplet

Flash this excerpt from the printed text on the screen:
His head is pinched in on the sides where the ears should be, like someone used giant pliers and crushed the middle part of his face. He doesn’t have cheekbones. There are deep creases running down both sides of his nose to his mouth, which gives him a waxy appearance. Sometimes people assume he’s been burned in a fire; his features look like they’ve been melted, like drippings on the side of a candle. Several surgeries to correct his lip have left a few scars around his mouth, the most noticeable one being a jagged gash running from the middle of his upper lip to his nose. His teeth are small and splay out.

DEVELOPMENT
(40 mins)

INTRODUCTION TO NARRATIVE FILMS

Use the slides provided to:

Introduce the genre of a narrative film to the students
Recap the semiotic modes with the students
Model the process of using the media strategies of mood, intimacy, music and involvement to view a narrative film text critically

Before playing this short segment from the film "Wonder", ensure that the students remember to think about the media strategies namely, mood, intimacy, music and involvement, as they view the video.

Key questions: (Remember to gather the students' responses before sharing our suggested response! And don't forget to emphasise that there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, as long as they are able to justify their response.)

What colours were prominently used? What might these colours signify?
What kind of camera shots were used? Why do you think these camera shots were chosen?
What kind of music or sound effects were used? Do you think the music chosen ties in well with the visual images? Why or why not?
Identify the gaze that was present in the film and suggest a reason for it.

click here to access the lesson slides!

Document

CLOSURE
(10 mins)

Think-Pair-Share

Students will first think about these questions independently and pen down their thoughts. Then, they will share their opinions with their partners, synthesize their views and post their thoughts on the class Padlet using iPads.

Key questions:

Why do you think the producers created the movie “Wonder”? Isn’t the printed text (book) good enough?
Reflect on the affordances and limitations of each of the printed text and the narrative film version.

Rationale

Lesson 1

Compare and contrast the affordances of two versions of the transmedia text (i.e., printed text vs narrative film) in contributing to the meaning-making potential of the modes they support.

​

Use the media strategies (mood, intimacy, music and involvement) and the appropriate metalanguage to describe the effective use of the semiotic modes (visual, gestural, spatial and audio) in a narrative film.​

INTRODUCTION (10 mins)

Tuning-in Activity

​

Distribute blank paper to the students and get them to draw how they think the main character, Auggie, might look like based on the description given by his sister, Via, in the excerpt.

​

Key questions:

What are the words/phrases that helped guide your decision to draw certain features of Auggie?

Was it easy or difficult to draw Auggie based on the descriptions given? (Expected responses: Easy – very vivid descriptions; Difficult – drawings are two-dimensional, so for certain descriptions like "waxy appearance", it is difficult to represent them on paper)

What then, could help you to better visualize how Auggie looks like? (Expected responses: Photos, videos)

​

Play this short featurette of Auggie from the film "Wonder" for the students. Now is the time for them to sit back, relax and enjoy...

​

​

Key questions:

What are the similarities and differences between viewing the character’s appearance and traits through the printed text (the excerpt) and the film version (the short segment)?

​Collate and organise the students' responses into a mindmap​​ on Popplet

DEVELOPMENT (40 mins)

INTRODUCTION TO NARRATIVE FILMS Use the slides provided to:

Introduce the genre of a narrative film to the students

Recap the semiotic modes with the students

Model the process of using the media strategies of mood, intimacy, music and involvement to view a narrative film text critically

Before playing this short segment from the film "Wonder", ensure that the students remember to think about the media strategies namely, mood, intimacy, music and involvement, as they view the video.

​

​

Key questions: (Remember to gather the students' responses before sharing our suggested response! And don't forget to emphasise that there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, as long as they are able to justify their response.)

What colours were prominently used? What might these colours signify?

What kind of camera shots were used? Why do you think these camera shots were chosen?

What kind of music or sound effects were used? Do you think the music chosen ties in well with the visual images? Why or why not?

Identify the gaze that was present in the film and suggest a reason for it.

click here to access the lesson slides!

CLOSURE (10 mins)

Think-Pair-Share Students will first think about these questions independently and pen down their thoughts. Then, they will share their opinions with their partners, synthesize their views and post their thoughts on the class Padlet using iPads.

​

Key questions:

Why do you think the producers created the movie “Wonder”? Isn’t the printed text (book) good enough?

Reflect on the affordances and limitations of each of the printed text and the narrative film version.

​

Use the media strategies (mood, intimacy, music and involvement) and the appropriate metalanguage to describe the effective use of the semiotic modes (visual, gestural, spatial and audio) in a narrative film.

INTRODUCTION
(10 mins)

Collate and organise the students' responses into a mindmap on Popplet

DEVELOPMENT
(40 mins)

INTRODUCTION TO NARRATIVE FILMS

Use the slides provided to:

CLOSURE
(10 mins)

Think-Pair-Share

Students will first think about these questions independently and pen down their thoughts. Then, they will share their opinions with their partners, synthesize their views and post their thoughts on the class Padlet using iPads.