Learning Area: The Arts

This clip collection is designed to help students understand and practice respectful communication, focusing on concepts of consent, bodily autonomy and personal boundaries. Using clips from Australian children’s television content, students work through activities that build their awareness of how to ask for, give, and deny permission.

Join us for Script a Smile: Comedy Writing Virtual Workshop - an interactive, fun-filled session where you’ll learn how to create humourous stories and characters that will have everyone giggling. Whether you’re into slapstick jokes, wordplay, or punchlines, we’ll show you how to turn your wild ideas into punchy comedy scripts.

This learning resource was developed to support primary teachers and students intending to view the film. Developed for Years 3 to 6, the resource provides sequenced learning tasks suitable for a whole-class film study. These English tasks build students’ knowledge of viewing processes, including planning, monitoring, reflecting and reviewing. Behind-the-scenes materials and promotional materials are incorporated to enhance student engagement and understanding.

Developed for Years 5 to 8, this resource provides sequenced learning tasks suitable for a whole-class film study. Alternatively, teachers can select individual tasks to complement and extend a class or cohort film screening. These English tasks build students’ knowledge of viewing processes, including planning, monitoring, reflecting and reviewing. Behind-the-scenes materials and promotional materials are incorporated for student engagement and understanding.  

This resource provides a series of curated, age-appropriate screen stories, with a discussion point and creative response for students in Foundation to Year 10. Invite culture leaders and knowledge holders featured in these screen texts into the classroom for NAIDOC and beyond – to celebrate the resilience, generosity, creativity, and enduring strength of the oldest living culture in the world.  

This learning resource was designed for secondary English and/or Media Arts students in Years 7 and 8. Crazy Fun Park is rated PG — parental guidance is recommended for viewers under the age of 15. The resource was created with self-directed and reflective learning in mind — prompts can be used in the classroom or given to students as flipped learning activities, allowing them to reflect and prepare for broader class conversations.

This learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 7 to 10 to explore the themes in First Day, including gender identity, inclusivity, allyship and leadership. Students will also learn about and reflect on the importance of diverse representation on screen. Read more about the series in the About First Day section.

The Kangaroo Beach Series 2 learning resource is a classroom-based water safety education tool for Foundation – Year 2 students and teachers. The resource contains eight lesson plans to use alongside school swimming lessons, as part of class inquiries into health and safety, or to address Health and Physical Education curriculum content in an engaging way. Lesson plans correspond to key learning areas in the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework, and each lesson:

• Identifies a relevant Kangaroo Beach episode and water safety message.
• Links to the relevant Framework skills.
• Lists conceptual vocabulary for teachers to clarify with children as needed, depending on the English language skills of their student cohort.
• Provides comprehension questions with corresponding time stamps.
• Includes a choice of three different follow-up activities, related to the themes and target skills.

This learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 3 to 6 to explore the documentary television series Built to Survive in the classroom and beyond.

NAIDOC week is an opportunity to highlight First Nations perspectives in the classroom. In 2023, the NAIDOC Week theme is For Our Elders. We acknowledge the continued achievements, contributions, and knowledges of Elders in our communities.

We are proud to present these engaging learning tasks for students in F-10. The leading knowledge holders who feature on our screens are to be shared for NAIDOC and beyond – to celebrate our Elders.

The PM’s Daughter is a 10-part live action series set in Canberra, the heartland of Australian politics, produced by Fremantle for the ABC. It tells the story of Catalina Parkes Pérez, a teenager who’s like any other, but with one difference: her mother is the new Prime Minister of Australia.
The primary and lower secondary school resource aligns with Civics and Citizenship for students in Years 5-6 and Years 7-8. The secondary school teaching toolkit is designed for Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), Civics and Citizenship, English and/or Media Arts students in Years 7-10.
The resource can be used flexibly in the classroom, with activities and opportunities for discussion giving students the opportunity to engage with content under the themes of effective campaigning, issues that matter, and the influence of media on audiences. The learning prompts developed for each episode directly link to students’ real-world context on both a local and global scale and champions student voice, agency, and youth leadership – citizenship in action.
The resources consist of activities which utilise content from the series coupled with active student participation, building knowledge of our democratic processes and civic responsibilities with a strong focus on developing media literacy and critical thinking skills. This resource can be used as standalone modules or presented as a unit of work. The lessons are outlined in this resource as well as in the PDF screen sequences; multi-modal slideshows with clips, images, and prompts designed to be a student facing teaching aid in the classroom.

The storyboards created in the planning for Round the Twist were integral as production tools for the wacky and fun moments from the series. Storyboards use visuals to effectively communicate ideas during the filmmaking process, producing a blueprint for cast and crew ahead of shooting scenes. VFX and SFX require planning and creative problem solving.

This resource features interviews with Dennis Nicholson, VFX Supervisor for Round the Twist Series 3 & 4. Dennis explains the original hand-drawn storyboards from the series in association with the completed television series. This resource includes tips and tricks to create your own VFX in the classroom.

Suitable for Years 3-8, this co-created learning resource introduces students to digital music production as a contemporary mode of composition. The music making process for Red Dirt Riders is explored with reference to the elements of music, planning tools to meet a creative brief, and the importance of listening to our creative instincts to make the best beats.

The student-facing resource can be either set as an independent task or delivered as a sequence of class activities. The videos are designed for students to gain knowledge in music theory and process, with video tutorials, a guided digital drawing workshop and access to downloadable audio and video files, students are empowered to create their own digital music productions. 

This resource covers all four of the interrelated strands as outlined in the Music structure in the Australian Curriculum:

• Exploring and responding 
• Developing practices and skills 
• Creating and making 
• Presenting and performing

This resource was co-created with NEO-Learning and the Big hART Digital Lab.

Why and how do we share screen stories about our world? What story would you like to share – and how will you tell it?

In this virtual workshop, ACTF and ACMI Education guide students in responding to screen stories about our world. Suitable for Foundation to Year 2 this engaging workshop explores storytelling, audience, and purpose where students will learn why and how we use screen content to share stories about our world.

Created by the ACTF in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum, this learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 3 to 6 to explore the award-winning animated television series The Deep in the classroom and beyond. 

Presented by ACTF and ACMI, this free virtual workshop explores storytelling in the My Place picture book and children’s TV series.

Meet the characters in Eddie’s Lil’ Homies and learn how they navigate the fun and challenges of friendship. Each character brings unique skills and perspectives to the playground: embracing and respecting these differences makes the gang stronger!

Students in Foundation to Year 2 are invited to join the ACTF, ACMI and AFL legend Eddie Betts in this engaging virtual workshop. Eddie will discuss the characters in the new children’s series Eddie’s Lil’ Homies, and what we can learn from their interactions. Students will apply their learning by designing a fictional character based on their qualities and skills. Follow-up activities for the classroom will also be provided to teachers.

Join ACTF and ACMI in an engaging live virtual workshop, and extended online resource exploring digital futures and current issues as we move towards a world AI integration.

Students in years 6 - 9 are invited to learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI), in the futuristic genre of speculative fiction with Australian Script Producer Jessica Paine for a behind-the-scenes experience of The PM’s Daughter Series 2.

Students will be led through relevant clips, meet industry professionals, and have access to post-production script resources, exploring themes of ethics in technology, AI, and speculative fiction. 

Please print Case Study 1 Script to use for an activity during the workshop. 

Ethical and Responsible AI links: 

• Australia’s Ethical AI Principals – Australian Government 
• Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – UNESCO
• What is responsible Artificial Intelligence? – Gradient Institute 

Novel and Film Comparison
Through this unit of work, students will examine the visual and printed texts of Paper Planes. The book is based on the motion picture screenplay Paper Planes. The major themes include relationships, loss, connectedness, friendship, independence and competition. Suitable for grades 5-8, teachers are advised to select from the following activities those that are best suited to cater for the age group they are teaching and to provide appropriate activities for group work that will support and extend students.

Fold’n’Fly: The Circling Clive
"The Circling Clive" is a paper plane design that makes its on-screen debut as one of character Dylan's original creations in the Australian feature film Paper Planes.
Originally created by THE PAPER PILOTS, this Fold 'n' Fly PDF provides students with the information they requite to recreate the original Clive design.

Activity Suggestions:
Photocopy the template (to scale) and instruct students to recreate Clive.
Explore with the class how simple changes to the original design may impact on the plane's aerodynamics.
After recreating Clive, ask students to design their own paper plane.
Host a class or school paper plane competition using Clive and/or students' original designs.
Watch the Paper Planes film and explore Dylan's creative and scientific journey.

Media representations portray people, places and ideas; media literate students understand how and why these representations are constructed. Join the ACTF and ACMI Education for an interactive virtual workshop examining representations and points of view in children’s television. Students will view and respond to short clips drawn from children’s television programs while critically reflecting on their roles as audience members and content creators. Teachers may choose to print copies of our worksheet before viewing this virtual workshop with students. Our hosts indicate when to pause the video to complete learning tasks about media representations.

Explore the award-winning television series Round the Twist and learn the importance of storyboarding when creating VFX (visual effects) and SFX (special effect).

The storyboards for Round the Twist were integral in the production of all the wacky and fun moments in the beloved series. Storyboards use visuals to effectively communicate ideas during the filmmaking process, producing a blueprint for cast and crew ahead of shooting scenes. VFX and SFX take a lot of planning and creative problem solving.

This virtual workshop features interviews with Dennis Nicholson, VFX Supervisor for Round the Twist Series 3 & 4 who unpacks the original hand-drawn storyboards from the series.

The resource also includes tips and tricks to create your own VFX in the classroom. The accompanying resource with student activities can be found here: https://education.actf.com.au/education/resources/teaching-resource/storyboarding-vfx-and-sfx

Join ACTF, ACMI Education, Australian Maritime Museum and Producer, Avrill Stark and Creator and Art Director, James Brouwer to learn all about character and creature design in the award-winning animated television series The Deep. Combining ocean science knowledge with imagination and creativity, this session unpacks the pre-production process of designing and developing the entertaining characters and fantastical creatures from The Deep.

The accompany Character and Creature Design resource with student activities can be found here: https://actf.com.au/character-and-creature-design

Since its publication over 30 years ago, Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins’ picture book My Place has been an unwavering favourite in Australian classrooms and homes. The My Place television series adapts this classic book into 26 episodes of children’s television.

Both on the page and on screen, My Place tells the story of an Australian community through the eyes of the diverse children who lived there over time, highlighting the ways that people and places shape our personal, local and national histories. 

Hosted by the ACTF and ACMI Education, this virtual learning event for 2023 Book Week gives students the chance to learn from award-winning author, Nadia Wheatley. Nadia will discuss the screen adaptation of My Place and share her own approaches to storytelling and writing. Students will complete a short writing task and have a chance to ask Nadia their questions.

Drawing on a range of Australian children’s television programs, this resource builds students’ understanding of the reasons we create and view screen stories– to entertain, to teach, and to communicate ideas, feelings, and culture. Students explore the different ways in which screen stories can be told and reflect on their responses as audience members.

Working either independently, in pairs or as a class with teacher support, this resource guides Year 5 and 6 students in examining representations and points of view in children’s television. Students will learn from industry experts, then view and respond to short clips drawn from children’s television programs. The short learning tasks encourage students to critically reflect on their roles as audience members and content creators.

Screen stories provide access to innovative ideas, validate our identities and shape our characters. Before these stories make it to our screens, they are created through the art of story building and screening. This video sequence resource takes you behind the scenes with MaveriX creators, Rachel Clements, Sam Meikle and Isaac Elliot to learn about the process of bringing a story to life on screen.  

This learning resource has been developed to support students and teachers in Years 9 to 12 to explore the Australian television series More Than This in the classroom and beyond. 

How is colour used to build the story? How does light create mood? How do animators use colour and light together to create rich screen content we want to watch?

Red Dirt Riders is a 5-part factual program for primary-aged students, showcasing Ngarluma Ngurra in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region. The series follows the riders as they venture out on their freedom machines to visit sites of significance on Country. The young adventurers embark on rides to learn about the history of place from the people who remember – learning directly from living memory and oral histories.

Developed for students in Years 3-6, this resource aligns with English, History and Social Science (HASS) and Media Arts content in the Australian Curriculum. It also builds knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. The resource contains a lesson for each of the five episodes, which can be used as standalone modules or presented as a unit of work. Each lesson is arranged as a student-facing multi-modal slideshow (see ‘Screen Sequences’ below) with clips, sound files, images, prompts and printable worksheets. Slideshow content is elaborated on, and curriculum links provided, in a PDF document for teachers. This resource champions First Nations perspectives, inviting students across the nation to experience the rich and layered histories of the Pilbara.

Screen Sequences:

1. The Marsh 
2. Bajinhurrba
3. Weymul
4. Bogged
5. Harding Dam

Students and teachers, go behind the scenes of the ground-breaking Australian series First Day in our Series 2 Webinar. A 2021 winner in the International Emmy Kids Awards, First Day tells the story of Hannah, a transgender girl starting high school.

Our panel for webinar were lead actor Evie Macdonald, producer Kirsty Stark and writer/director Julie Kalceff. Our guests discuss authentic storytelling in screen stories, with a focus on diverse representations, finding your audience, and character and story development.

Hosted by ACMI Education and the ACTF, the webinar provides a unique opportunity for students to engage with award-winning industry professionals on topics relevant to both English and Media Arts curriculum content.

Join the ACTF and ACMI as we go behind the scenes with MaveriX creators, Rachel Clements, Sam Meikle and Isaac Elliot to learn about the process of bringing a story to life on screen. Screen stories provide access to innovative ideas, validate our identities and shape our characters. Before these stories make it to our screens, they are created through the art of scriptwriting. Suitable for Years 5 - 8 this virtual workshop supports teachers in narrative units of work as it explores story, setting and character as well as the language structures and features of scriptwriting.

How is colour used to build the story? How does light create mood? How do animators use colour and light together to create rich screen content we want to watch?

The use of lighting and colour in television has the power to influence the audience’s mood. In this virtual workshop, early years students are introduced to the use of light and colour in Australian Children’s Television Foundation content to learn about how these elements impact the mood of the story.

In our free virtual workshop, students discover the importance of light and colour from animated episodes that brighten our world! Thinking of these two elements as tools students in Foundation – Year 2 consider the decisions that were made to create stories that build happy, scary, funny, or sad moments.

Why is sound so important in television and film? How does sound help bring audiences into a screen world? What is the workflow followed by screen professionals when creating, capturing and editing sound for a production? We answer these questions and more in this video sequence resource.

Australian primary students had the unique opportunity to be part of a live Q&A webinar with Hardball cast members: Semisi Cheekam (Mikey); Reannah Hamdan (Salwa); Logan Reberger (Jerry) and Erin Choy (Tiffany). 

In And Then Something Changed, eight-year old Louis wakes up to what he thinks is going to be just another normal school day, but something has changed. Gone are the motorised backpacks, electric stairs, self-dressing clothes and elevating floors that Louis relies on. In this film we discover what it’s like to be a child with Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and what it’s like to navigate a world that isn’t built for you. This resource will support Year 3 - 6 teachers and students to explore themes from the short film, with learning tasks related to disability, inclusion, accessibility and media representation.

Primary students from around Australia ask Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? creator Vanna Morosini, host Ghenoa Gela, and cast members Jeffrin and Harry (from the ‘Milk Run’ episode) about the ideas behind this engaging series, and the work that goes into bringing a TV series to life.

In The Funny Ones, four girls with a passion for making people laugh are introduced to four of Australia’s funniest women. Together they turn ideas from their own lives into material for a show that has everyone in stitches.

The discussion starters and learning tasks suggested in The Funny Ones Resource provide additional ideas for Years 3 – 6 students to engage with the film. Tasks relate to collaboration, audiences, performance and feedback, with relevant curriculum links noted for Drama, English, Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Capability.

Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? explores familiar historic periods and events through the eyes of children who lived through them. Each episode reveals an incredible true story of a resilient and courageous child from the past, and challenges modern-day children to emulate their experiences. Through these participants’ firsthand experiences, students see what their lives would have been like in a different era. The Are You Tougher than Your Ancestors? resource is a History resource for Foundation to Year 6 teachers and students. Episodes and suggested learning tasks relate to the key understandings and inquiry skills outlined in the History sub-strand of the F-6/7 Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum.

The Unlisted Creator and Cast Webinar with Justine Flynn (Director, Executive Producer), Miah Madden (Kymara), Vrund Rao (Kal) and Ved Rao (Dru). Upper primary and secondary students from around Australia joined our live Q&A session with The Unlisted director and executive producer Justine Flynn and cast members Miah Madden Ved Rao and Vrund Rao. In this unique virtual learning event, participants asked Justine, Miah, Ved and Vrund about their ground-breaking series, and its themes of cultural diversity, individual rights, resilience and ethical understanding.

To celebrate the ACTF’s 40th birthday and the Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery, we looked back at one of Australia’s much loved children’s television programs, Li’l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers.

How do creators use inspiration from popular culture to build stories and characters in animation? Learn this and much more as we speak to Li’l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers creator Peter Viska. 

Ahead of its time in exploring environmental sustainability and featuring First Nations characters, Li’l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers (originally broadcast on the ABC in 1997) follows the story of Li’l Elvis and his friends Lionel and Janet, who together create a sound that is uniquely their own called, “Didgibilli Rock.” Join us to hear how Elvis inspired this children’s television show with a Q & A with Li’l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers creator and animator, Peter Viska.

A unique blend of documentary and theatre, A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year-Old Girl is a detailed study into the fascinating creature commonly known as the 12-year old girl. This resource will support Year 6 and 7 teachers in examining the film’s construction and themes with students. Learning tasks are mapped to the Australian Curriculum, and draw on content from English, Health and Physical Education and Media Arts.

Hosted by ACMI Education and the ACTF, our student webinar explores creation of Hardball Series 2 with the creators, Matt Zeremes and Guy Edmonds, and cast members Semisi Cheekam (Mikey) and Erin Choy (Tiffany). Students will learn how the series communicates meaning and viewpoints to gain insight into the media production process.

In the Mustangs FC Webinar, Emmanuelle Mattana (Marnie), Ashleigh Marshall (Liv), Molly Broadstock (Bella) and Gemma Chua-Tran (Anusha) were quizzed by primary and secondary schools from Grade 5 to Year 10 on acting, gender stereotypes and women in sport.

In ACTF Education's First Day Series 1 Webinar, students from across Australia met First Day writer/director Julie Kalceff, and lead actress Evie MacDonald. During the webinar, students learned more about this award-winning film, careers in the media, and the importance of diverse media representation.

In Summer’s Day, we see one Australian girl’s awkward transition into a teenager. Summer’s mother isn’t around when she gets her first period, so she navigates becoming a woman, and her body image troubles, with the help of her best friend Mackenzie.

The free Summer’s Day Teaching Toolkit explores the content and themes in Summer’s Day, including menstruation, puberty and body image. It can be used as a standalone resource, or to complement a school’s health education and puberty programs.

The Mustangs FC Resource explores key themes from this unique series, including gender, relationships, mental health, leadership and diversity. 

Suitable for upper primary and lower secondary students, the resource provides teachers with discussion starters, engaging provocations and learning tasks, all linked back to clips from our award-winning series about an all-female soccer team.

The resource draws on inquiry-based learning principles, and aims to promote discussion, collaboration and reflective thinking in your classroom. 

Dance Academy film Producer Joanna Werner and Cast member Alicia Banit are quizzed by Australian students on the challenges in taking the successful TV series to the big screen.

Director Robert Connolly and actors Ed Oxenbould and Peter Rowsthorn share their experience of making Paper Planes during this virtual excursion. The Q&A format provided students with an opportunity to ask their own questions about filmmaking - from the initial idea, to hiring of the cast and crew.

Author of the Little Lunch books Danny Katz and Illustrator Mitch Vane shared their experiences of creating the world of Little Lunch, and how they turned their books into the popular TV series that followed. 

Wadu Matyidi – A Time Long Gone
Wadu Matyidi is a short animated film set in the early 1800s when Adnyamathanha children of the Flinders Ranges were inspired, schooled and entertained by their interactions with Country. The story is led by three adventurous Adnyamathanha kids who set out for a day of exploration near their camp. The children play games and spook one another with tales of ancient creatures. They see unusual tracks that set their hearts and imaginations racing. Then, unexpectedly they make a discovery that changes their lives forever.
Language of Belonging is an education resource for the Wadu Matyidi animation, including five behind-the-scenes mini-documentaries and a unit of work: My Mob, My Country, My Story, My Heritage, and My Project.
Designed for Years 3-6, this diverse learning program gives students the opportunity to engage with Adnyamathanha language, an interactive language game, and develop their own portfolio.

Awards

Interactive Media Awards 2013
Best in Class - Education

ATOM Awards 2012
Winner - Best Indigenous Resource
Winner - Best Primary Resource

eLearning Industry Excellence Awards 2012
Finalist - eLearning K-12

The Lockie Leonard Resource is a multiliteracy resource aimed to help students in Upper Primary and Lower Secondary school explore the Lockie Leonard television series, based on the original trilogy of books by Western Australian writer, Tim Winton.

This website provides access to over 100 teaching and learning activities, each supported by video clips and student worksheets exploring the themes presented across both the Lockie Leonard texts and TV series.

The Lockie Leonard Resource is divided into four inter-related strands:
Strand 1: Storytelling in a Television Series
Strand 2: Transition and Adolescence
Strand 3: Identity
Strand 4: Reacting, Responding and Creating
plus
Strand 5: Gender Perspectives: A Comparison of Lockie Leonard and Mortified

In addition, it features Character Biographies, Press Kit, Stills Gallery, and Episode Synopses, and an interactive map.
Note: The television series of Lockie Leonard is rated PG.

Access this resource

www.lockieleonard.edu.au

The Mortified Resource is linked to the children's comedy drama series Mortified. The series follows a young girl's journey toward self-acceptance.

The resource is aimed at students in Years 4-8 and offers video clips, interviews with key actors and production staff, lesson plans, and worksheets divided into two parts.

Part 1 - Being Mortified: A Focus on Growing Up, includes video clips from episodes along with activities that analyse how the series conveys meaning. Part 1 features 16 video clips and 4 lessons.
Part 2 - Media Literacy: Constructing, Producing and Responding to Mortified, presents video clips and activities that explore various aspects of television production, including effects, design, and publicity. Part 2 includes 31 clips and 3 lessons.

The lessons cover topics like drama, production elements, behind-the-scenes insights, and more.

Access this resource

www.mortified.edu.au

The My Place for Teachers Resource provides rich educational material for primary and lower-secondary teachers using the My Place TV series in the classroom for Australian History and English.

The website features teaching materials from both series 1 and 2 and includes:
- 2 Decade Timelines, 2000s-1880s and 1870s-Before Time, each highlighting events of Australian History and politics, Society and culture and Science & technology, that underpin the stories of the children and the development of Australia. Each decade cites selected Indigenous and non-Indigenous histories.
- 78 clips, each with associated Teaching Activities and student activity sheets for Years 3-6 and beyond. The activities have rich curriculum content that relate directly to the Australian curriculum for the studies of History and English.
- 3 main Themes and 22 sub-themes, where teachers can search for relevant resources to support their individual programs.
- Behind the Scenes information including interviews with Nadia Wheatley (writer) and Penny Chapman (producer), stills gallery, clips bank, and production materials including scripts, press kits and a poster.
- Our Place, an interactive online teacher forum where teachers can share their strategies for using My Place in the classroom and upload stories of their own students.
The My Place for Teachers website is a partnership project between Education Services Australia (ESA) and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF)

Awards

eLearning Industry Excellence Awards 2010
Winner - eLearning K-12

Australian Education Publishers Award 2010
Winner – Best Primary Education Website

Interactive Media Awards (U.S.) 2010
Winner - Outstanding Achievement Award for Education

Australian Teachers of Media Awards (ATOM) 2010
Finalist – Best Primary Education Website

Australian Teachers of Media Awards (ATOM) 2010
Finalist – Best Instructional/Training Resource

Access this resource

www.myplace.edu.au

This resource provides opportunities for discussion and activities for primary age students related to the key learning areas of Science, Humanities, English, Health and The Arts.

Teachers may choose to screen the Dogstar series sequentially or they may select particular episodes and use those activities from this guide that meet the needs of their students or that relate to topics being investigated in their classroom. Discussion questions and activities are provided in this guide to support a number of the central themes explored throughout the series including families, relationships and feelings; humans, pets and other animals; heroes and villains; technology and inventions; responsibility for the natural environment and the future.

Information about the development, production and technology behind the series has been included to assist teachers of older students to develop learning experiences in relation to animation and to the creation of this series.

Dance Academy Resource supports Middle Years educators with engaging classroom activities, designed to enhance students’ knowledge, skills and understanding of dance, as both an artist and audience.

The website features video clips and production materials from the award-winning television series Dance Academy, stimulus for over 100 downloadable teaching activities that have been aligned with the Australian Curriculum areas of The Arts (Dance, Drama, Media, and Visual), English and Health and Physical Education (Personal Development).

Each activity provides educators with a contemporary approach to exploring elements of The Arts within their classroom, matched with printable student activity sheets and links to additional support materials – including instructional video clips and fact sheets developed by Ausdance.

The teaching activities are searchable by Curriculum Study Area(s), tag word(s), or by one of the four main themes:

• Dance Skills – explores body, movement, technique, choreography, performance and communication through dance.
• Dance Knowledge – explores genre, culture, history and styles of dance; safe dance practices; dance processes; and dance vocabulary.
• Production - explores stagecraft, costume, lighting, design, event management and technology and innovation within dance production.
• Health and Wellbeing – explores health, fitness, human movement, nutrition, personal development and identity.

Awards

2014 eLearning Excellence Awards
Finalist - K-12 Sector Award

Access this resource

http://www.danceacademy.edu.au/

This resource was developed through a partnership between the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) and Tina Harris and Mark Harris – two of the lead creatives behind the popular children’s series, Lah-Lah’s Adventures. Music for Everyone explores the elements of music as outlined in the Australian Curriculum in a fun and accessible way. The simple lesson plans, music clips and additional videos provided in the resource will support generalist teachers in getting started with F-2 music education. 

Lah-Lah’s Adventures: Music for Everyone provides an introduction to the building blocks of music: rhythm, pitch, expression, form, timbre, and texture. Created for busy classroom teachers who are new to music education, the units in the resource can be undertaken with little prior knowledge or preparation, and won’t require access to a room full of musical instruments.

“It’s really interesting that a lot of generalist teachers are actually using music every day already – in the classroom, in assembly, in the playground – and maybe they don’t actually realise that they’re using it. I think the wonderful thing about this particular program is it’s just building on skills that teachers already have.” – Tina Harris. 

Lah-Lah’s Adventures: Music for Everyone contains:

• 24 video tutorials for teachers by Tina Harris and Mark Harris (a.k.a Lah-Lah and Buzz)
• 18 music clips from the Lah-Lah’s Adventures series that illustrate musical concepts
• 22 Curriculum-mapped lesson plans for the six elements of music (Rhythm, Pitch, Expression, Form, Timbre, and Texture)
• PDF Teachers’ Guide containing curriculum links and practical tips for the classroom.
• Login access to Music for Everyone Online, and download link for Music for Everyone videos and curriculum content.

Sample Lesson Plan

Rhythm – Lesson 1

WALT: Listen for and move to the beat in music.

DISCUSSION STARTER

Have you ever heard your heartbeat through a stethoscope? What does it sound like? It has a regular beat: thump-thump, thump-thump. The beat always stays steady, but it can speed up if you run around, and it slows down when you are calm.

The steady pulse in music is also called the ‘beat’. It’s a regular kind of rhythm that we can hear or feel.

Just like a heartbeat, the beat in music can only be changed by speeding it up or slowing it down. The speed of the beat is called its tempo.

LEARNING TASK

Watch Lah-Lah’s Adventures clip the ‘Woody the Woodwind’ with your class to see Lah-Lah, Buzz and the Big Live Band walking in time with the beat. Can you walk in time with the beat, too? When students are comfortable walking to the beat, they could try marching or jumping to the beat instead. What other ways can you move to the beat?

The beat changes in the second half of the song when the tempo slows for one verse. Can you slow down your movements to match the slower beat? As a fun variation for moving to the beat, students could sit in a circle and pass a ball to the beat.

In each episode of Bushwhacked! Series 2, an important message about ecosystems is explored. The Bushwhacked! Series 2 Resource harnesses those messages to inspire a greater awareness in students of Australia’s unique Indigenous people, their culture and their relationship with the land.

This resource highlights discussion topics and provides activities for teachers to use in their middle-primary to middle-secondary classroom.

The discussion topics and activities included in this resource are aligned with content, knowledge and skills in the Australian Curriculum areas of English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.

Bushwhacked! can be enjoyed by a wide range of age groups, from middle-primary to middle-secondary, and is a valuable resource for a large range of curriculum areas, including English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the cross-curriculum priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.

Included in the Bushwhacked! Series 1 Resource are brief synopses of each episode, so that teachers can view them either in order or in groups that support their classroom program.

This resource provides some ideas for discussions and activities relating to the series as a whole, including examples from episodes, which can be used before and after each episode is viewed.

The Bushwhacked! Australian Flora and Fauna Resource was developed by Samantha Doggett (Teacher, Serpell Primary School)

“I have been working this term on the new program Bushwhacked! This has been a wonderful series that Grade 1 children have thoroughly enjoyed. This series would easily attract all primary school years from Foundation to Grade 6. They have gained extensive knowledge about Australian animals, landscape and Indigenous traditions.”

Bushwhacked! is a unique nature television program now in its third series. This highly acclaimed documentary series appeals to children and teenagers from 5 to 14 years old. Highly dramatic and exciting, it is an example of how well-researched locations, excellent scripts, very high production values, and fascinating Australian animals and issues can create not just entertainment, but a valuable and enjoyable learning experience.

The Bushwhacked! Series 3 Resource is written and organised for educators who wish to use episodes from the series as part of their teaching and learning sequence. The study guide provides discussion topics and activities with a focus on specific learning areas or general themes.

The content included in this study guide is aligned with, knowledge and skills in the Australian Curriculum areas of English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.

Ready For This cast members Madeleine Madden (Zoe) and Aaron McGrath (Levi), along with Head Scriptwriter Liz Doran, provide a behind the scenes insight into the award-winning TV series, acting and the script-writing process.

In this webinar for Western Australian primary schools, students asked questions to Little Lunch cast members. Questions included: How they got into acting, what was involved in making Little Lunch, their favourite episodes, how the young cast balanced school work and acting, how they deal with fame, and what tips they would give to aspiring young actors.

Mrs Gonsha (Heidi Arena), Debra-Jo (Faith Seci), Rory (Flynn Curry) and Tamara (Olivia Deeble) thrilled primary students from around Australia by participating in a live online webinar on March 24.

Students got to quiz the cast on how they got into acting, what was involved in making Little Lunch, their favourite episodes, how the young cast balanced school work and acting, how they deal with fame and what tips they would give to aspiring young actors.