C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE HIPPO

L E S S O N F O C U S Critical Th i n k i n g, Critical Vie w i n g, M e d ia Lite r ac y C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE HIPPO FA C I L I TAT I O N S T R AT E G I E S CORE LE SSO N Educator s Note: The format for this lesson varies somewhat from the formats of other lessons. The core lesson is designed to provide the background information necessary for the students to be able to participate in an active learning opportunity. The extension activities for all three skills extensions will have the same purpose, but will vary according to the developmental abilities of each age and skill level. 1 1 P R E V I E W I N G A C T I V I T Y Print the word, construct on the board. Ask the students to raise their hands if they can use this word in a sentence. Ask the students if they can think of another word for construct. Accept several answers, settling on the word, build. Explain that you are going to build a house on the board. Ask them to watch as you draw or sketch: (ask the children to help, if you wish) the foundation the frame (including the roof) the windows and doors the walls R AT I O N A L E As young people watch more television and spend more time on the computer, they need to be aware of the c o n s t r u c t e d meaning that goes on in the creation of everything they s e e, h e a r, a n d r e a d. P r o v i d e d with the proper t o o l s, they can learn the valuable skills of critical v i e w i n g, c r i t i c a l thinking and positive decision m a k i n g. P U R P O S E To deconstruct a t e l e v i s i o n c o m m e r c i a l, in the hopes of providing young people with the tools to understand what goes on behind the scenes to create meaning on the screen. C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO 3 3

2 1 L I N K T O T H E C O M M E R C I A L Explain that, just like the house they have just constructed, everything that they see on television is constructed too. It is built by extremely talented people, who work very hard to make the viewers believe what they are watching. Tell them that the people who design commercials and other television shows have a plan, just like an architect has for building a house. Explain that each step of the way, the plan needs to be carefully thought out, put together perfectly and then finished in such a way that the viewers will be happy with the product. Explain that they are going to watch a commercial that has been constructed for a very special purpose. FO CUS FOR VIEWING : H O U SE H I P PO As you watch this commercial, think about what the producer had in mind when it was constructed for you. V I E W T H E C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO ( 6 0 S E C O N D S ) 3 4 C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO

3 1 P O S T V I E W I N G A C T I V I T Y C O N S T R U C T I N G T H E C O M M E R C I A L After viewing the commercial, ask the students what they think the purpose was. Share several ideas. Explain that sometimes things are not what they appear to be. Discuss what the producer did to make the house hippo appear to live in the kitchen of that normal looking home. Accept several answers. Refer to the house that was constructed on the board. As you recall the various stages of the construction process, make the following links. a) The foundation Just like the house, the commercial needed to have a strong foundation, or reason to be filmed. What do you think the purpose of this commercial was? Answers may include: To show the viewer that sometimes we can be fooled by what we see. Things aren t always what they appear to be. We should ask questions if we don t understand what we are watching. Just because we see something on TV, in the movies or on the Internet, it doesn t mean that it has to be true. b) The frame Remind the students that the frame of the house is very important, because it holds up or supports the house. Without it, the walls and ceiling would fall in! Explain that in a commercial, the framework is important too. Without a solid plan for each frame or picture on the screen, the commercial would fall apart and lose its meaning. Ask the students what they think a producer would have to do to plan each frame. Answers may include: sketch a storyboard, one frame at a time, to show the development of the commercial; plan the various settings for each frame to make it look as real as possible; organize the movements of the hippo and the cat to make them look like they were real; select the proper time and frame to place the hippo in its real setting. C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO 3 5

c) The windows and doors Ask the students what windows and doors are constructed for. Connect the concept to the commercial by stating the following: Just like in a house, the commercial needs to provide the viewers with opportunities to see inside the house, the closet, the dog s dish, etc. They allow us to see inside these very small places by using close-up shots, filming real movements of the hippo and the cat and then adding them to the commercial, using very special equipment. They also tape the sounds of the animals in their natural setting and then add them to the commercial at very specific places. d) The walls Once the commercial has been constructed and put together, it needs to have the finishing touches added. In commercial language, this is called post production. Explain that the House Hippo commercial is an example of a commercial where a great deal of time was spent in post production. Ask them if they can think of some of the things that would have to be done to make this commercial look real to the viewers. The discussion should include: editing the commercial very carefully in order to make it look real, even though it is actually constructed or created by the producer; deciding on the exact moment to show the viewers the real truth about where hippos are found; deciding what the narrator will say, when it will be said, the tone of voice, the loudness or volume of the voice, etc. Explain that this information will be very helpful for them, as they will be given an opportunity to construct reality. C LOSU RE Turn to a neighbour and explain what you think the term, construct reality means. Share several examples, making the point that the term actually means making something look real, even when it isn t. Why do you think a commercial such as House Hippo would be very expensive to produce? Answers should include: expertise, time, expensive equipment. Why do you think that it is important to ask questions when you see or hear something that doesn t seem possible? Share answers with a neighbour. 3 6 C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO

E X T E N S I O N A C T I V I T I E S Educator s Note for all skills extensions: The purpose of the following extension activity is to provide the students with an opportunity to construct reality, using the information learned from the core lesson. The process and product will vary for each skills extension. SKI L LS E X TE N SI O N O NE 1 A M I S E E I N G T H I N G S? S U B J E C T F O C U S : T H E A R T S, L A N G U A G E Materials needed: Magazines, catalogues, flyers, drawing paper, markers, paints or crayons Explain that the students are going to work in groups to create a very unique picture. The purpose of the exercise is to create or construct a picture that looks very real, but is actually impossible to be true! Divide them into groups of four and provide them with drawing paper and paint, markers or crayons, as well as a variety of magazines, flyers or catalogues. Ask them to complete their picture, using the following guidelines: As a group, look through the pictures in the printed material and select an object, person or animal. Discuss a setting that would be totally improbable for this picture to be found in. i.e., a telephone in a bowl of soup. As a group, design the setting or background, including details which will help the viewers to relate to it. i.e., Put letters or noodles in the soup bowl. Once the background has been designed, drawn and coloured to look as real as possible, decide exactly where you would like to place your out of place object, to make it look as real as possible. Share the completed pictures with the class and post. C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO 3 7

C LOSU RE What did you find most difficult about this exercise? What did your group do to create a picture that is believable, but impossible? What do you think was the purpose of this exercise? Do you think that young children might believe your picture? Why would this concern you? As a result of what you have learned in this lesson, what advice would you give to your friends and brothers and sisters when they watch television? A Step Further Post the pictures in the school lobby and have the students vote on the Most Believable! 3 8 C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO

SKI L LS E X TE N SI O N T WO 1 D I D I H E A R Y O U C O R R E C T LY? Explain that they will be working in groups to prepare a radio script and deliver it to the class. Watch the House Hippo commercial again, and ask the students to listen carefully to the narrator. Ask them why they think this narrator was selected for the commercial. Discuss his tone of voice, the volume changes, the expression etc. Explain that they are going to work in teams of three to rehearse and deliver one of the following very important messages for radio using their voice only no props. Tell them that the success of their group will depend upon whether their presentations are believable. Provide each group with one of the following script ideas. You are to create a script to sell the following products or ideas: a new broccoli for your cat a hat that sings mittens with three thumbs a cake mix that mixes itself cereal that smiles when you add milk a television that dances to its own music a cereal box that talks to you when you pour it in the bowl a pencil that does your math homework for you all by itself cookies that multiply in your lunch kit brussel sprouts that taste like pizza Your challenge is to make the script believable, using a voice that will convince your listeners that this is a product they cannot live without! Prepare, rehearse and share the scripts. C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO 3 9

C LOSU RE What did your group do to make your commercial believable? What did you do to your voices to make the listeners believe in your product? What did you learn about constructing reality from this experience? Do you think that young children might believe your commercial? Why would this concern you? As a result of what you have learned in this lesson, what advice would you give to your friends and brothers and sisters when they watch television? A Step Further Tape the radio commercials and play them back to the students for comments. 4 0 C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO

SKI L LS E X TE N SI O N T H RE E 1 B E L I E V E I T O R N OT! S U B J E C T F O C U S : M E D I A L I T E R A C Y, L A N G U A G E, A S S E R T I V E S K I L L S Watch the commercial again WITHOUT SOUND and ask the students to focus on the visuals that make it look real. Discuss. Repeat, but this time COVER THE SCREEN and ask the students to listen to the narrator and the sound effects. Discuss how the sound effects sounded so real and how the narrator used his voice to convince the viewers that what they were seeing and hearing was real. Explain that they will be working in groups of four or five, to construct a commercial that looks real, but is very unlikely to actually happen. Print the following plan on the board, and suggest that they follow each step. Step One: The Foundation What is the purpose of our commercial? Step Two: The Frame What do we need to construct or build that will support this main idea? (props, setting, costumes) Step Three: The Windows and Doors How can we make an unreal situation look and sound real? (voice levels, tones, expressions) Step Four: The Walls What final editing do we need to do, in order to convince our audience that what we are telling them is real? (rehearse, cut, add) Ask them to select one of the following ideas to use as the background idea for their commercial. C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO 4 1

Educator s Note: These are the same ideas as used in skills extension two, but for a different purpose. You are to create a television commercial to sell the following products or ideas: a new broccoli for your cat a hat that sings mittens with three thumbs a cake mix that mixes itself cereal that smiles when you add milk a television that dances to its own music a cereal box that talks to you when you pour it in the bowl a pencil that does your math homework for you all by itself cookies that multiply in your lunch kit brussel sprouts that taste like pizza Provide time (may take 2-3 periods) to prepare the commercials. Share and discuss. C LOSU RE What did your group do to make your commercial believable? How did the props and settings help to convince your audience that what they were seeing was real? What did your narrator(s) do to make the script sound real? Do you think that young children might believe your commercial? Why would this concern you? As a result of what you have learned in this lesson, what advice would you give to your friends and brothers and sisters when they watch television? A Step Further Videotape the commercials and play them back to the students on another day. Consider inviting families in for a Media Literacy Lesson, delivered by the students, using their taped commercials. 4 2 C O M M E R C I A L H O U SE H I P PO