These activities will help youth build a positive view of themselves and recognize their strengths while thinking about media. They can be done alone or with friends over a video chat such as Skype, Zoom, Facetime, etc.

Mindfulness Activity

​​Trivia question: What food do Giant Pandas normally eat?

Mindfulness Activity:

  • Sit down so you’re comfortable.
  • Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
  • Breathe in.
  • Now switch hands.
  • Breathe in again.
  • Which way felt better?

Storyboard

​​Supplies

  • blank paper
  • scissors
  • pencil
  • coloured pencils

For this activity, we are going to outline a story for a short video.

Have your child cut a blank piece of paper into four pieces and draw a different character on each piece.

Divide a blank piece of paper into six sections. Use these sections to draw and/or write a short story using the characters you created.

Add more pages to make your story longer.

​​

Movie Trivia Game

​​Let’s see how much you know about some of the movies that you’ve watched.

Ask your child the trivia questions below. If they get one right, have them jump like a star 5 times. If they get one wrong, have them do 3 burpees, then tell them the right answer. (Adapt these actions based on your child’s abilities.) *you can find the answers at the end of lesson plan

  1. What is the name of the main red car in the movie Cars?
  2. What is the name of the famous Big Red Dog?
  3. What type of fish is Nemo?
  4. What is the name of the princess in Shrek?
  5. What is the name of the piggy bank in Toy Story?
  6. What is The Little Mermaid’s name?
  7. What is the name of the main pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean?
  8. In Ice Age, what is the animal called who looks like a hairy elephant?
  9. What is the Panda’s name in Kung Fu Panda?
​​​

Home Performance

​​Supplies: TV or YouTube

In this activity, your child will create a performance based on a movie trailer.

  • Ask your child to pick their top 3 favorite movies.
  • Look for the movies’ trailers in YouTube.
  • Ask your child to choose one movie trailer they want to perform for you and family members at home.
  • Your child can write a script and practice the acting of each scene of the trailer.
  • Choose a time for your child to perform the trailer.
  • If you can, record a video so they can watch it afterwards.

Stop Motion Video

​​Supplies:

  • smart phone or tablet
  • toys or clay
  • a fabric sheet or piece of paper as the backdrop

A stop motion video tells a story by putting lots of still pictures together. For this activity, we are going to create our own. You can try using an app such as Stop Motion Studio or iMOVIE. Or you can simply take pictures of your scenes and show them together to tell the story.

Have your child create the background scene. Set up a few lamps to get good lighting. You can use a sheet or draw a backdrop on a piece of paper. Try out different backdrops that will work better for the lighting and your characters.

Next, get them to create characters. You can use toys, make a clay character, draw them on paper or use a combination of character types.

Put the characters in your background scene and take pictures of them. Move them a small distance between each picture. Try making objects disappear and/or reappear, adding props, or zooming in and out.

Be creative with the characters storyline and see where it takes you! When you are done, share your project with someone at home, or with a friend or family member online.

Flip Book Animation

​​Supplies:

  • paper
  • scissors
  • markers, crayons or pencil crayons
  • stapler

Cut paper into smaller squares that are all the same size.

Staple the pages together to create a little booklet.

On each page, have your child draw a picture and then help them change the picture slightly on each page to create a sequence. E.g. if you want a flipbook of a flower blooming, you might draw:

  • First page: dirt in the ground
  • Second page: a small green sprout
  • Third page: make the sprout a little longer
  • Fourth page: followed by leaves
  • Fifth page: a bud forming
  • Sixth page and on: petals growing

When you’re finished, flip through the book and the picture will become animated.

Review Questions

​​Ask your child:

  • How does it feel to come up with your own stories?
  • How do you think movie makers start to think of ideas for big movies like Cars or Finding Nemo?
  • How can telling stories help other people feel happy or inspired?

Trivia Answers

​​Mindfulness Activity Trivia Answer:

  • Bamboo

Movie Trivia Game Answers:

  1. Lightning McQueen
  2. Clifford
  3. Clown Fish
  4. Fiona
  5. Hamm
  6. Ariel
  7. Captain Jack Sparrow
  8. Woolly Mammoth - his name is Manny in the movie
  9. Po
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