Educational activity around the short film Leitmotif
Recognize basic emotions, know the vocabulary of emotions.
Implement an artistic project.
Leitmotif © The Animation Workshop
TitleLeitmotif
ThemeAnimals, Memory, Music
Genre & keywordsComedy, Jazz, nostalgia, musical instrument
Age (for film)6-11 years old
Duration07 min 06 s
DirectorJ. Nørgaard & M. Thorhauge & M. Jørgensen & M. I. Holmriis
MusicJ. Baumgartner & T. R. Christensen
ProductionThe Animation Workshop (Denmark, 2009)
Identify and express, by regulating, your emotions and feelings. Be capable of empathy.
After a first viewing of the video, which will have allowed you to work on the meaning, ask the students to watch this video again with a task to complete: ask them to note the different emotions the character goes through. At the beginning of the film, he is playing the piano, alone in his room, he is sad, the corners of his mouth are down. We understand that he feels nostalgia when he looks at the photograph of his jazz group in which we see him very smiling. This contrasts with the emotions he is feeling at that moment. The character goes through various emotions, he is nostalgic, sad, then little by little he experiences joy again which he shares with his cat. The corners of the mouth are up and you can see his teeth!
After having done this deciphering work, we will be able to expand by asking the students to cite the different emotions that they know and bring them those that they do not know: sadness, joy but also anger, shame, surprise, disappointment, satisfaction, disgust, surprise. In order to explain and agree on the meaning of all these emotions, we can use the dictionary, give a list of words per group of students who will have to look up the definitions. Plan a class group meeting to share the results of the research. Create a glossary based on this work which will serve as a basis for the card game.
We can then work on expressions linked to emotions: being green with rage, red with shame, being scared to death... Which will logically lead to a link with visual arts activities on the color of emotions, how to express emotions through drawing (using smileys for example). This way, students will have the necessary elements that will allow them to illustrate the emotions listed. All this can be brought together in the form of posters (the emotion, its definition, images and drawings to illustrate) to keep track. From this vocabulary and visual art work, we can create a deck of cards: a card - an emotion - a drawing, or “word” cards and “drawing” cards that must be combined.
Before creating the game, and to reinvest the vocabulary, we can offer the students an oral game: Give them specific situations (your friend no longer speaks to you) and ask them what emotion they would feel if they were in this situation. Ask them to complete: When I feel... (sad, angry), I need...
And why not make another poster with the students' ideas.
We can then move on to building the game. This can then serve as a basis for other activities. We can imagine, for example, a ritual during which each student will choose a card according to their mood of the day. To do at the beginning of the morning to say in what state of mind you arrive at school, or at the end of the afternoon to take stock of the school day. The point is to allow everyone to be better understood and understand others. Older children can present the game to classes of 6-9 year olds or kindergarten classes so that they can use it.
Other extensions:
think about the characters, complete the character bubbles in the illustrations).
Activity sheet written by: Valérie du blog Val 10. Discover the Val 10 blog...
