Films pour enfants

Air discovery experience

Exploring the world6-11 years old

Educational activity around the short film Raoul

Expected end of activities

Carry out observations and experiments to characterize a sample of material.

Propose simple experiments to test a hypothesis.

Raoul

Raoul © B. Sankur et G. Godet

TitleRaoul

ThemeTip

Genre & keywordsComic, traffic jam, traffic, car, truck, balloon

Age (for film)3-11 years

Duration29 s

DirectorB. Sankur & G. Godet

ProductionB. Sankur et G. Godet (France, 2014)

Educational activities

Carry out an experiment to validate a hypothesis.

The common base tells us that, through the observation of reality, science and technology must provoke questions from students and research on their part to find the answers. The properties of matter are thus part of the elements allowing students to implement an experimental approach.

The proposed short film will allow you to engage your students with desire, pleasure and humor. They will be required to observe and describe, implement stages of investigation, establish cause and effect relationships and use different media to reproduce a scene seen in the short film.

A motorist's amusing and surprising way of getting out of a traffic jam will encourage your students to question themselves and begin implementing an experiment. They will then be able to put their convictions, their knowledge and their know-how to the test to design an experiment and validate or not their initial hypothesis.

Activity steps

1 Watching the film in its entirety

2 Collection of reactions and questioning from students if necessary

  • Where does the short film take place? On the road, in a city, in a traffic jam...
  • Who is the main character? A man in a yellow car.
  • What is his problem? His car is stuck between two trucks, in a traffic jam.

Present the “Steps” cards to the students and have them analyze the character’s emotions:

  • Serenity (when it arrives).
  • Disappointment (when he discovers the traffic jam).
  • Annoyance (when he understands that he is blocked).
  • Anger (when he cannot back down to get out of it).
  • Surprise (when his chewing gum lifts the car).
  • Joy (when he manages to escape). Why is the character surprised? Because chewing gum can't lift a car.

Print the materials for this activity...

3 Search

  • Ask students to carry out an experiment to demonstrate what they are saying and to prove that it is not possible.
  • Put the students in groups.

Using the following materials, ask them to recreate the chewing gum scene:

  • Balloons.
  • Plastic cars (children’s toy).
  • Characters (Lego or Playmobil type).
  • String (to tie the balloon to the car if necessary).
  • Let the students carry out the experiment and recreate the requested scene.

4 Sharing The groups present their experience, the material they used and their conclusion: is it possible

or not? Once the conclusion is made, ask the students what, in their opinion, are the reasons why the car did not fly away. Collect their hypotheses on a poster so that you can keep them and reuse them during a next session on the air.

Possible extension

  • Sequence on the properties of air to understand why what happens in the film is not possible.

Activity sheet written by: Maîtresse Aurel. Discover Maîtresse Aurel's blog...

First air journey in an aerostat, J-F Pilâtre de Rozier, 1783. CC0