March of the Penguins - Key Stage 2 teaching resource

March of the Penguins
Key Stage 2 teaching resource
Year: 2005 I Certificate: U I Duration: 85 minutes I Genre: Wildlife documentary

The following educational resource aims to prov id e teachers and pupils with
preparatory and follow up questions, discussion points and classroom activ ities relating
to the documentary film MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. This film and the suggested
activ ities prov id e an opportunity to learn about the featured animals and their
env ironments.

This resource is designed to support the teaching and learning of Geography,
Literacy, Science and Citizenship at Key Stage 2. The activ ities aim to prov id e a
framework for exploring the env ironmental issues raised in the film and to
complement and extend the enjoyment of watching the film, whilst also
meeting some of the requirements of the National Curriculum at Key Stages
one and two.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Synopsis

Each winter, in the ice deserts of Antarctica, an amazing journey takes place. Emperor
penguins in their thousands leav e their ocean home and take to the frozen ice to
begin their long journey into a region so extreme it supports no other wildlife at this
time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards and buffeted by
gale force winds. They are driv en by the ov erpowering urge to reproduce, to assure
the surv iv al of the species. Guided by instinct they head for their traditional breeding
ground where, after a ritual courtship, they will pair off into couples. The females lay a
single egg. Then they begin their return journey across the ice field to the fish-filled
seas.

The journey is hazardous, and the leopard seals a predatory threat. The male
emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at
all times on top of their feet to prev ent them from freezing. After two long months,
during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have
emerged the chicks cannot surv iv e for long on their fathers’ limited food reserv es. If
their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly hatched young
will die.

Once the families are reunited, the roles rev erse, the mothers remaining with their new
young while their mates head for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks
face the ev er-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows
warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their
journey, marching many hundreds of miles ov er some of the most treacherous territory
on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first falterin g div e into the deep blue
waters of the Antarctic.

Behind the scenes

March of the Penguins was directed by a French filmmaker called Luc Jacquet.
Jacquet had prev iously worked as a biologist and had helped make another
documentary about penguins. Jacquet spent 14 months researching and studying
penguins before then trav elling with his film crew to the Antarctic. To reach this setting
the crew had to travel for ov er 30 hours by plane and then another sev en days by
boat! The filming was done entirely by a team of two cameramen who liv ed and
worked alongside the penguins in the harsh Antarctic climate; they woke at 5.30am
ev ery day and carried heavy loads of equipment ov er miles of icy terrain. It was
essential that the men got along as they spent more than a year in complete isolation,
away from their friends and families. In total they shot over 200 reels of film, which is
about 40 hours. To their surprise when they began filing they quickly learned that
Penguins are not naturally scared of humans; the birds allowed the crew to get v ery
close and showed no fear whatsoev er of the cameramen or their equipment.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Before the screening

Here are some questions and discussion points to consider before the screening:

    
    MARCH OF THE PENGUINS is a Documentary film* , are you familiar with this
         term? What do you know about documentary?

    
    What other documentary films hav e you seen?

    
    The title of the film giv es us a big clue as to its subject? What are you expecting
         from this film?

* Documentary film is the term used to describe a film that attempts, in one way or
another, to document reality. In other words it records real life and presents the
information as fact. You could describe a documentary film as ‘real-life’ or ‘non-
fiction’.

The news that you see on telev ision is a type of documentary. You are probably also
familiar with wildlife documentaries or documentaries about people in other cultures.

    
    What other kind of documentaries can you think of? Think about telev ision as
         well as film.

    
    Do you think documentaries are a good way of sharing information?

    
    Do you think documentaries always tell the truth? Can they be based upon
         people’s opinions? Should documentary films try to explore more than one side
         to a story?

The Curriculum

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS is an informativ e and technically advanced documentary
that prov ides an inspiring starting point for teaching and learning across many areas
of the curricula.

Further study of the Antarctic as an animal habitat and a pla ce affected by Climate
Change could hav e direct relevance to a number of learning objectiv es and
schemes of work for Geography, Citizenship, Literacy and Science. These are detailed
below and taken from www.standards.dcsf.gov .uk.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Geography at KS2
Unit 16: What’s in the news? (Year 3/6)
Unit 24: Passport to the world

Citizenship at KS2
Unit 03: Animals and Us
Unit 11: What’s in the news

Literacy at KS2
Non Fiction Y2: Instructions, Expla nations, Information texts, Non-chronological reports
Non Fiction Y3: Reports, Instructions, Information texts,
Non Fiction Y4: Recounts newspapers & magazines, Explanation texts, Information texts
Non Fiction Y5: Instructions, Recounts, Persuasiv e writing, persuasion
Non Fiction Y6: Journalistic writing, argument, persuasion

The following activ ity ideas are designed to address a number of the curricula units
and specifications listed above and can be appropriated for different age groups
and areas of focus.

Activity: Eco News reportage

The penguins’ environment (the Antarctic ice floes) is considered to be under threat
from global warming / climate change. What do you already know about this? Have
you seen or heard anything in the news about Climate change?

Conduct research to find out more about the way the Antarctic env ironment is
affected by Climate Change and what this means for the Emperor Penguins. Collect
newspaper cuttings, source articles online and seek out radio or TV news reportage on
this subject.

Collate your findings to create a news board; add in a detailed map of the Antarctic
and its surrounding oceans, mark places of interest and highlight where reported
activ ity took place. Find out and include information about the local weather in the
Antarctic and how this changes, from season to season and from year to year.

Use your scientific findings and information you remember from the film to write your
own news report about the Emperor Penguin and its threatened habitat. Consider
how human activ ity is contributing to the penguins’ changing env ironment; include
some ideas for ways that your school or local community could make a positiv e
difference to help this cause. (See lit eracy ext ension below for more on t his activit y)

Create a second news board to share information about an env ironment that is
inhabited by people but that is also affected by climate change; for example an area
that has experienced recent flooding.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Alternative theme: Instead of climate change link activ ities to the topic of extinction.
Find out what scientists are saying about the future of the Emperor Penguin and what
can be done to help them. In the past, find out what animal species hav e become
extinct and what were the reasons for this.

Literacy extension…

Study the newspaper articles you have found in more depth. Compare them with one
another, do they make different claims?

Using different coloured pens underline examples of fact and examples of opinion
within the article. Has the author tried to confuse fact and opinion to make their
argument more persuasiv e?

Ask your classmates to share their opinions on the subject of climate change and its
impact on wild animals. Stage a class debate in which two indiv iduals or groups must
put across their own point of v iew in a persuasiv e manner. Each group or indiv idual
should prepare a report that includes both fact and personal opinion to make a
persuasiv e case and win the support of the rest of the class.

Science at KS2 – Habitats and Food chains

Unit 4b: Habitats
Sect ion 3: Different animals in different habit ats
Sect ion 7: Finding out about food s ources
Sect ion 8: I dent ifying food chains
Sect ion 9: Prot ect ing habit at s

Unit 6A: Interdependence and adaptation
Sect ion 4: Animals and plants in a local habit at
Sect ion 6: Food chains
Sect ion 9: Animals and plants in a different habit at
Sect ion 10: Tracing food chains

Activity: Animal habitats

Despite the extreme conditions of snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures the
Antarctic is an env ironment the Penguins, along with a few other species hav e
learned to liv e with.

Find out ev erything you can about the animals and plants that liv e in the Antarctic
and the adaptations they have dev eloped to help them surv iv e. How often and what
do they eat? How do they keep warm? How do they stay safe from predators? Do
they migrate to/from other places at certain times of year?

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Next, seek out a local habitat that is home to plants and animals, such as a nearby
park or area of the school playground that is home to wildlife. Collect information
from primary and secondary sources to find out as much as you can about the plant
and animal life within this habitat.

Create fact sheets, scientific reports or a classroom display to share your findings.

Compare the two habitats you have explored with one another, in what way do they
vary? In what way are they the same?

Think about how and why each animal is suited to its own home. Could animals that
liv e in one habitat surviv e in the other? Choose one or two animals to explore in more
depth and find out what extra special characteristics each has to help it surv iv e.

_______________________________________________________________________

Further reading

Downloadable worksheets can be obtained from the Film Education website and
cov er areas such as Creativ e Writing, Food Chains and Animal Conserv ation.

www.filmeducation.org/resources/film_library/getfilm.php?film=1626

Useful Websites:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com
http://tiki.oneworld.net

Cineliteracy

Cineliteracy is the understanding and appreciation of mov ing image texts. Just as a
book is a text, the same is true of a film - hence the term 'mov ing image text'. A
mov ing image text can be 'read' in a similar way to a print text. As with all art forms
and other forms of communication, the mov ing image has its own set of concepts,
values and rules of construction. These can be described and understood using terms
and language specific to mov ing image media, as well as terms that mov ing image
and print literacy have in common.

Why work towards cineliteracy?
Literacy skills are v ital to children's ability to think, talk and write creativ ely and
purposefully. The mov ing image has a crucial role to play in the development of those
literacy skills. It is a powerful medium with which children are generally familiar and
comfortable. For many, it stimulates creativ e activ ity that would otherwise be
unforthcoming, including meaningful talk and purposeful writing.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Key concepts in film and literacy
Throughout their primary education, children who undertake learning activ ities in
relation to a range of mov ing image texts will also be addressing targets relating to
reading and writing including;
• Descriptiv e writing
• Openings and endings
• Story settings
• How settings influence ev ents and characters
• Distinguishing between first and third person accounts
• Using expressiv e and figurativ e la nguage

With continuing focus right from the Foundation Stage upwards on the dev elopment
of children's communication and language skills, important objectiv es that can be
addressed using mov ing image texts include:
• Extending v ocabulary
• Using story language
• Re-telling stories
• Sequencing
• Identifying characters
As children progress, similar and new language and literacy objectiv es that can be
clearly met through analysis of a mov ing image text include looking at;
• Narrativ e structure
• Openings and settings of stories
• Character profiles

Through a focus on cineliteracy activ ity children explore and understand how image
and sound work together to create meaning. In addition, children will be developing
their film language in order to discuss these elements competently in relation to film
itself as a medium.

Key Concepts in Film Language
Key concepts in film language that shape how we analyse and understand a text can
be broken down into the following elements:

Colour         Camera             Character           Composition         Story   Sound   Setting

Focusing on the Cs and Ss indiv idually helps to breakdown the ov erall impact of a film
and understand how and why a film has been constructed in a particula r way.

We can also explore how the elements are combined to make the film an effectiv e
text, e.g. How do Camera, Sound and Colour work together to introduce, dev elop,
influence or create more understanding about Character, Story and Setting?

How are Camera shots and sound used to create a felling of suspense or to draw the
audience into the life of the film?

How and when does colour change to denote a setting or change in time or
atmosphere?

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Cineliteracy and MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

A key part of work on cineliteracy is questioning. It is important to frame children’s
viewing before a film and structure their response afterwards. Questions play a vital
role in encouraging analytical and creativ e thinking around a film text.

Preparatory work - Framing viewing
This is a v ery important part of children's v iewing experience. The amount of
preliminary work and information will depend on sev eral elements. As well as the
questions outlined earlier here are some focusin g questions for teachers to ask
themselv es:

Why are we watching this film?
How much do pupils already know about the film?
How much do pupils already know about the subject matter?
What areas of the curriculum are we focusing on?
What are the important areas we will focus on immediately afterwards?
How much preliminary information do the children need to understand the film?

With any film it can be useful to think about the plot and characters beforehand.
March of the Penguins is a documentary film, but careful editing and narration
transform the footage into a coherent story with narrativ e and to some extent
characters.

Find out
Some preliminary research might help the children to focus their v iewing. Find out
about:

The Antarctic – where is it?
What is the weather like there?
What kinds of Animals liv e there?
Do any people liv e there?
What special preparations/equip ment were required to make filming possible?

Follow up questions
Continued questioning after the film will help Children to process and clarify what they
have seen and learned. For example:
•   How did the film work to tell the story?
•   How was narration important to the film?
•   How were we introduced to the subject matter/characters?
•   How were sounds and music used throughout the film?
•   How was atmosphere and feeling conv eyed?

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Camera shots
Think about how the camera was used to tell the story of the film.
Why did the director choose different shots at different times?
How did we see the action from different perspectiv es / v iewpoints?
Where was the camera placed during certain scenes to giv e the shot a certain feel?

Long Shots - the frame includes setting and people in it. In March of the Penguins long
shots are used frequently and with great effect, for example to show us:
The seemingly endless line of Penguins as they march
The formation of the father penguins as they huddle
The scale of the Antarctic landscape, its glacial mountains and surrounding oceans

Why are long shots particularly important to wildlife documentary films?

Mid-shots - the frame includes part of a person or thing, with some of the setting in the
background, perhaps drawing you into the action more.
Mid shots are often used to see two characters at once, if they are talking or
interacting with one another the angle may change from ov er one shoulder to
another, this enables us to v iew the scene from both perspectiv es. What actions were
shown in March of the Penguins using mid shots?

Close-ups the frame shows only a detail or a small part of a person such as the face.
Sometimes they focus on an object or action v ery tightly, e.g. a hand opening a door
or an eye shedding a tear. Why would the director choose to use a close up? (E.g. to
show interactions or emotions between the characters)

Think about the following scenarios in the film and decide which type of shot would be
most effectiv e for each (there are no strict right or wrong answers):

A chick hatching                               A bird of prey flying ov er the rookery
Penguins sliding on their belly                A father penguin looking down at his chick
A spectacular sunrise                          Young Penguins waddling about
The fluffiness of a chick’ s coat              A seals open jaws ready to snap up a penguin

Choose a selection of close up shots (from any source) to freeze on screen and
discuss what information you can 'read' in them.

Characters and feelings

Discuss
How did the story of the penguins make you feel? How and when did this change
throughout the film?
What events do you remember most clearly? Why do you think this is?
What describing words can you come up with to define the penguins’
personality/character?
Was there anything about the penguins’ behavior that you didn’t like? Why?

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Create freeze frames from the fil m
Work in small groups to reconstruct key moments from the film as a still or freeze-frame

Children’s posture and expression should depict the characteristics of the penguin at
a specific time (e.g. when meeting his/her new mate)

Try a number of different points in the story to build up a sense of how the penguin’s
character and emotions are shown to change ov er time.

Thought track
Tap indiv id uals on the shoulder and ask them to symbolize their character, allowing
them to say just one word is a useful ‘restraint’ to focus their thinking too. Ask them to
say what they think the penguin might be thinking or feeling at that time.

Drama and movement
Ask Children to think about the different ways the penguins mov e. For example when
on land in fair and harsh weather, and in the water as they div e and hunt for food.
What parts of their bodies do they use for these different ways of mov ing?

Ask Children to try and mov e like the penguins. Can they bala nce an imaginary ‘egg’
on their feet and mov e about, like the father penguins do to keep their egg safe?
Now use a ball in place of a real egg. Can they pass the ‘egg’ to a partner without
exposing it to the freezing cold conditions? Remember, no hands, feet only!

Music and sound
Find out what can students remember about the sound used throughout the film, ask:

How was music used to tell the story?
How and when did the music change to depict a change in atmosphere?
How was the narration useful to the story?

What other ways could sound have been used to tell the story?
In the original French v ersion of the film there is no narrator. Instead actors v oices are
used to depict what they imagine the penguins are thinking and saying.
How do you think this would hav e changed the feel of the film?
Do you prefer the idea more than the other? Why?

Make your own music
Choose some instruments to make some music to represent the weather and climate
of Antarctica. Think of the swirling water, the frozen ice, the howling wind and
snowstorms, the sun shining through.

Make up some music that help s us think about the penguins and how they mov e and
interact at different times, when they feel safe and also when they feel endangered,
by the weather or by predators.

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office

Themes
The following key themes from the film could be used as the basis for further cross-
curricular work or discussions.

Families
What similarities do penguins share with humans, for example in how they raise and
look after their young, how they feed, how they liv e in groups (t he rookery)?

What differences are there in the way the emperor penguins liv e and relate to one
another compared to humans?

Use children's own experiences of liv ing in a family to see what that can mean to
different people and in different countries and cultures

Journeys
Compare the Penguins journey with journeys that people might make. Penguins have
to make this journey as a means of surv iv al, why might humans make different types of
journeys?
Imagine leav ing home to mov e away. Prepare for your journey:
What would you pack?
What would you leave behind?
How would you feel about leaving?
What might you look forward to?
Make an itinerary of your trip.
Write a postcard back to family or friends. What would you tell them about your new
home?

Creat ed by Alice W arren and Hilary Pe arce for Pict urehous e Cinemas
© Pict urehous e London Communit y and Educ at ion Screenings Office