A Friend for the Moon
, illustrated by David Legge
Learning intention:
We are learning to create and sequence imagery in our storytelling.
Success criteria:
Students make predictions based on the illustrations
Students identify main points in the story
Students recreate the story using images in a storyboard format
Retell the plot of the story through the imagery of a storyboard.
Before reading the story, ask students to make predictions based on the images and the title of the story. Ask them to explain how the pictures tell us about:
The setting of the story
The mood of the story
Who the characters are
What changes may occur in the story
After reading the story, review the accuracy of their predictions. Discuss how images enhance stories by conveying emotion and meaning, and emphasising important plot points.
Ask students what else they would include pictures of to further tell the story using imagery. Tell them to imagine they are describing the story to a friend - what are the important points they would share? What sequence would they need to go in for the story to make sense?
These may include:
Mouse’s friends kept treading on him as they danced at the Festival of the Moon
Mouse took a break and found Moon crying because she was lonely
Mouse asked his friends for ideas to help cheer Moon up
Elephant brought back a boulder, but Moon said it should glow
Owl came back with fireflies, but Moon said they should shine
Giraffe stripped leaves off a tree so Moon reflected off the water
The animals cheered, except for Mouse, as Moon was still crying
The animals hung their head but Mouse laughed
Mouse explained that they all care about Moon and are her friends
Moon smiled and filled the sky with moonlight
Write the sequence on the board as the students give the suggestions. Using these points, students should create a storyboard to retell the story visually. Discuss the purpose and process of storyboarding - drawing pictures in a sequence that tells the story in order. Compare the idea to a comic book or graphic novel, explaining that this process is used in planning movies. The comic serial, Sallymander, in this magazine could be shown as an example.
For further instruction on creating a storyboard, watch the video What is a Storyboard?