Bémol — Oana Lacroix, 2021
The animals in this short story are woken every morning to the beautiful singing of a cheery bird. Her singing calms grumpy baby bears, quarrelling squirrels, and is generally appreciated by everyone. However, one morning, the forest awakens to find there is no song and the animals quickly discover the bird has fallen ill so is no longer able to sing the beautiful tune. They come together to find a way of helping the bird. Without the wonderful melody to keep them all calm, they quickly fall out and can’t decide the best way to support the bird. It falls to little bear to show them all the way to best help. By sharing their warmth and love, will the little bird be able to overcome her illness and sing again?
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Who is in the story? Which characters are really important? Which characters could be removed for the story to still make sense? Which characters shouldn’t be removed?
- What is the story telling us? Is there a message? If so, what? How do we know this, what evidence do we have?
- Where is the story set (country/place/time)? Does this matter? Would the story have to change if it was underwater/in Antarctica/a desert/on a ship/in school etc? How would that affect the story? Could the story be the same? What would have to change?
- The title of the film is Bemól. It is a French musical word that means “flat”. What different meanings does flat have? Why do you think the director called it this? Again, what evidence is there to support this?
- Play the film with a different soundtrack. Mute the film, start it playing, then in a separate browser tab play your track, then go back and click to watch film full screen. Does it make a difference? How does the mood of the film change? What words would you use to describe it? Soundtrack alternatives include: Nothing Else Matters, The Swan, Mars or Wayward Son (Click on the link for each track, they are set up to start at the correct point). Choose one or two that are appropriate for your pupils.
Cultural
- Discuss, and then make a list, of the people who help us in our lives.
- What do we do in the class to help others? What things does the teacher do? Why should we help others?
- Make a list of the things that make you happy. This could be a mixture of physical things (favourite teddy etc.) and experiences (hugging parent/carer, visit to the zoo etc.)
Creative
WRITE
- Create a story that has the same plot (someone makes other characters happy, something happens to them to prevent this, everyone helps them) either using the same characters but a different main character, or a different set of characters entirely.
- Draw the main bird character on paper. Discuss their looks and their personality. Write words that describe the character around the drawing. Use this to a description of the bird.
- Create/design a new character for the story. The character must fit within the scene and the current characters and feel part of the story.
- Create a set of guidelines (Dos) for the class to follow that would encourage others to support and care for each other. E.g. “Do encourage others when they are stuck”, “Do use kind words when speaking to others”.
STEM
- Design something that would help the bird avoid getting ill in the future from the wet and cold. This might be a jumper or other item of clothing, or it might be a structure/shelter.
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education |
| Director | Oana Lacroix |
| Country of Origin | Switzerland |
| Medium / Content | 2D Animation, Fiction, Colour, Sound, No Dialogue |
| Themes | Relationships, Health, Culture / Society, Work / Ambition, Food / Environment |
| Clip Length | 05:47 |
| Clip Length | 05:47 |
| Age Group | P1-P4 |
