The class is taking turns hosting ‘Aaron’ the class mascot, taking him on adventures. It is Little J’s turn, so Little J, Nanna, Big Cuz, and Old Dog take Aaron on Country to look for mica rock, and along the way they photograph the expedition. Distracted by the events of the day, Little J loses Aaron and the family enrols the help of Uncle Mick, a Search and Rescue officer, to return him.

Explain - Respond to media artworks and consider where and why people make media artworks, starting with media from Australia including media artworks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Theme - GENRE

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding of the media genre and the film poster. Also, where possible access the Little J & Big Cuz picture book and/or eBook for “Where’s Aaron?”.

Access the Little J & Big Cuz Press Kit and download the character image files and any promotional materials. Explain to students that broadcast media needs to be promoted to its intended audience and that promotional materials are important to understand the characters and story of the program.

Promotional materials can involve:

1. Trailer (Little J & Big Cuz trailer)
2. Flyer or banner
3. Merchandise (stickers and/or toys)
4. Posters

As a class, inspect the Little J & Big Cuz promotional material and ask students if they have purchased promotional materials for other TV programs or films they have liked. Have students list what they have and compare the commonalities of which promotions attract them as an audience.

Nominate students to explain what methods producers and broadcasters use to entice people to buy or watch their program. Ask students to predict what the purpose of each the promotional materials listed above could be, for example:

• Video Trailer:                                                                                                                                                                                                     alerts the audience to the upcoming program; gives a brief introduction to the story and characters
• Flyer or banner:
  builds audience familiarity with the title and main characters of the program; for print and online outlets
• Merchandise (stickers &/or toys)
  connects the audience to the characters of the show; a lasting reminder of the production
• Posters
  provide information about the program; title, type of program, names and acknowledgements of those involved in the production.

Working as individuals or in pairs, have students select one of the video clips below and design and create a promotional poster for the clip. The poster should include:

• the title of the clip
• an image of the main characters in a setting from the animation
• information about when and where the audience can access the program
• (if possible) the names of the producers and/or actors.

Each clip tells one of the Aboriginal Dreaming stories:

• How the Birds Got Their Colours
• How the Clouds Were Made - Dreamtime Story (The First Rain Cloud)
• How The Moon Was Made - An Aboriginal Dreamtime Creation Story
• Where Rainbows Come From - Dreamtime Story (The First Rainbow)
• How the Kangaroo got its pouch
• Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail
• The Kangaroo and the Porpoise
• Dunbi the Owl
• When the snake bites the sun 

Invite students to share their posters and ideas with the class, and evaluate the success of their poster as a promotion for the Dreaming story.