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.

Explore - Use media technologies to capture and edit images, sounds and text for a purpose

Theme - SOUND

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding of the conventions of media production and sound production.

Have students identify the following in Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’:

• the story structure (plot)
• beginning, middle and end – and what action happens in each section?
• the characters:
• who is the hero, villain, sage, and facilitator?
• the setting:
• where does the action takes place?

Re-watch the episode with the sound turned off. Have students suggest what is missing that assists the audience to understand the story.

Direct students to the element of sound, and have them focus on the ways in which sound is produced for media:

1. dialogue
2. narration (voice over)
3. music (title and background)
4. natural location sound
5. sound effects.

Have students identify how each of these types of sound are evident in Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’. Replay the episode and stop at the parts of the episode that have the diverse types of sound. Prepare a worksheet with the parts of the episode listed, and have students list which sound device was used.

Access the Little J & Big Cuz eBook for “Where’s Aaron”. As the students read the story each frame will respond with different sounds that are elements to the specific part of the story.

Introduce the term Foley artist, who is the person who makes sound effects for film. Ask students to suggest how the Foley artist produces sound. Watch a video clip for ways to produce sound.

Suggested resources

• Kids Do Movie Sound Effects 
• Make Sound Effects, Parents 
• The Foley Artist: Los Angeles Times 
• What is a Foley Artist? How They Bring Movies to Life
• Sound Effects
• The Magic of Making Sound
• Kids Do Movie Sound Effects

Have students assess what equipment they The Magic of Making Sound can use to make sound aligned to the action in a segment of Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’. Collect ordinary objects within the classroom that make a sound. Have students explore how the combinations of instruments can create different sounds that replicate usual/expected sounds for the human ear, such as the sound of paper moving on a desk, different sounds of walking for different people like Little J, Big Cuz and Big Dog walking in the house, on Country, the owl’s wings flapping, Nanna using an iPhone, drawing in the sand.

Invite students to use the objects found in the classroom to produce a sound, and then record it. As a class, listen to the individual sounds and suggest which part of the episode the sounds could be used for.

Sequence the sounds made by the students into a recording, using Cool Tools for Schools from Audacity, or similar software, and play the sound track over the animation sequence. Have students assess the skills of their product and what they need to improve, e.g. timing, variety, authenticity, etc.

Suggested resources:

• Stubbies Study Guide 
• Kaboodle Teachers’ Notes 
• Dogstar Education Primary Teaching Kit