Lesson video

Hi there.

I'm Miss Miah, and I'm so excited you're here as well.

Today you'll be joining me for an awesome lesson where we are going to learn, explore, and have lots of fun together.

Are you ready? Let's begin.

In this lesson, you will explore how monsters are shown in myths and film, and understand what makes them unique.

Your key words are on the screen now, and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Monster.

Myth.

Feature.

Fantastic.

Let's move on to the definitions.

So a monster is an imaginary creature.

Myth: stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why.

And a feature is a part of something that makes it special.

Now, this is our first lesson of this unit, and it's all to do with monsters in myths and film.

This lesson is made of two lesson cycles, and our first lesson cycle is to do with where we encounter monsters.

We then move on to how artists draw monster features.

I'm super excited about this lesson and I hope you are too.

Let's begin.

Ooh, this looks like an interesting monster.

So a monster is a creature that can look very different from what we normally see in the real world.

And on the screen here, we can see a monster called the Loch Ness Monster.

We'll find out more about this monster in a bit.

Let's move on.

Jun, Jacob, and Aisha are talking about how they feel about monsters.

Jacob says, "I think all monsters are bad." Aisha says, "I think monsters are fictional and do not exist." Jun says, "I think all monsters hide underneath our beds or cupboards." Do you agree? Why or why not? Have a think.

Well, Jun, Jacob, and Aisha are now talking about what they know about monsters.

Jacob says, "Some monsters can be friendly or misunderstood, like in movies such as 'Monster, Inc.

'" So not all monsters are scary and unfriendly.

Aisha says, "Some monsters are based on myths from different cultures where they were believed to be real at one time." Jun says, "Monsters in myths and stories often exist in various environments like forests, oceans, or magical lands." Over to you.

Which of the following statements about monsters is not true? Is it A, monsters can have unusual features like extra eyes or wings, B, monsters are always evil and scary, or C, some monsters are based on myths and old stories.

What do you think? You can pause the video here.

So, what did you get? If you got B, you are correct.

Monsters can be friendly, misunderstood, or even funny.

Think back to that monster film or any other monster film that you might know of where the monsters weren't always scary and turned out to be friendly.

Now, we can also encounter monsters in local folklore.

The Loch Ness Monster is the monster that you can see on the screen is a legendary creature from Scotland known for its mysterious presence in Loch Ness.

It lives in Loch Ness, which is a large Scottish lake.

It's described as having a long neck and large body.

It's believed by some to be a prehistoric sea creature.

Stories and photos have kept its legend alive.

Back to you.

Which of the following best describes the Loch Ness Monster? Is it A, a small animal that lives in the forest, B, a large creature with a long neck that lives in a lake, or C, a monster that only appears at night in a city? Pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? The Loch Ness Monster is a large creature with a long neck that lives in a lake.

Let's move on.

Greek myths.

So here we have a monster.

Now, this monster is known as the Minotaur.

Features of a Minotaur include having a man's body and a bull's head, and you can see that in the image there.

Now, did you know it lived in a labyrinth, which is a complex maze with winding paths and dead ends designed to confuse those trying to navigate it, and was known for being very strong.

The hero Theseus had to defeat it to escape the maze.

Hmm, I wonder if you can think of a monster from a story or a myth.

Monsters you may have named could be the basilisk, or a gryphon, a chimaera, a dragon, or more.

Well done if you were able to name one of those monsters.

Back to you, which statement best connects the Loch Ness Monster to monsters in myths like the Minotaur? Is it A, both are known for their magical powers, B, both are said to live in a special, mysterious place, C, both monsters are always friendly, or D, both monsters have wings and can fly? You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So, what did you get? Well, if you've got B, both are said to live in a special, mysterious place, you are correct.

And that's because we know that the Loch Ness Monster lives in Loch Ness and the Minotaur lives in a labyrinth.

Now, when we think about monsters around the world, they can actually be found in stories, different places, and actually cultures have their own special creatures.

Now, artists interpret monsters into artworks.

"Dragons and other beasts" by Boucicaut Master, 1410 to 1412, "Thunder God Raijin and Wind God Fujin," four panel folding screen by Korin Ogata, and "The Yeti," illustration from "Monsters and Mythic Beasts" by D'Achille, 1975.

Now, monsters look different in paintings, films, and cultures, but they often share common features.

We can see an image of the Loch Ness Monster and the Minotaur.

You could also have a look at the unicorn that you see on the screen here, Sully from "Monsters, Inc.

," or the chimaera from Greek myths.

I want you to think about what common features do you notice across all monsters? Hmm, you may have picked up on the fact that all the monsters look a bit unusual or strange.

You may have said that the monsters are quite unique in what they look like, and that they may have special powers.

Back to you.

Which of these is a common feature that monsters often have? They are always real creatures we see every day, B, they look exactly the same in every story, or C, they usually can appear to be strange, unusual, or have powers.

You could pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So, what did you get? Well, if you've got C, you are correct, common features of monsters are that they can usually appear to be strange, unusual, or have powers.

Let's move on.

So now we're onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

For question one, I would like you to talk to your partner about features that are common to a monster.

So Jacob starts off, "Monsters often have unique or strange physical traits, like.

." Jun says, "Monsters may possess powers such as.

." And Aisha says, "Some monsters may live in.

." You can use these sentence stems to help you with your discussion.

Once you've had your discussion, click play so we can move forward with this lesson.

So, what did you discuss? Well, this is what Jacob, Jun, and Aisha discussed.

Jacob said, "Monsters often have unique or strange physical traits, like multiple eyes, claws, or unusual skin colours." Jun said, "Monsters may possess powers such as flying, shape-shifting, or breathing fire." Aisha said, "Some monsters may live in dark or remote places such as caves, forests, or underwater." Well done for having that discussion.

We are now going to move on.

So for this lesson cycle, we're now going to look at how artists draw monster features.

Artists use various features to draw monsters.

What features do you notice about this monster? So some of the features that you may have noticed are large eyes, unusual body shape, and sharp teeth.

Maybe you also noticed the horns and the claws on its feet.

My turn, I'm going to describe the features that I notice on my monster.

I can see sharp horns and they're pink.

I can see sharp claws and bright fur.

I've also noticed that the monster has large blue eyes.

Your turn.

What features do you notice? You can pause the video here.

So, what did you get? Well, this monster has multiple eyes, large eyes, wings.

You may have also said that it's got a sharp beak.

There's quite a lot of features that these monsters have.

Now Jacob is comparing features of the monsters and what they tell us about the monster.

So you've got two monsters on the screen here.

We've got monster A and monster B, and we can see that they look quite different to each other.

What do you notice? Well, Jacob looks closely at monster A.

It's got multiple eyes, it's got sharp teeth, and it's got dark colours.

Jacob says, "Monster A scares me.

The dark colours make it appear more dangerous, and the red sharp teeth are quite frightening." Now, Jacob looks closely at monster B.

It's got big round eyes, a wide smile, and bright colours have been used.

Jacob says, "This monster has bright colours with a friendly face with big round eyes and a wide smile.

It looks cheerful and inviting." Over to you.

Which feature shows that the monster might be friendly? Is it A, a long spiky tail? B, multiple claws, C, bright, colourful eyes, or D, a fierce-looking mouth? You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So, what did you get? If you got C, you are correct.

Bright, colourful eyes often indicate a friendly and approachable monster.

Let's move on to the main task for this lesson cycle.

So you are now going to create your own monster with a partner.

And for this you will need an A4 piece of paper with some colouring, pencils, pens, or markers.

You're going to take turns to draw the different parts of your monster, make sure your partner does not see what you have drawn.

You're then going to draw, fold, and pass it on.

And then at the end you're going to reveal your monster to see the final creation.

And then for question two, you're going to discuss how you have used different features and what they tell us about the monster.

So for example, Jacob and Jun have a go at this activity.

Jacob says, "I'll draw the ears or horns first, then fold the paper" and Jun says, "I'll wait without looking." When Jacob finishes, he folds the paper and hands it to Jun.

Now it's Jun's turn.

"I'll draw the monster's head on the next section of the paper, making sure the lines from the ears or horns connect with the head." Jacob says, "I'll wait without looking." When Jun finishes, he folds the paper and hands it back to Jacob.

And you can see here how Jun's just focused on the head and the eyes.

And he's even added a few extra details there.

Once all parts are drawn, both partners unfold the paper to reveal the monster they created together.

So you can pause the video here.

Off you go with your partner, have fun creating your monster.

So how did it go? Here's an example.

So we can see here that each partner has taken turns to draw the monster.

Jun says, "Wow, look at those huge glowing eyes, they make the monster look really alert and almost magical, don't you think? I think the light coloured fur makes the monster look a bit cheerful and mysterious." For question two, pupils may have discussed something along the lines of this.

So Jacob says, "I added horns and sharp teeth because I wanted the monster to be terrifying." And you may have also done the same.

Jun says, "I drew large, round, colourful eyes and used bright purple because I wanted the monster to be welcoming and friendly." Well done if you managed to create your monster with your partner.

Now let's summarise our learning.

So this lesson was focused on monsters in myths and film.

You now understand that monsters appear in various myths and films across different cultures.

You also understand that artists use specific features to depict monsters, such as exaggerated facial expressions and body parts.

And lastly, understanding cultural context can help us to appreciate how monsters are portrayed in art.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson, I hope you really enjoyed it and the tasks.

I look forward to seeing you in the next lesson.

Bye!.