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Check out English Stars' diverse and engaging multimedia resources

English Stars 7/3/23

English Stars utilises a rich array of multimedia resources – from videos and audio clips to slideshows and comic strips. Let’s take a look at some of the ways English Stars helps students explore the English curriculum through its diverse and engaging multimedia modules.

Use engaging videos to write news articles

In the English Stars 5 unit Hot off the Press, students become journalists with a nose for a great story. Their task is to write a news article about a lion that escaped from the zoo.

Before they begin, students watch a video with a collection of interviews and take notes using the Newsworthy Facts Template, a writing scaffold that asks:

• Who was involved?
• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• Why did it happen?
• How did it happen?
• What are some relevant quotes?

Videos have a special way of bringing content to life because they are both engaging and informative. This learning video is just one of hundreds scattered throughout the English Stars program.

Listen to audio clips for comprehension practice

With the rising popularity of podcasts, effective listening is a crucial skill for young learners to develop. Unlike video, audio requires students to focus solely on listening, without the support of text or visual cues.

The English Stars 4 module Effective Listening encourages students to ready their ears for listening comprehension practice before they jump into the activity. Warm-up slides remind students about what effective listening looks like. Students are given tips for effective listening and note-taking before moving on to partner practice.

After listening to the audio clip, students put their listening comprehension skills to the test by answering multiple choice questions.

Interpret images using comic strips

While students are typically taught to interpret images using graphs and tables, English Stars 5 module Interpret Images uses comic strips to help students learn how to make meaning from images.

Students begin by building knowledge about visual text features such as:

• characterisation (e.g. body language, facial features)
• size and placement (e.g. where the character is in the image)
• shapes (e.g. rounded shapes reflect natural environments)
• colours (e.g. different colours reflect different emotions or meanings)
• brightness (e.g. dark, shadowy silhouettes create a sinister atmosphere)
• framing (e.g. heavy framing could show imprisonment or hardship)
• social distance (e.g. characters that are far apart could be strangers or enemies).

Comic strips can depict complex stories with few or no words. What’s more, comic strips are engaging and fun, making them an ideal tool for teaching students how to interpret visual text features.

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