Dustin

In this comedy, Dustin the pampered pug is very annoyed when an automatic cleaning robot moves in. 

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Stop the video at 0:45. What have you learnt about Dustin from this first part of the film? What do you think will happen next?
• Stop the film at 0:59 - What do you think is in the box? Start and stop immediatly at 1:00. What does Dustin think might be in the box?
• Make a chart showing the similarities and difference between the two Dustins (the dog and the cleaner).
• Stop the film at 1:50  when the cleaning robot sucks up the treat. Make a list of the language you could use to describe how Dustin is feeling. 
• Write a narration for the section between 3:04 and 3:31.
• Make a storyboard or comic of the story.
• Use the Class Tools SMS generator to write a text conversation between the owner and their friend, or perhaps the pug and the cleaning robot. 
• Write a diary entry for what the pug’s life was like before the robot came. 
• Write the next chapter; what will the pug and the robot get up to next?
• Write an advertisement for the robot cleaner. How would you persuade people to buy it?

Science

• Make a fact file or information poster, showing how to look after a pet properly.
• Watch this video and write your own explanation about how thunder and lightning are formed.

Computing

• Use Signbot to create a scrolling sign which you can save as a gif and use in a presentation or drawing. 
• Design a route and program a programmable robot, such as a roamer or beebot, to follow it.  
• Visit Turtle Academy and learn how to program an onscreen turtle in Logo.
• Convert a clip of video into slow motion using Clideo. What effect does it have? Try different speeds, which one is the most effective?

Design Technology

• Design an automatic gadget to perform a household task. 
• Write an explanation of how you think robot cleaners work, then see how accurate your ideas are by watching this video.
• Make this fun pug bookmark from Red Ted Art.

Art

• Look at some examples of pugs in art and compare them to Dustin:
  • The Painter and his Pug by Hogarth,
  • The Marquesa de Pontejos by Goya,
  • Young Lady in a Boat by Tissot. 

Music

• Learn the song! Why do you think the film makers they choose this song?

• Compose a simple tune for Dustin the pug, and another for the robot cleaner. Use them to make a new soundtrack for the film.

History

• Research the history of the pug on this great page from Kiddle. Can you make a timeline using the information? 

PSHE

• Dustin the pug and Dustin the cleaner become friends in the film, even though at the beginning this looks very unlikely. When does the relationship change? Can a robot really be a friend?
• Think of other pairs of unlikely friends in books and films. Why do they become and stay friends?