Northern Bells – Animal Kingdom

The fates of three mysterious creatures are intertwined in this gripping paper cut animation.

Watch the video below and then try some of our suggested teaching ideas!

English

• For the first viewing, watch the video without the music. Ask the children what they think it is about. Then watch again with the music. What do they think now?
• Write the story of the video from the point of view of one of the characters.
• Have a class discussion about the video. What do you think the themes of the video are? How are characters connected? Why does it end with the pumping heart?
• Write a poem about one of the characters in the video.
• Create a new character for the video.
• Collect adjectives that could be used to describe this video.
• Make a storyboard for the video, using one of our templates.
• Collect books that feature unusual creatures, like Where the Wild Things Are.
• Read some books that feature cut paper, such as “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats or “Golem” by David Wisniewski.
• Learn about how Hans Christian Andersen used paper cutting in his storytelling.
• Write a review of the video.
• Suggest an alternative title for the video.
• Write an email to the film’s creator, asking about an aspect of the video that interests you.

Maths

• Cut out paper shapes and use them for pattern making.
• Stop the video at different points and ask the children to identify the different shapes used. For example, you could stop it at 4:33 or 4:58.
• Discuss how natural shapes are changed to more regular shapes towards the end of the video.
• Show the children how to draw 3D shapes using isometric paper and ask them to draw shapes created from cubes. This video is really helpful:

• Try our cube net activity.

Science

• Study animal habitats. Our Habitats Pack has plenty of resources.

• Create a life cycle for an animal. Try our Life Cycles Pack for ideas and resources.
• Talk about threats to animals. In the video, a volcano is a threat to the animals. What other threats can you think of?
• Use these fantastic resource packs from WWT to explore wetland bird adaptations.
• Learn about the circulatory system in humans and other animals.
• Draw a poster showing how living things are classified into different kingdoms.
• Learn how decomposers are essential to life on Earth.

Computing

• Create your own cut paper animation. This video is a great introduction to the process:

• Create a digital presentation about animal habitats.
• Use CAD software to draw isometric shapes.
• Use video editing software to make a trailer for the video. This scheme of work from Teach Computing is full of useful information.

Design Technology

• Design and make some masks to act out the video.
• Create puppets to act out the story from cut card.

Art

• Look at some cut paper art, such as The Snail by Henri Matisse or the work of Bovey Lee and Pippa Dyrlaga, and try to create some of your own.
• Use mixed media to recreate a scene from the video.
• Draw a new animal, inspired by the ones in the film.
• Print with feathers or cut out feather shapes.

Music

• Compose a soundtrack for the video, using instruments or composing software.
• Listen to Peter and the Wolf, then compose a simple tune for each character in the video.

Geography

• Map out the biomes of the world. Which ones do you think the video might be set in?

Physical Education

• Create a dance to the song, incorporating animal movements.
• Design and build an obstacle course based on animal movements.

Languages

• Learn the names of animals in the language you are studying.
• Research the names of an animal in different languages. Can you see any similarities between the words?
• Write simple sentences about animals in the language you are studying.

PSHE

• What do you think the theme of the video is?
• Have a discussion about our responsibilities in relation to animals in the environment.
• Stop the video (for example, at 1:23 or 3:08) and discuss how a character might be feeling.