What to do
- the rap becomes live for you to view on May 15 2006
- read through the rap and click on the hyperlinks; print off any rap sheets (work sheets or information sheets) which you may need
- register your class group to the rap by filling in the registration box on the first page of the rap with the class email address
- go back and register yourself on the teacher rap with a different email address (no registration fee)
- you will receive a welcome message
- read this very carefully and note the email address to be used when you send emails to the rap
- work through the teaching and learning strategies, completing activities for both English and PDHPE
- prepare the response to the rap point for that week
- mail the response to the week’s work to the rap (see rap points), using the email address in the welcome message and making sure you fill in the subject line.
Worst best friends
Timetable of program
N.B. Before posting response to rap points ensure that some of the activities from both English and PDHPE have been completed
| Date |
May 15 |
May 22 |
May 29 |
June 5 |
June 12 |
June 19 |
| Rap stage |
Rap live |
Introductions |
Rap point 1 |
Rap point 2 |
Rap point 3 |
Rap wrap up |
| Viewing/ general activity |
Register class and teacher |
View videos
View and discuss rap website
Print off rap sheet 1 |
Episodes 1 & 2
|
Episode 3 |
Episode 4 |
Episode 5 |
| English activity |
|
|
Activity 1
Main ideas
Activity 2
Passport or data chart |
Activity 3
Character portraits
Activity 4
Character sociogram |
Activity 5 Food for thought
Activity 6
Celebrations |
Activity 7
Film techniques |
| PDHPE activity |
|
|
Activity 1
What is a friend?
Activity 2
Friends’ network
Activity 3
What is bullying? |
Activity 4
Discussion/
graph
Activity 5
Local community map |
Activity 6
My family
Activity 7
Family roles
Activity 8
Family changes |
Activity 9
Resolving conflict
Activity 10
Strategies for conflict resolution |
| Email (at end of week) |
|
Send a short message |
Post response to Rap point 1 |
Post response to Rap point 2 |
Post response to Rap point 3 |
Post responses 1 & 2 to wrap rap up |
Dates
Coordinator
Joining the rap
Rap support materials
About this rap
Focus outcomes
Teaching and learning strategies
Resources
Worst best friends texts
Websites supporting film literacy
Other resources supporting film literacy
School libraries resources which support the running of a rap
Credits
About this rap
This rap is suitable for Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). It is a multimedia unit from the television series by Max Dann. It is taken from the video of the series Volume 1, episodes 1–5.
Based on Max Dann’s book Adventures with my worst best friend, Worst best friends was written by Dann and produced by Coxknight Productions.
The team is well known for the popular television series Sea change. Celebrating the absurdities of childhood Worst best friends charts young Roger Thesaurus’ course through the minefield of playground politics, friendships and his parents’ crumbling marriage. When the rough and tumble Dusting turns up and is determined to be Thesaurus’s best friend there is bound to be trouble as Thesaurus already has a best friend, the bossy, articulate and determined Millicent.
Worst best friends [videorecording] (2002). Australian Children’s Television Foundation, Victoria. Available from Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) ph: 03 9419 8800; email: info@actf.com.au; fax: 03 9419 0660.
The Worst best friends rap will be available during Term 2, 2006. It will focus on working towards Stage 2 outcomes in the English Years K–6 syllabus and the PDHPE Years K–6 syllabus. The lesson plans focus on bullying prevention, civic responsibility, friendship and family issues, multicultural issues, and developing an understanding of media texts.
Awards
- Nominated for Children and Youth category Banff 2003 Rookie Awards
- Accepted into the Museum and Television and Radio’s Twelfth international Children’s Television Festival
The Australian Children’s Television Foundation is a national, government funded non-profit organisation that aims to enrich young peoples’ lives through the production of engaging and educational media and to support teachers using media in their classrooms. ACTF programs have screened in over 100 countries and have won over 95 local and international awards. Its television series includes hits such as Round the Twist and Noah & Saskia.
| Dates: (approx) |
| *Rap live for registration |
Week of 15 May 2006 (T2 Wk3) |
| *Introductions from |
22 May 2006 (T2 Wk4) |
| *Rap point 1 |
29 May 2006 (T2 Wk5) |
| *Rap point 2 |
5 June 2006 (T2 Wk6) |
| *Rap point 3 |
12 June 2006 (T2 Wk7) |
| *Rap wrap up |
19 June 2006 (T2 Wk8) |
Coordinator
Charmayne Hodgman, Assistant Principal, teacher-librarian, and Head of English at Mona Vale PS.
Joining the rap
From 15 May 2006, you may participate in the Worst best friends rap by entering your email address in the boxes below and clicking the Submit buttons. Please ensure you have registered the email addresses before submitting. The class email address should be different from the teacher email address. Enter the class email first; go back and then enter the teacher email.
Archives of the class email discussion
To protect privacy, teacher emails will not be archived. The teacher rap runs concurrently with the rap to provide additional support for teachers. It gives teachers the opportunity to discuss issues which may arise during the rap.
After registering: You will receive two confirmation emails – one for your class group and one for the teacher support listserv (discussion).
Please read and save these messages as they contain important email addresses. In particular please note that:
- emails should have the subject in the subject line
- emails should be sent to the rap email address – not to the coordinator.
Rap support materials
Rap points
Focus outcomes
Stage 2 English and PDHPE
Teaching and learning strategies
Resources
Rap sheets (for use with Rap points)
Rapp maps
Rap lingo
Implementing a rap (Book rap FAQs)
Email – Instruction sheet for students
Parent information letter
Credits
Rap points These discussion questions guide the rap. The question for the week is posted to the rap at the beginning of that week by the coordinator. Class groups post their answers via email. Students can respond via the rap to other school's replies during the relevant week for that rap point.
Rap point 1
Rap point 2
Rap point 3
Rap wrap up
Rap point 1 (For related class activities see Teaching and learning strategies)
Term 2, Week 5: week beginning 29 May 2006
RAP POINT 1
Discuss some of the conflicts that the class has observed between characters in episodes 1 and 2 of Worst best friends. Why do you think these conflicts occurred?
Post your responses to the rap.
Rap point 2 (For related class activities see Teaching and learning strategies)
Term 2, Week 6: week beginning 5 June 2006
RAP POINT 2
Discuss the reasons why Millicent chose to help Dusting? Were her reasons for doing so good reasons?
Does being rich mean that you have to have lots of money or possessions? Explain your answer.
Post your responses to the rap.
Rap point 3 (For related class activities see Teaching and learning strategies)
Term 2, Week 7: week beginning 12 June 2006
RAP POINT 3
At the end of episode 4 Aunt Edna makes the comment that ‘interest is the string that ties families together’. Discuss the meaning of this comment in light of what you have seen in episodes of Worst best friends and in your own family.
Post your responses to the rap.
Rap Wrap Up
Term 2, Week 8: week beginning 19 June 2006.
Rap wrap up (For related class activities see Teaching and learning strategies)
Rap wrap up 1: Identify other examples of the film techniques from Rap sheet 1, and discuss how media codes and conventions help us to understand the story (narrative) and characters in Worst best friends.
Rap wrap up 2:At the end of episode 5 Thesaurus talks about friends. ‘Eddie was never going to make friends with anyone…I don’t know what makes people friends…sometimes you can be friends without liking each other’ Discuss how your class feels about Thesaurus’s ideas on friendship.
Post your responses to the rap.
Rap sheets
Rap sheet 1
Rap maps
Find examples of maps and tally sheets. Students may use these to identify and locate schools participating in the book rap. Use these or create your own based on ideas from these examples.
Rap lingo
| Book rap |
an online discussion about a book |
| Listserv |
a discussion via email |
| Rappers |
the people involved in the book rap |
| Rap map |
a map marking other rappers’ locations |
| Rap point |
a topic, issue or event from the book to discuss |
| Rap record |
print out of messages responded to |
| Rap reflections |
sheets for rappers to reflect on their experiences and skills |
| Rap rep |
the person typing the responses |
| Rap reporters |
the people relaying rap news to others |
| Rap rules |
guidelines of a book rap discussion |
| Rap sheets |
worksheets or information sheets |
| Rap wrap up |
final message about a book rap |
Credits
Thank you to Charmayne Hodgman, Assistant Principal, teacher-librarian, and Head of English at Mona Vale PS, and to Di Twetyman, Assistant Principal and Head of PDHPE at Mona Vale PS, for developing the material. Thanks also to Annalies van Westenbrugge, Project Officer English, Curriculum K–12 Directorate and Darren Neagle, Senior Curriculum Advisor PDHPE, Curriculum K–12 Directorate.
Additional resources provided by the School Libraries and Information Literacy unit.
This rap is a joint project of the School Libraries and Information Literacy and English and PDHPE Units, Curriculum K–12 Directorate.
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