Preview
The story
The Bridge begins with two children bouncing on their suitcase excitedly anticipating their family holiday. As they rattle along in their family car, the sky darkens, the rain blurs their view, and events unfold.
All of this is told through skilled art and animation. The layered textured landscapes have a palette of colour that can capture all viewers. The artist’s attention to detail can be appreciated by the young audience who will want to watch again and again just to see their favourite bit.
The guitar soundtrack has an earthy feel and is embellished with environmental sounds to add to the drama and allows the imagination flow.
Text for the story can be turned on or off. This enables the teacher to use this material for a whole range of literacy activities; for example, as a motivation for storytelling and writing, predictions in reading, and an exploration of visual literacy. It also gives children an opportunity to relate and recall car journeys with their families, and material to build on for the other subject follow-ups.
The Bridge concept also supports the basic foundations of our educational software: bridging the gap between technology and environmental experiences.
View some examples of The Bridge in action:
Mathematics pathway
Capacity: Making rivers, bridges and damsThe lessons in the mathematics pathway are based on the concepts of volume, capacity and geometry. Each screen provides an animated activity but also prompts hands-on action. In this screen the children decide, by clicking on the animated trucks, how many truckloads of sand it will take to dam the river. They can then head off to the sandpit and make rivers to dam with their truckloads of sand.
Lesson example: #3 Dam the river
Hands-on experiences and conversation provide a solid platform for performing abstract mathematical concepts.
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Music pathway
Soundscapes: Telling a story through soundThe lessons in the music pathway are based on the concepts of sound, graphic notation and soundscapes. The animated action here generates sounds from the story when the coloured buttons are pressed. The children then create drawings of the sound, as modelled in the animation.
Lesson example: #3 Draw the sound
Children draw a sound to paste on a mural. The mural will become a graphic score to use for making soundscapes.
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Social studies pathway
Role plays: Making plays about family car tripsThe lessons in the social studies pathway cover concepts of family roles, costumes, family events, and role play. To get to this screen, decisions have to be made about props, characters and the destination of the car trip. The class now use this screen to think about the story for their play. After discussing story possibilities, the children set off in groups to make their own play.
- Through discussion, a story for the play is developed.
- What happened on the way?
- What might cause a problem on the family car trip?
- How might this problem be solved?
- How does each character react to this problem?
Lesson example: #4 The story.
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Visual Art pathway
Composition: Making collage picturesThe lessons in the visual art pathway are based on the art elements of shape, colour, texture, collage and composition. The animated activity example on this screen allows the children to move an ever-changing range of coloured and textured shapes to make a limitless number of pictures. The children can then head off to tables in their classroom to make their own pictures.
Lesson example: #4 Make a picture
By moving the textured shapes around, pictures can be made and composition explored.
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