Using Scooby Doo in Literacy
We have been recommending Scooby Doo for some time in our texts that teach lists where adventure or mystery are taught. The cartoon clearly follows an overcoming the monster archetype and the characters are stock characters. They don’t change or develop, always playing the same role. These elements are what make it an excellent text that teaches for Yr3 pupils.
Well now we can add gaming to the mix with The Temple of the Lost Souls. This game sees Shaggy and Scooby Doo searching for the hottest chilli in the world to use in their cooking, and in the process trapping a monster. The game would lend itself to creating a comic to tell the story. This will allow children to choose the frames to represent the pace of the ‘story’ and to add key aspects in text. For a walkthrough of the game see this example.
For a great description of engaging boys (and girls) in writing there is a section in “I know what I want to write
now!” Engaging Boys (and Girls) through a Multimodal Approach by Petula Bhojwani, Bill Lord and Cath Wilkes that explores making comic strips based on film. Using comic strips based on games allows children to develop structure and theidea of key events. Using comic strips based on film allows children to develop the notion of character and reactions to events which are not always present in gaming.
May 30th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Great idea, and if the kids need a cartoon place to make a little book, try ToonDoo’s Book Maker feature. Once they create each page, they drag and drop into a widget that makes a book they can share or embed. You can see an example in my latest post.
June 4th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Thanks Susan. That would link really well. I am off to have a look at it right now.