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 The Railway Children - A Review

Primary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

1. Read the novel: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, or,

watch the 2000 version -  Full Movie
https://youtu.be/h3zO0zm5FTU

To get an idea of how much this original movie is loved in UK, have a look at the following trailer: Railway Children 40th Anniversary: Reunion
https://youtu.be/w-vQP_hywAY

2. Go to the activities in this Penguin Readers Teacher's Support Program and complete the activities here:  

3. After watching different aspects of the movies - compare and contrast them using the linked template

4. Which one did you like better? Why?

5. Write a Review of the 2000 movie using the steps below:

6. Look at the following Theatre Trailer where the Production Team have converted an old railway station into a Theatre to portray the play - "The Railway Children". What would you do to as a production of this play? How would you show the scenery for your production?

Did You Know? The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated fantasy film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the exception of the waiters who dispense hot chocolate on the train, because their feats were impossible for live actors to achieve. Performance capture technology incorporates the movements of live actors into animated characters. (Source: Wikipedia)

On trial: "Teen arrested after spitting at Train Guard"

Middle  Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In groups of 3 - 4 students, read the following short news item from The Western Weekender 20 May 2020

Here is the transcript:

"A teenage boy will appear in court next month after allegedly spitting at a train guard in Werrington last night.

About 7.55pm, a train guard was working on an eastbound train from Penrith to Hornsby when the teenager alighted the train at Werrington Railway Station and stood on the platform.

As the train was leaving the platform, the teenager allegedly leant forward and spat at the train guard who was standing within the open door of the guard’s carriage.

The teenager then left the station in a westerly direction.

Shortly after, officers attached to Public Transport Command Penrith attended and arrested the 17-year-old on Victoria Street, Werrington.

He was taken to Penrith Police Station and charged with ‘common assault’.

The teenager was issued a Court Attendance Notice, to appear at a children’s court on Thursday, July 9."

2. Each student is to take a different perspective:

• The Teenageer
• The Train Guard
• The Officer from the Public Transport Command Penrith
• One of the Teenager's parents

You are to write an account of incident to be read out in court. The Parents are to write up how they feel about this incident involving their son.

3. You are now going to use the Expert Jigsaw Strategy - all the teenagers, all the train guards, all the officers, and, all the parents are to get together to combine their thoughts and ideas.

Eg. how old is your teenager? Why did he spit? How did the Train Guard feel about the spitting? What is common assault?

4. Each group is to elect a spokesperson for their expert group to be engaged in the court hearing.

5. Scenario.

You are all in court on Thursday July 9 at 10am.

There are several other jobs to be taken up by the class:

Judge - Teacher

Prosecuting Lawyer - will sit with the Train Guard and the Officer from the Public Transport Command Penrith.

Defending Lawyer - will sit with the Teenager and his Parents.

Jury - a group of 10 students (or all of the rest of the class).

Before the class can conduct a Hearing, you need to know the Australian law:

6. Conduct the Hearing.

The jury needs to decide the punishment or not of the accused.

7. Each perspective is to write 3 sentences describing the outcome of the hearing [including the teacher!]. Share with the class.