8/19/2011
8/13/2011
MOM; discussing content and characters
characters
We talked about teachers and 'mentor' figures in our culture, their role and relationships with children/students and how we would like to adapt and adopt this into our series, in a slightly unconventional manner. For now we shall refer to this person/thing as MF (Mentor Figure).
MF is a rich and layered character (we still have to do the enriching and layering) who appears at the moment when a child is explodingly(not a word, I know but it describes perfectly) curious about something that they cannot figure out or are not happy with the explanation that they are given. MF is constant throughout the series, encountering a a different child(+ pet/friend/cousin) in each book of the series
MF is a fantastic(literally), magical and mysterious. In the series, MF takes the child(+ pets) /children on journeys and adventures, explaining and allowing the child to figure out the mysteries of the world for themselves.
content
We identified the important moments building up to the point where MF would appear; this beginning would provide the questions in the area of content that need to be explained/answered.
Below, we have listed out the topics we shall be covering. Each of us has taken a book to detail out the situations, questions and explanations. (will arrive in one of the subsequent posts)
1. Space
universe
universe
galaxy
solar system
planet
earth + moon
2. Earth
in the earth; layers of the earth
on the earth; oceans and continents
equator and poles
different terrains
3. Atmosphere
day-night, sunrise-sunset
wind, clouds
wind, clouds
rain, lightening, thunder
water cycle
seasons
4. Places on earth
language
clothing
culture
5. My World
(indian) plants
(indian) animals
with subtle message of preservation-conservation
OKAY
(:
childhood
Apart from being a really wonderful Beach House song, it is also a considerable chunk of time in our lives.
I scanned some pages from different books that I read as a kid.
(one of those 'beautiful daughters of-')
(fishing)
(there's a wolf in this story also)
(underwater illustrations, mmmm)
(haw. she's sitting on the devil)
(the Snow Queen)
8/12/2011
Exploring Narrative Styles
We decided to list out kinds of narrative styles that we could narrow down to one, weighing pros and cons in the context that we had to design for.
FACT BASED
Design challenge to make facts cool
Easily Reviewable
Parents might find it easier to use as a teaching tool
Considered more of an investment
Might get boring
If it's boring, it's redundant
Why should the supplement also be serious?
Facts can be easily accessed through other media
ACTIVITY BASED
(Observatory, DIY’s , Everyday learning, Kitchen lab etc)
Experiential Learning
Observatory DIY’s
Kids learn better when they have semantic clues
Activities stimulates their minds because reading is minimal
Kids LOVE activites.
Good confidence booster
Increases interaction with peersBeing able to generalise it enough for the audience
Bridging the social gaps
Not everything can be translated into an activity
Introducing this into an established market is a
challenge
CHARACTER BASED STORIES
(Adventures, Storytelling)
Stories stay with you for life
You build a relationship with the character
Teachers can use a character as an example to teach
Indian culture teaches things through folktales and storytelling
Builds a relationship with the book that they will remember later.
Learning might take a backseat to the story
Create a balance between science and fun
Shouldnt accidentally copy an existing character
IMAGINATIVE
(Whimsical, Lyrical, Sense of Humour, Riddles)
Humour appeals to children
Will be read time and again
Kids remember things easier in song
More freedom to express using illustration as a tool
Get to explore the space between imagination and science, which is interesting
Tulika might like their first range of science books to be less hardcore types.
Parents might not want to invest in something whimsical
Might be hard to translate
Thin line between whimsical and abstraction
Difficult to make science whimsical
SO!
Ideal Narrative Style: Poetic/whimsical, but incorporating the best of activities and probably a central character
(key)Points - Translation might be difficult, Rhymes, It needs to relate to the client range.
8/11/2011
Research Findings
Yello (:
Here are some points from our (mostly)primary and secondary research-
Schools
- montessori method of teaching is open and heavily activity-based, with story-telling, singing and even dancing. It involves hands-on teachings tools and peer learning among the children.
- the first and second standards of primary school in some schools are more structured than others. But most teachers are unsatisfied with the textbooks and use a lot of supplementary material. They mentioned the need for books with far more Indian context.
- some less privileged schools either are not interested in anything outside syllabus or are truly concerned about educating the children and are more accepting to change and new ideas.
- huge difference between (fancy)books available at higher-end bookstores when compared to the local language books sold on the streets
- most books that assist science learning for kids are activity based
- few Indian publishers experiment with narrative or imagination-science based
- activity books with interactive layouts, puppets, stickers, cut-outs; mostly used by one child and lifespan short
- (to explore further) mentality of parents who buy science-books for their kids
Homes
- wide spectrum of behavioral patterns of children and parents
- too wide and contradictory to generalize, but our target parents would be the ones who want to encourage science thinking, observing and learning in their child, maybe spend time with them reading this book, stimulate their curiosity, etc
Overview
Our brief is to conceptualize and design a series of 5 books of science communication for children of the ages of 5-7.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)