Animated Short Films in

English Lessons
1 Genre

“Animated movies displayed via computers is one of the modern methods of education, that
works on activating the child’s imagination, educates him [or her] and entertains him [or her].”
(Eman and Naglaa 2010: 367)

In this term paper, I will show the advantages of animated films, especially animated short
films, as a teaching resource and, in the main part, show one example for a lesson based
on the short film The Present.
The name animation “derive[s] from the latin verb, animare, which means ‘to give
life to’, and within the context of the animated film, this largely means the artificial creation
of the illusion of movement in inanimate lines and forms (Wells 1998: 10).
The history of the animated film begins in the early 20th century with two men, who
were drawing comics for a newspaper, before they started to experiment with animation
(see Smith 1977: 23). J. Stuart Blackton started giving so-called chalk-talks, “which are
something like slow-motion animation” (Smith 1977: 23) and his film record of one of these
talks Humorous Phases of Funny Faces from 1906 is “usually considered the first animated
film” (Smith 1977: 23 f.). The first full animated film was Little Nemo in 1911, whose creator
is also responsible for the first colour cartoon (see Wells 1998: 16).
Today, animation films are an important and very big film genre, especially for an
audience of younger age. However, this does not mean that they are only meant for
children. The kinds and topics of animated films vary in a high degree and can deal with
easy and funny topics to serve the purpose of entertainment, or they can deal with serious
or difficult topics in a very sophisticated manner, like for example the short films Endless
and Father And Daughter. Of course, there are many animated short films of other kinds or
with various purposes, too, and this variety makes them a great resource for almost every
topic.
For teaching, the animated shorts not only provide a wide range of topics, but also
can be used for many different purposes: as introduction, as the focus of the lesson that
deals with a specific topic, as reason to let the students talk and discuss, to provoke the
pupils or, of course, for training listening and viewing competence.
Animated shorts are, in my opinion, particularly valuable for lessons in which
speaking or writing competence is important as they often contain less spoken or written
words, but thus seem more mystical and deal with topics in other manners, which is
unusual. This provokes the students, and, hopefully, inspires them to talk about the film and
discuss the meaning, the emotions, how they have been triggered, which techniques were
used or what the producer’s intention might have been. Dolesen already argued that

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 [o]f all the many short films used in high school classes, cartoons and animated films may
be the most provocative. Students accustomed to thinking of cartoons or animated films as
pure entertainment – something Disney carried to its logical items – are often surprised to
discover that these films can convey serious reflections and ideas about modern man and
the problems in his modern world (Doleson 1972: 157).

Furthermore, I think that animated shorts are especially useful for creative teachers
as, because of their variety of difficulties, topics and manners to deal with them the
possibilities of exercises, topics and methods to embed these films into the lesson are
almost endless.
In addition, Josef Champoux gives a list of reasons for animated shorts to be very
effective and valuable for teaching:

- The visualization of animation can create strong, lasting images of concepts.

- Animation offers alternatives to live-action scenes that can increase the variety that one
brings to the classroom.
- Strong caricature in animated film can powerfully show concepts.
- Exaggeration in animated films help link abstract concepts to visual symbols.
- Borrowing from Roger Ebert’s observation, animations can help us link concepts directly
to the mind of our students (Champoux 2001: 81).

The emotions triggered by animated films are very important for teaching. It is well known
that information connected to affections is memorized much better than without emotions
being involved. Pupils can, in addition, involve their own fantasy and interpretation, as
animated films involve a fictional world, often very different from the reality.
Furthermore, Sybil DelGaudio adds, regarding animation especially for documentary
purposes, that

“[…]animation serves to create a rupture between the signifier and the signified, thus
reinforcing the theoretical nature of the information presented, and foregrounding the
aforementioned heightened consciousness’ about its ‘faculty’.” (DelGaudio 1997: 192)

As we can see, animated short films have a lot of potential to be used for education
and teaching. For lower classes, the animated shorts contain a considerable potential, as
they might like it a lot and, additionally, the language in many of them is very easy or not
that important for understanding the film, like in the one I chose for my lesson, The Present.
However, the animated short films are also highly valuable for teaching students with
intermediate or higher level, as they, for example, can talk and discuss about them in

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greater detail. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the range of difficulty and complexity of
animated shorts is very broad, so that they can be used for teaching every age.
The film, I decided to design a lesson concept on, could be used for every level. The
speech in this film is not particularly complex and it is clearly not needed for understanding
the plot and the meaning. I decided to design a lesson for intermediate levels, as I thought
that the possibilities to talk about it in English is very restricted for beginners and it might be
too easy for advanced level learners, although I would argue that it depends on the material
prepared around the film.

2 Procedure
Title “The Present”
Synopsis A teenage boy is playing video games when his mother arrives
with a present: a puppy. The boy is delighted, until he sees the
dog’s disability: one leg is missing. He abandons him, but the dog
still enjoys playing with a ball and a box in a very clumsy but life-
affirming manner, making the teenager smile. Finally the dog’s
positivity convinces the boy to play with his new companion. When
the boy gets up, the reason for his initial reluctance is seen: he
has only one leg. In the end, he goes outside and plays with the
dog, visibly happier than before.
Competences Speaking, writing, listening-viewing
Topics Disability, teenagers, computer games, pets
Level Intermediate
Time 2 x 45 minutes

First lesson
Steps:
A. Pre-viewing (5-7 minutes)

1. Teacher (T) tells the students (S) that they are going to watch an animated short film.

2. T asks what kinds of animated films S know and what they know about the genre.

3. T tells S the name of the film and asks them about ideas what the film is about.

B. While-viewing (15-20 minutes)

1. a) T shows film until 00:06: only a black screen is seen and war sounds can be heard.

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 b) S guess again what the film is about, knowing only the title and the war sounds; T
has S describe the scenery they are expecting to see.

2. a) T shows film until 00:51: The mother has brought in the present and the boy is
about to open it.
b) Everyone writes down one or two idea(s) about the content of the box.
c) T has S share the ideas with class and discuss reasons for it.

3. a) T shows film until 1:21: The boy is reacting to the dog’s restraint in a very negative
manner, throws him down to the floor and kicks him away.
b) T has S describe the teenager’s reaction and discuss his behaviour and their
possible reasons.
c) Furthermore, S are animated to guess about a possible ending of the film.

4. a) T shows film until 02:45: the boy has changed his mind and smiles at the dog,
implying that he is going to play with it.
b) S discuss about what they think happens in the boy’s mind and why, also guessing
what is going to happen next.

5. a) T shows the rest of the film, revealing the unexpected ending displaying the boy’s
own handicap.
b) S are supposed to talk about their feelings and thoughts about the film and if they
think the film has a message and what this could be. They also talk and discuss
about the boy’s behaviour, which they now see from a different perspective

C. Post-viewing: Think-pair-share (about 15 minutes)

1. T hands out worksheet (cf. M1: The boy’s thoughts).

2. Seatwork: S fill in the thought bubbles before and after the boy has changed his mind
about the dog with a pencil, everyone works alone first.

3. S get together with a neighbour (or, if there is such a system in the class, a learning
buddy) and talk and discuss their thoughts and ideas.

4. S read their thoughts in pairs, one reading the first thought bubble, the other one the
second (possible solutions: cf. S1: The boy’s thoughts)

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5. S are asked about the possible reasons for the change in thought in the boy’s mind.

D. Homework

1. T writes down the homework: Summarize the animated short film in a few sentences.
(possible solution: cf. Synopsis)

Second lesson
Steps:
A. First step: Homework and recapitalization of last lesson (about 10 minutes)

1. S read out their homework.

2. Other S can react to the summaries and add pieces of information or tell if some are
unnecessary.

3. A few guided questions help S remember the most important things about
the short film, if they were not already included in the summaries. If they were already
mentioned, they do not need to be discussed again.
What did the boy do in the beginning?
Why did he stop playing?
What happened when the boy first saw the dog?
Why did the boy treat the dog badly in the beginning?
What happened to change his mind?
How did the story end? (possible solutions cf. S2: Guided questions)

B. Second step: Group work (group work: about 15 minutes; acting and
discussion: 15 minutes)

1. Let S get together in six groups by letting them count one after another until 4 or 5,
depending on the number of pupils in the class and let all the similar numbers go
together in one group (-> not always neighbours together!).

2. There are three topics, so that always two groups have the same topic. They have to
write something about it, knowing that they later have to act it out (Topics: cf. M 2:

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 group exercise). S are encouraged to give names to everyone and use the realia
brought to class by the T. This is supposed to facilitate to image and act out the
situation for the pupils. The item for the groups: group 1: two old mobile phones,
group 2: a picture of the disabled dog taken from the video, group 3: a toy dog. Every
group only gets a snippet with their own topic, so that they are not distracted by the
others and have to think about a good introduction that makes the situation clear for
the others. Ideas about the possible dialogues can be found in S2: group exercise.

3. All groups act out their situation, also using the realia.

4. After each group, the S are supposed to give feedback about the content, the ideas
and the language.

5. T gives own opinion at the end of every discussion about the individual groups.

C. Homework

1. S have to write down/complete the dialogue in their exercise books (individualization!),

which will next lesson be collected by the T and corrected.

3 Materials
M1: The boy’s thoughts

Animated Short Film: „The Present“

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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96kI8Mp1uOU. Time 01:17 and 03:03

M 2: Group exercise

Group 1

The mother is worried about her sons mental state, deriving from his disability.
She calls her friend and talks about possible ideas to make him feel better and get
out more often. Write a dialogue, which ends with the idea of buying a dog.

Roles: Mother, friend, narrator introducing the situation

Group 2

The boy’s mother thinks about buying the disabled dog for her son. She argues
with the other parent about this idea, who is against this kind of present.

Roles: Mother, other parent and narrator introducing the situation

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 Group 3

The boy tells his best friend about his day with the puppy, including the negative
first impression, how he changed his mind and how his day with the dog was.
Mary is interested and asks a lot of questions.

Roles: Boy, best friend, narrator introducing the situation

4 Solutions

S1: The boy’s thoughts

In the beginning:

My mum is making fun of me, just like everyone else! Such a stupid dog, crippled like me.
He is disgusting! He reminds me of my own disability and I hate it! Nobody wants such a
dog or such a friend. I am so angry, my mother always wants me to be okay with my leg,
but I’m not, I hate it! And this dog is the same and reminds me of it! I’ll tell her to throw it
out when she comes back!

In the end:

Maybe it’s not that bad to be handicapped. It doesn’t mean that I can’t have fun anymore.
This puppy also misses one leg, but it’s lively and happy as any other puppy. And it’s so
much fun watching him play. He will be a good friend for me, I am sure. He already helps
me open the door! Now I have a reason to go out again and probably all my friends want
to play with my dog, too.

Annotations: There are a lot of possibilities about what to write. There are no right or wrong
answers as long as the thoughts in the beginning are more negative and the later thoughts
more positive, both concerning the dog and the boy’s own handicap.

S2: Guided questions

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 What did the boy do in the beginning?
He was playing video games sitting on the sofa in the dark living room with all the blinds
shut.

Why did he stop playing?

The mother came home, opened the blinds and placed a present on the table in front of
the boy, telling him that the present is for him. Therefore, he wants to open it and stops
playing.

What happened when the boy first saw the dog?

He was delighted until he saw the disability.

Why did the boy treat the dog badly in the beginning?
At the moment when he saw the injury he abandoned the dog. In the film, it is not yet
known why, but at the end of the film, the boy’s handicap gets visible, which is the reason
for his behaviour. He does not want the dog, because he is unhappy with his own
disability and does not want to be reminded of it or displays his hatred about himself in the
behaviour towards the dog.

What happened to change his mind?

He sees the dog being not bothered by the disability and being happy and lively. He does
not give up and enjoys playing and living, which reminds the boy that his life could be
alike.

How did the story end?

The boy goes outside to play with the dog and is probably going to be happier than
before.

Annotations: All solutions are also possible to be in the present tense, depending on the
tense of the question. The last three question are very interpretative and can vary from
pupil to pupil. Of course, every answer should be acknowledged as long as it makes
sense. There does not need to be one solution for everybody, but a general
understanding of the meaning of the film.
S3: Possible solutions for group exercise

Group 1

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Introduction: Billy’s mother Cassie is worried about her son. He never goes out and has
almost no friends. He sits in the living room all day, playing video games, since he had the
accident where he lost his leg. Cassie calls her best friend Bob, asking for advice.

Bob: Hey Cassie, how are you? Nice to be hearing from you.
Cassie: Hey Bob, I’m not very good today. I’m really worried about my son Billy.
Since he had this accident, he is not the same person anymore. He just
hides inside, doesn’t meet any friends and hardly goes out. I don’t know
what to do about it…
Bob: Hm, I’m sorry to hear that. I know, it’s not easy for your son, since he was a
good football player and had a lot of friends in the football club. Maybe he
just needs more time?
Cassie: It’s already three months now since he got out of the hospital! I would really
love to see him smile again and go out, live is not lost just because he only
has one leg now.
Bob: I know, I know, I think he needs something that drags him out a bit. What
about a new club where he doesn’t need his leg? Maybe swimming or
archery or something.
Cassie: No, I already talked to him about it, he doesn’t want to do anything else…
Bob: Hm, what about travelling with him?
Cassie: Good idea, but I have to work a lot right now, I can’t travel now. I need to
give him something that helps him enjoy his life again.
Bob: Oh, now I have a great idea: what about buying a dog for him? He would be
forced to go out and a pet always makes life happier.
Cassie: What a marvellous idea! Yeah, a dog would be such a good present for
him! Tomorrow I’ll go to the pet shop and look for a puppy for him. Thanks,
Bob, you are the best!
Bob: Ah, Cassie, I’m always glad to help you. Call me and tell me how he
reacted!
Cassie: Oh, yes, I will! See you, Bob!
Bob: Bye!

Annotations: This solution is just one possibility, for sure the students will have a shorter
dialogue with less ideas and discussion in it, but the teacher is looking around during the
exercise, helping the students with ideas and also encouraging them to have a proper
ending and beginning, like in a real dialogue and also discussing about other ideas than
just the dog. They are also allowed to mention how the boy lost his leg or add ideas about

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the boy’s character. What is really important in this part is that the mother and the friend
have a real dialogue and that they decide to buy the dog in the end, because this connects
to the next group’s topic.

Group 2

Introduction: Billy’s mother Cassie had the idea to buy a dog for her son, who lost a leg in
an accident some months ago and since then, doesn’t go out anymore and becomes more
and more depressed. She went to the pet shop and saw a nice little puppy with also only
one leg. She thinks, this is the perfect present for her son, but wants to talk about it with her
husband Kyle first.

Cassie: Hey honey. I had a great idea to fight Billy’s depression!

Kyle: Really? Wow, I would love to hear about it!
Cassie: I thought about getting him a dog, so he has to go outside again and has
something to be glad about.
Kyle: Great idea, I think that will help a lot!
Cassie: Yeah, I know, and I already went to the pet shop and found the perfect
puppy!
Kyle: Oh great! Do you have a picture?
Cassie: Yes, here it is! Isn’t he nice? (shows him the picture of the puppy with only
three legs)
Kyle: Oh… I don’t think that this is a good idea, honey.
Cassie: Why not? He will like him, because they are alike.
Kyle: No, I think he will hate him, because he hates what happened to himself
and hasn’t accepted his own disability yet. He will probably abandon him.
Cassie: I don’t think so. You haven’t seen the puppy, he is so lively and enjoys
playing around and...
Kyle: Billy will think we want to make fun of him…
Cassie: No way! Maybe he will not like him when he first sees him, but as soon as
he sees him playing around and having so much fun, not being bothered by
his missing leg at all, he will see that life can go on and that it is still
wonderful, even if you are disabled.
Kyle: Hm, you’ve got a point there. Maybe you are right.
Cassie: I know it, because I saw the dog, he is really joyful and will cheer Billy up!
Kyle: Don’t you think that the other kids will make fun of him with this dog?

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Cassie: I think that he will protect his puppy from the others’ laughter and so he will
learn not to be bothered by it himself. I think it will all go great.
Kyle: Okay, then let’s try it. If he doesn’t like him, we have to give him back, but
it’s worth a try, I guess.
Cassie: Great! Then I’ll go and get the dog tomorrow!
Kyle: Okay. I’m really keen to see what happens!

Annotations: Again, this solution is just one possibility, for sure the students will have a
shorter dialogue with less ideas and discussion in it, but the teacher is looking around during
the exercise, helping the students with ideas and also encouraging them to have a proper
ending and beginning, like in a real dialogue. The father could also be against a dog in
general or the arguments can be different. In the end, it is important that they have a real
dialogue and that they end up agreeing on buying the dog.

Group 3

Introduction: Billy hasn’t gone out since days. This morning, he received a present from
his mother. It was a god with only three legs. Billy is also missing a leg, so first, he didn’t
like the dog, but later plays with him and really enjoys the day outside. In the evening, his
best friend Mary visits him and Billy tells her about his day.

Mary: Hey Billy, how are you?

Billy: Hey Mary! I’m supergreat! Look at this! (He takes the dog and shows it to
Mary)
Mary: Woooow! What a lovely little fellow! (She pets the dog) Where did you get it
from?
Billy: My mother gave it to me today! Isn’t he really cute?
Mary: Oh, yes, he is. What’s his name?
Billy: Marshmallow.
Mary: Oh, what a cute name! But what about this leg?
Billy: Yeah, it’s missing. I know, first, I really thought my mum wants to make fun
of me, buying a disabled dog.
Mary: Oh, I don’t think she would do that!
Billy: No, I know now, but when I saw him, I hated him, because he was disabled
like me and I hate my own disability. But then he played around and had so
much fun that I really couldn’t look away.

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Mary: Yeah, I can imagine, puppies are very lively. Did you change your mind
then?
Billy: Oh yes. And while he was having so much fun, he didn’t even care about
his missing leg. When he fell, he stood up again, just over and over again,
he wasn’t even angry about it.
Mary: Mhm, he enjoys life! And then, what did you do?
Billy: I couldn’t hate him anymore, it was just so much fun watching him play! So
I went out!
Mary: Really? You haven’t been out for a long time!
Billy: I know, but then we played in the garden the whole day, he didn’t get tired
and I always had to go after him. It was so much fun!
Mary: How do you feel now?
Billy: I’m really tired and my arms hurt, I haven’t moved so much since a very
long time, but I feel great!
Mary: Whoa, that’s great! I’m really happy for you. Are you going to go out with
him again tomorrow?
Billy: Yes, for sure! He needs a lot of running and playing! Do you want to come
with us?
Mary: Yes, of course! I’ll visit you tomorrow at 11 a.m., is that okay?
Billy: I need to go out with him early, but we’ll be back at about nine, I think, and
then we can go out again at 11. So, okay!
Mary: Cool, then see you tomorrow! And you, little Marshmallow!
Billy: See you!

Annotations: Again, this solution is just one possibility, for sure the students will have a
shorter dialogue with less ideas and discussion in it, but the teacher is looking around during
the exercise, helping the students with ideas and also encouraging them to have a proper
ending and beginning, like in a real dialogue. In this part, it is especially important that the
friend is talking, too, because the boy tells a lot, but the friend has to ask questions and
somehow react to it. Other possible information included in the dialogue are details about
his day with the dog, other thoughts he had when he first saw it, duties he has from now on
etc. The most important aspect is that it is a real dialogue with both parties speaking and
reacting.

5 Bibliography

Champoux, Joseph E. 2001. “Animated Films As a Teaching Material.” Journal of Management

Education, Vol. 25 No. 1. 79-100.

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DelGaudio, Sybil. “If Truth Be Told. Can ‘Toons Tell It? Documentary and Animation.” Film History,
Vol. 9 No. 2,189-199.

Eman, A. A. & Naglaa, F. K. 2010. “Effectiveness of an Educational Program via Anmated Movies
Improving a Number of Cognitive Visual and Dynamic Visualisation Skills and Learning Some
Rhythmic Gymnastics Skills (Comparative Study).” World Journal of Sport Sciences, 3. 359-376.

Smith, Conrad. 1977. “The Early History of Animation: Saturday Morning TV Discovers 1915.”
Journal of the University Film Association, XXIX, 3. 23-30.
Donelsen, Kenneth L. 1972. “Cartoons and Animated Films Disney Wouldn’t Have Made: Five
Provocative Short Films.” The High School Journal, Vol 55 No. 4. 157-161.

Wells, Paul. 1998. Understanding Animation. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

CGMeetup. “CGI Animated Short Film HD: ‘The Present Short Film’ by Jacob Frey.”
Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 08 February 2016. Web. 23 August 2016.

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