Video invades schools' literacy hour

THE BRITISH video industry - fed up with being criticised for corrupting children and keeping them away from books - will this week take the case for its defence into the classroom.

The major video distributors have joined together to produce a free pack for all primary and middle schools in England and Wales. Using clips from nine popular children's films, including Pocahontas and Toy Story, the video pack comes with a series of suggested written exercises for children. The distributors hope it will be used in "literacy hour", the section of the daily curriculum set aside by the Government for reading.

Although the educational pack attempts to combat the notion that video is a mindless and potentially harmful form of entertainment, those who have worked to secure a permanent place for books in the school day are not pleased to hear that the enemy is about to invade.

"It seems defeatist to give up on the idea of books and resort to clips from films," said Brian Perman, executive director of the Book Trust. "It is a surprising idea. It may well be an innovative use of video, and I would agree that literacy hour should not become a purgatory for children, but I hope that most teachers would not be persuaded to turn to video rather than to books. It's rather unambitious."

The 60-minute video, called Reel Lives, was developed by a team of literacy consultants working with teachers. It features excerpts from some of the most popular children's titles on the market, including The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Secret Garden, James and the Giant Peach, Toy Story and The Borrowers. Each clip is accompanied by a series of compre- hension questions designed to develop literacy skills.

"Teachers are always looking for a variety of materials which will allow them to cover issues such as loneliness, bullying or xenophobia," said John Hickey, the freelance education consultant who has written the majority of the text which accompanies the video. "I would say this is a natural complement to reading." He said the pack has been successfully piloted in Bristol schools. "After watching the video, pupils would be asked to discuss its content in small groups and then to write down their conclusions."

Richard Collins, head of education at the British Film Institute, agrees that reading need not suffer simply because the strong influence of film and television is acknowledged: "A lot of our research has shown that for slightly older children, films of the books are extremely effective at introducing the idea of reading a novel."

The British Video Association, the trade body which has produced Reel Lives, stresses it is not a commercial exercise. "The pack is a teaching aid to improve media literacy," the explanatory notes state. The BVA argues that this is the kind of treatment of moral and social questions which builds up a child's understanding of the way in which real life relates to film and television drama.

The teacher will also have the option of focusing on a series of emotional themes raised in the film clips. Friendship and jealousy are topics suggested for discussion after the class is shown a scene from the film Toy Story in which Woody, the rejected cowboy doll, is envious of the new toy in the bedroom, the infamous Buzz Lightyear. In the same way, after watching an extract from James and the Giant Peach, the class would be invited to discuss bullying.

Literacy hour was developed by the Government as a way of attaining its target for national reading standards. It wants 80 per cent of 11-year- olds to read at their chronological age, or above, by the year 2002. The hour is comprised of 15 minutes' class work on a shared book, 15 minutes' work on spelling and grammar, 20 minutes in ability groups and a final 10-minute review with the whole class. At present, a month into the National Year of Reading, only 62 per cent of 11-year-olds have the right reading skills for their age.