KO in the classroom
Teaching materials for ME and the FLEA
For primary school groups 1-8:
A lesson plan with preparatory lessons , processing lessons , and craft activities . The craft activities can be completed as a class or individually. Children discover the possibilities of light, shadow, and animation.
On the interactive whiteboard page, students are prepared for the performance with exercises and informational videos about animation, the magic lantern, and the flea circus. See below.
The teaching material focuses on three aspects of the performance:
Content: The storyline and the meaning of the story. Learning aspects: stimulating the imagination, empathy, recognising a storyline, imagination.
Form: Animation, shadow and puppetry and music (audiovisual art, musical theatre).
Technology: Acquire knowledge about how light and shadow work (ties in with nature & technology).
Discipline: Audiovisual art, musical theatre, cultural heritage.
Core objective: Orientation to yourself and the world and artistic orientation.
Digibord -Assignments
in preparatory lesson 2:
To me and the Flea
The performance Me and the Flea
You’re going to see a performance created by four people: two artists, an actor, and a musician. Together they are Lichtbende.
The performance takes place in a dark room. On a screen, you see shadows and light images, called projections.
The projections in this show are created using very old devices called magic lanterns. They date back to a time before television, cinema, and film.
During the performance, you can see the magic lanterns. They are positioned in front of the screen on which the projections are displayed.
Next to the canvas sits the musician. She plays live music that complements the images.
The magic lantern
In this video you can see what the magic lantern looks like and how it works.
In the video, you see a figure sliding into the magic lantern. When you turn on the lantern’s light, you see the figure projected onto the screen. The magic lantern contains lenses that reverse the projection.
The magic lantern is a very old device. But there are still devices that resemble a magic lantern. What modern device could you compare it to?
Animation
The story “Me and the Flea” is told without words. The magic lantern’s projections allow you to move across the screen, creating moving figures. This is what we call animation. The following video shows you how it’s done.
Image and music
In the performance “Me and the Flea,” the music perfectly complements the images on the screen. Together, they create the story.
Watch how this happens in the following video.
ASSIGNMENT 1.
Read the following sentences.
Which pictures and pieces of music correspond with them?
It is night on the Amsterdam canals.
The wind blows through the street.
Ko is a stray dog and is looking for food.
Jumping fleas are hidden in his fur.
ASSIGNMENT 2.
Which words and sounds correspond to the following pictures?
cycling - falling - vacuuming - washing - fighting - marching
Fleas
For those who don’t know what fleas are! This film tells the whole story. From cheerful circus performers to annoying bloodsuckers.
A look behind the scenes
Everything involved in staging a performance in a theater: setting up screens, connecting projectors, and adjusting the lighting and sound. Setting up and taking down the set takes about four times as long as the performance itself.