Overview and Outcomes:

Using the award winning 2012 Guardian advert ‘Three Little Pigs’, this Writing Root gives the children opportunities to explore journalistic writing by identifying viewpoint and bias. It also looks at other writing which requires a ‘stance’ or point of view portrayed from a particular angle, such as a diary, a defence case for a lawyer and balanced debate/discussion text. There will be opportunities for embedded grammar work throughout, in particular that of active and passive voice and the role these can play in reported events.

Rationale:

This video advertisement was created by the Guardian newspaper and won the Cannes-Lion award upon its release. Created to portray the newspaper’s approach to open journalism, it shows how they would report on a story like The Three Little Pigs in print and visually. Children will explore bias, objectivity and justice as they unpick the different voices and perspectives which make up the well-known story. The advert will open up plenty of opportunities for debate and children will understand the importance of considering all sides of a story before jumping to conclusions.  

Links and Themes:

Film, traditional tales, fairytales, fairy tales, tolerance, understanding, perspective, bias

Date written: April 2013

Updated: October 2023