The Clock Tower
A beautiful dancer spends all of her life stuck at the top of the clock tower. She spins on her toes incessantly in order for the clock to work.
One day she becomes curious about the world outside, especially the balloons that float past her window.
As she steps into the outside world something has changed. All the colour has gone from the world and everything is frozen in time.
The only thing that can bring it to life is our beautiful dancer, powering the clock again.
Teaching Ideas
The opening shots and panorama of the village present an ideal opportunity to use rich description. This setting could be used for children to create their own stories in. Perhaps create characters to live in these homes. Children could create their own fairy tale village using junk and papier mache or modroc to populate with characters..
Write a back story or prequel to describe how the girl became the perpetual dancer. Was she cursed by a witch? Tricked by an evil prince etc?
Children could create a story based on her rescue [link with Rapunzel] They will have to think about how they will get the clock to work without her. Maybe an inventor saves her. Perhaps it's the inventor from 'Red Miss Take' in The Inventor's Shed.
The children can practice using descriptive language to change the mood, the setting stays the same but goes from colourful to black and white. Can the children use subtle description to highlight the change in mood?
One day she becomes curious about the world outside, especially the balloons that float past her window.
As she steps into the outside world something has changed. All the colour has gone from the world and everything is frozen in time.
The only thing that can bring it to life is our beautiful dancer, powering the clock again.
Teaching Ideas
The opening shots and panorama of the village present an ideal opportunity to use rich description. This setting could be used for children to create their own stories in. Perhaps create characters to live in these homes. Children could create their own fairy tale village using junk and papier mache or modroc to populate with characters..
Write a back story or prequel to describe how the girl became the perpetual dancer. Was she cursed by a witch? Tricked by an evil prince etc?
Children could create a story based on her rescue [link with Rapunzel] They will have to think about how they will get the clock to work without her. Maybe an inventor saves her. Perhaps it's the inventor from 'Red Miss Take' in The Inventor's Shed.
The children can practice using descriptive language to change the mood, the setting stays the same but goes from colourful to black and white. Can the children use subtle description to highlight the change in mood?
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I received an email from a Literacy Shed Fan called Molly, She is 11 and has wrote this story based on The Clocktower. I thought I would share it here.
Round and round I go in this hugely tall clocktower, me in my pretty brown silk dress with a clockwork piece on the rim. Everyday I see beautiful, colourful balloons floating past my window. I do my special ballet dance day in and day out, with my pure original brown leather ballet shoes. I look out my window and I see a colourful land the ones you get in story fantasies but this was 100% real. I can feel the joy of everyone living in this little town when they skip around joyfully. The houses are tan with a brown roof, with clockwork pieces sticking out. I love this town but one day I decide to see what it is like outside this clocktower because I have never been outside. I go down the marble and wooden steps and open the brown main doors... what had happened? The town is silent and everything has turned grey. Over the little clockwork piece bridge, I dance but nothing happens. I touch the grey, dull and still balloon it turns green and floats for one second then stops. My heart sinks and I become dejected. But wait... am I the secret of this town? I turn around sadly walking slowly back to the clocktower. I stand in place and do my special dance again, clicking into the clockwork pieces. Everything suddenly turns back to its usual self. My window is open and a lovely pale green balloon floats in through gracefully. I do love being the secret of this amazing town. |
