Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Share and Voice: Wall-E Film a Teaching Tool?



A little while ago I was babysitting my boyfriend's nephew (who's 4 years-old) and we began watching the film created by Disney and Pixar, Wall-E.  As we viewed the movie it occurred to me how much Wall-E sends a futuristic picture of what the world will look like if we continue to consume and produce trash the rate we do.  Throughout the film the nephew would ask questions such as 'Why don't the people live on Earth?' and 'How come there's so much garbage everywhere?'  I realized that Wall-E was a great way for me to inform the nephew about the world and how we need to take care of it, otherwise it will disappear.  The film was a great visual for the nephew to see and gave him an idea of what the world could end up looking like.  So I would encourage all of you to know that even younger children can learn and begin to grasp an idea of how important the earth truly is.  We may inform them we need to take care of the earth and let it grow naturally like they do at the end of the movie.  If you're having a difficult time simply explaining it to them, rent the Wall-E movie and have them compare-and-contrast how Wall-E's world is different from ours and how we can help prevent it from getting to that condition.  Has anyone else noticed a fun and/or creative way we may let younger children know how vital the earth is?

7 comments:

  1. Yeah, this movie is a perfect way to show children how important it is that we take care of our environment. If you've ever seen the movie Fern Gully, that movie has to do with saving the forest and wildlife, I think kids would totally learn from that movie as well.

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  2. I have never seen this movie but I agree, if we can get children to understand at an early age much of our problems could be solved in the future!

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  3. I saw this movie when it first came out, I had forgotten all about it! It would be a good "eye opener" and discussion tool with kids. If I remember right, it could also be an eye opener for health education. The people in it have tried to make life as easy as possible, and are all obese. It shows how bad our health could be if we do not take care of ourselves OR the environment.

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  4. I loved this movie! I agree, it's a great learning tool. Hopefully this isn't the end to these kind of eye opening movies for kids.

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  5. I also agree. Hopefully this idea will stick with him and he will remember what you've told him.

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  6. I love this movie, Pixar has once again done a wonderful job. I also agree with everyone else. This movie truly has a deeper meaning; we must take care of our environment and hopefully this message will resonate with young and adult audiences alike.

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  7. You are correct! We can start teaching the young people about how important the earth is to everyone by using entertaining tools such as Wall-E to get their attention. That is a very creative way to relate to them at their age level. How cute!

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