Introduction
& Background to the Project
Introduction
Lisa’s No Pizza is an innovative online animation site that allows
web-users to explore the issue of bullying. Lisa, the main character is
being bullied by a fellow pupil called Mayid. Each stage of the animation
allows the web-user to take the story forward by making choices themselves.
For example, in Scene 1, Mayid bullies Lisa after she has won a game of
football. At the end of the scene, the web user can decide whether Lisa
tells her mum that she has been bullied or the web user can decide that
Lisa will not tell anyone. Each choice leads to a different outcome. At
the end of every scene the web user can choose from two possible outcomes,
eventually enabling the web-user to role play further outcomes themselves.
To accompany the animation, there are a range of educational support materials
for teachers which include lesson plans and interactive activities. This
will enable teachers, with pupils, to use the animation and website to
explore the subject of bullying. Where possible, we have designed the
activities to be downloaded in pdf and word format. The website and animation
can of course be viewed by young people unsupervised; we have tried to
build in activities that will make use of the animation for educational
purposes.
Summary Background
Lisa’s No Pizza was scripted by thirty young people aged 10-12 years
old from the *Handsworth Schools Group in Birmingham. Young people participated
in workshops involving drama, script writing, storyboarding, ICT, animation
and illustration.
Because the animation and the support materials are all online, it is
free to be used by teachers and pupils across the country.
*The Handsworth Schools Group comprises Mayfield Special School, Holte
Secondary School and Heathfield Primary. The project has enabled pupils
from the different schools to meet one another and collaborate on a project
together for the first time. The three schools were deliberately chosen
as they each represent a step in the process of transition from Primary
to Secondary that all children have to take. Bullying is often associated
with the transition process.
The Handsworth Schools Group is led by Paul Jenkins, Headteacher of Mayfield
School. The project was produced with funding from Birmingham
Children’s Fund.
Hi8us Midlands produced the animation and the
website collaboratively with young people and other artists. Sister
Tree provided the initial drama workshops where young people developed
the characters and the story ideas. Writer, Jan
Watts crafted the final script from the young peoples’ drama
improvisation work and illustrator Guy Passey,
produced the illustrations under the direction of the young people and
Hi8us.