Hi5 is an Australian production which has been sold internationally. It has been chosen as a focus because of its popularity with young children. Not only is there the television program, there is also a whole series of related merchandising items and promotional activities, a website, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and a YouTube Television channel. Merchandising items include videos of the program, books, games, jigsaw puzzles and clothing. Related promotional activities include concerts and guest appearances at shopping malls. 

Identify What Children Know About Hi5

Draw on the students' prior knowledge, life experience, and community background to elicit their knowledge of the Hi5 group, programs, and associated merchandise and promotion. This may include their knowledge of:

• the television program
• the characters
• the singing group who perform at concerts
• the products and promotional activities
• the webpage and other social media

Ask the students to draw/write what they know about Hi5. Within shared writing, model a graphic organiser incorporating students' ideas - words and symbols.

Some students may not have heard of Hi5 or not be familiar with Hi5. In that case, ask them to draw/write about a program they know and like.

Identify why the children like Hi5 (or another children's television program). Is there anything they don't like about it? What?

View a Hi5 Program

Shared viewing of the Hi5 program:  Dream House or So Many Animals are recent releases.You could choose older programs, but will have to adapt the activities that follow to the actors who are included.

The first viewing would not involve direction in order to enable students to engage with the program in an uninterrupted way.

During a second viewing, students are asked to draw/write things that happen in the program. During the second viewing the program can be paused for students to draw and make notes. Alternatively, the teacher can record student responses on the whiteboard.

The assumption is made here that Hi5 is very familiar to students - hence the starting point 'Experiencing the Known'. However, there may be some students in the class who have never seen Hi5 or who are relatively unfamiliar with it. For these students, this task will involve 'Experiencing the New'. However, it is assumed these children will be sufficiently familiar with the genre of a children's television program to make the experience meaningful.

Identifying the Elements of a Hi5 Program

Ask students what they noticed about the organisation of the program. Students may use the attached file or work online, drawing/writing about the character driven segments of the program.

Attachment 1: Who are the characters in Hi5?

Introduce storyboards as a way of capturing film action on paper. Model a simple storyboard incorporating writing and drawing. They may need to watch the program segments again.

Attachment 2: Storyboard

Element/features for discussion include:

• thematically based around 'summer'.
• each character has his/her own segment.
• the role of puppets.
• each segment explores an aspect - art, craft, drama, make-believe, song, dance.
• each studio segment is reinforced by related 'real world' footage of Hi5 characters with children.

Film language includes: segment, program, introduction, characters, set design, studio, location, puppets, storyboard.

Investigating the Hi5 Characters

• Ask students to describe each of the 5 main characters.
• What do they look like?
• What is their style? Their interests? Their segment specialty? Their costumes, their caricature (from merchandising), their signature?
• How are they similar? How are they different?
• Why do you think they were chosen to be in Hi5?

Shared writing - the teacher collates students' responses into "What we know about ............." character charts. Independently, students write and draw about the different characters.

Attachment 3: I think

How the Characters are Represented

The Hi5 characters are represented in photographs, caricatures, and signatures.

Ask the students to identify the differences between these different forms of representation. Link the five characters to their 'cartoon' equivalent. What has the artist highlighted? Why might they have cartoon personas?

When are the characters represented one way or the other?

Attachment 4: Which Character is Which?

Identifying the Structure of a Hi5 Program

View another Hi5 program and discuss the structure and the characters. Do all Hi5 programs have the same structure? Create two simple storyboards and compare and contrast program structures.

View an Unfamiliar Children's Television Program

Show a children's television program in a similar format to Hi5 but which is unfamiliar to the students - such as a program from another country, or an older program that has now gone out of fashion.

Discuss other TV shows that follow a similar format

• Their themes.
• Their characters.
• Their settings: studio/real life/cartoon.
• Their segments (e.g. art; drama; etc.)

Surveying the Most Popular Hi5 Character

Students survey a sample of those who like Hi5 by asking:

• Which character do you like the best?

Make a large wall mural, to which students add their names. Children could use standard sized cards to write their names on - producing a standard graph.

Students analyse attitudes:

• Which character is the most popular?
• Why do you like him/her?
• What do other people think?
  

Evaluating the Appeal of Hi5

Discuss with students who they think would watch Hi5.

Establish possible motivations by asking 'why' or 'why not'.

(Possible responses might include: it's fun; I like/don't like the characters; I learn new songs and dances; I like/don't like the music! It's got real children, etc.)

Discuss the appeal of Hi5 in terms of age group; gender; interest etc.

Students prepare survey proforma by drawing a face showing appropriate expression (smiling, frowning, etc.) in each of the three columns.

They then survey attitudes by asking:

• Do you like Hi5?

Respondents write their names in the appropriate columns of the graph.

Exploring Hi5 Merchandising

Ask students to research examples and collect evidence of Hi5 commercial material. Collect advertising material. In shared writing on large paper, incorporate these examples into a graphic organiser. This process can be continuous throughout the Learning Module.

(Products include books, tapes, CDs, books, clothing, bags, toys such as cards, play dough, dolls, etc.)

Ask students:

• Do you have any Hi5 things ... which ones?
• What do you do with the different things?
• What products have you seen in the shops? In catalogues? On television? On the Hi5 Website?

Add to the organiser as students discover new products.

Exploring the Hi5 Website

Introduce the Hi5 website.

Conduct a shared reading of the website with students and ask them to decide on features they like, don't like, and find interesting. Have students suggest why they do/don't like the various features. Note these on a Plus/Minus/Interesting chart.

Ask students what merchandise can be bought on the Hi5 website. Get them to suggest reasons why these products are for sale. Ask the students why they think Hi5 sells so many things. Investigate how they compare in price and quality with other similar products without the 'branding'.

How are the Hi5 products advertised? Discuss the role of the merchandising.

Analysing Another Children's Television Program

With students, watch a Play School program. Identify the program structure:

• What are the topic segments?
• Who are the characters?
• What is the use of studio and out of studio segments?

Compare and contrast the structure and characters of a Playschool program with Hi5 programs.

Creating a Children's Television Program Segment

Invite students to create their own storyboard concept for a TV segment.

Discuss considerations of format, characters, settings, and merchandising.

Students can pitch the idea by acting out a segment of the program for the class.

Video and discuss the segment.