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Heywire: Fortissimo frogs frustrate family

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Teenage girls smiles while holding sign in shape of Australia, text reads "Clair Ryder 2010"
Heywire: Fortissimo frogs frustrate family

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


How could words convey the nightly racket of hundreds of croaking frogs outside your bedroom window?

Can you think of ways to engage readers' senses so that they 'experience' the frog chorus? A use of imagery is one of them. It's something we'll explore in this humorous story about the perils of frogs.

Could you write or record a similar story about yourself and/or your community?

The ABC's Heywire competition calls for stories from 16-22 year olds in regional Australia. Enter to get your story featured on the ABC and score an all-expenses-paid trip to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra. More: https://www.abc.net.au/heywire/


Things to think about

  1. 1.Imagine you are caught in a terrible storm. How do you describe the experience to others? Write a detailed paragraph that captures the sights and sounds of your experience.
  2. 2.As you listen, note down details of Clair's story that you find amusing. Find three examples of language that you think are effective in creating strong visual imagery, such as when the frogs 'paraded across the balcony.' Next, find three examples of language that create aural (sound) imagery, such as the simile of the air-conditioner sounding 'akin to a chainsaw'.
  3. 3.How easy is it to imagine the situation Clair describes? Pick one visual moment from her story, such as when her dad is 'stomping around the yard', and explain how it displays an effective use of imagery. Use what you have learnt here to improve your storm paragraph (see Before viewing). You might like to develop it into an entire story, like Clair's.
  4. 4.Create a comic strip that illustrates Clair's story. In a series of frames, depict the series of strong visual images she creates. Add appropriate written sound effects, such as the beep, beep, BEEP!' of the alarm-clock frog. Colour your comic strip and share it with others. Consider the use of sound effects in this story. How much do they add to it? Would the story work as effectively without them?



Date of broadcast: 2012


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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