ANIMATED FILMS

What do you think when hearing the words animated films?When animated movies come to mind, most people think of the kid cartoons, like the classic Lion King or newly released Frozen.Animation is the process of creating a continuous motion and shape change illusion by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other. From Latin animation, the act of bringing to life, i.e. from animo(to animate or bring to life) and atio( the act of).Animated film is a collection of illustration that are photographed frame-by-frame and then played in a quick succession; it encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying factor being that the animation is created digitally on a computer. With the new technology being produced, it evolves over time. Walt Disney once stated :Adults are only kids grown up, anyway. His quote explains the enormous influence of animated cartoons not only on children, but also on adults. It is a sort of entertainment provided for everyone. Likewise, most of the population finds it funny and amusing. Everyone likes watching cartoons, undoubtedly. The aim of this course is the description of influence of animated films in English Language Teaching (ELT), thus various aspects of animated films will be explained. It also provides an insight in positive and negative sides of animated films and their influence on children. This course also provides useful information on how cartoons can be applied in classroom by using various techniques. With the recent development of EFL/ESL studies, researchers are using diverse directions to analyse the language acquisition of the young learners (YL) and are examining more day-to-day issues. What is widely accepted in this regard is that kids are basically prone to learn new ideas from their sources of entertainment rather than formal instructions, and that they usually cannot adhere to an instructional target set before them. Watching cartoons is indeed a happy experience for the young children and is the basis for an attractive and enjoyable learning environment. Due to this entertaining appeal and their wide availability, cartoons have become one important resource from which todays kids take a great amount of English language input and try to use that to communicate with people around them. We are going to overview the content of some famous cartoons, then show how cartoon-watching accelerates these youngsters English learning, and how it has influenced their language development in general. In addition, we will demonstrate how the enthusiasm or high motivation, tender age, positive attitude and willingness for acculturation bridge between YL and L2 learning/acquisition. Why cartoons rather than formal instruction There are two contexts, namely formal instruction within the classroom and unstructured language acquisition in a natural setting. What is missing in the formal setting is that sometimes it is boring and strictly structured. On the contrary, being innovative, young learners are basically prone to learn new ideas from what they enjoy and experience from the environment. Therefore, with a teacher-centered approach (Rogers, 2004), students usually sit, listen, recite and hopefully learn as they are at times less enthusiastic and devoid of enjoyment.However, language learning is a happy experience. Children tend to learn best through direct experience, where they can see and relate an object within its environment. By providing youngsters with exposure to foreign language conversation in an enjoyable manner, and by familiarizing them with foreign cultures and ways of living, they are found to communicate in the target language more positively.Not surprisingly, young people like cartoons (Ito 2002; Talwar 2005). They have become much more interested in cartoons over many years and it has become a primary action to them. Typically, children begin watching cartoons on television at an early age of six months, and by the age two or three children become enthusiastic viewers. In keeping with the spirit of the school, learning through cartoons attempts a relaxed, low-anxiety approach to learning. Moreover, it is the basis for an attractive enjoyable learning environment.

How cartoons facilitate learningWatching cartoons promotes exposure to the English language. Language is an essential part of learning. It serves as a means of making sense of a text, of expressing observations and judgments about it, and as a resource providing concepts and criteria to be developed in talking about cartoons. In this way, language facilitates a pragmatic literacy which helps in the understanding of television itself, its codes and conventions. It also enables children to develop a general transferable literacy, in such a way that the competencies that they acquire in relation to television are not in opposition to skills and knowledge related to print literacy (gonna, wanna, aint).The young learners, who are influenced by watching cartoons, are seen to be interested to use L2 in everyday conversation. Watching cartoons promotes YLs conversational practice to such a degree that their parents feel satisfied. A number of factors influence a learners success when learning a second language (Gardner, 1982). Individual learner differences (motivation, age, attitude, etc.) The social and cultural milieu The setting or context in which learning takes place

Daisy and Drago - MEDEA Awards 2009 Special AwardDaisy and Drago is a MEDEA Awards entry by two teachers from the Terakki Foundation Schools in Istanbul, Turkey. It is an educational project which was created by 6-year old Turkish pupils (and their teachers) and aims to entertain young learners while they learn a foreign language and help to build permanent learning in English. In a repetitive and funny story young children can learn to use the English phrases - I can, I cant, Can you? as the young girl Daisy invites her friend Drago to several of her favourite sports activities, but he cant do them as he is a dragon and she is a human, but there is one thing that Drago can do...Individual learner differences - Age Rate and success of SLA (Second Language Acquisition) appear to be strongly influenced by the age of the learner. The critical period hypothesis states that there is a period when language acquisition takes place naturally and effortlessly. Penfield and Roberts (1959) argued that the optimum age for language acquisition falls within the first ten years of life. During this period the brain retains plasticity, but with the onset of puberty this plasticity begins to disappear. Young children are seen as socio-culturally resilient, flexible, because they are less culture-bound than adults. They move through the stages of acculturation more quickly and so acquire L2 more quickly. Primary levels include a reasonably large functional vocabulary and as far as success in pronunciation is concerned, younger learners do better. Younger children, while not totally lacking in meta-awareness, are not so prone to respond to language as forms. As Halliday (1973) pointed out, the young child responds not so much to what language is as to what language does.

Individual learner differences - Motivation

The motivated individual is goal-oriented, persistent and attentive (Gardner and Lambert, 1972). He/she expends effort, has desires, demonstrates self-confidence. In other words, a motivated person has desires, expectancies and motives. There are mainly two types of motivation, instrumental and integrative. With instrumental motivation the purpose of language acquisition is, for example, meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a job, etc. Our focus here is on integrative motivation as the young learners are more likely to have this type of motivation and are too innocent to understand the desire for achieving the goals set before them by the institutions. It is thought that students who are most successful when learning a target language are those who like the people that speak the language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the society in which the language is used (Falk, 1978). Watching cartoons bridges between youngsters and English through exposure of the people and culture of the target language and motivates the learners to pick up L2. Individual learner differences Attitude

Gardner and Lambert (1972) define attitude as the persistence shown by the learner in striving for a goal. They have investigated a number of different attitudes which they consider relevant to L2 learning. Stern (1983: 376-7) classifies these attitudes into three types: (1) attitudes towards the community and people who speak the L2, (2) attitudes towards learning the language concerned, and (3) attitudes towards languages and language learning in general. Cartoon-watching enables young people to love English, to like English speaking people and they are prone to learn any new language. Moreover, positive attitude helps them to have a low affective filter . Thus, cartoon-watching has accelerated these youngsters English learning, and it has influenced their language development in general.

The influence of animated films on children

Computer animation influences family functioning in varied ways. Learning and education, leisure and entertainment, household routines, work from home, personal development, extended family communication, e-commerce and civic involvement are possible affected domains. Computer animation has shaped our culture and social system. One cannot talk about media consumption by children without including in the discussion of how childrens communicative activities vary ontogenetically (origin and development). Major changes in childrens communicative development occur in at least three domains: the linguistic, the social, and cognitive.Childhood as a stage in the human life cycle encompasses a period of phenomenal biological, physiological, and social growth. Between infancy and the beginning of adolescence, about age twelve, the human acquires major life skills the ability to walk, talk, read, care for oneself, and come to know the world around him or her. During this time, the child first encounters the major agents of socialization: the family, peers, schools, and media.While youth culture, especially adolescence, has been a strong component of cultural studies, children's culture has been largely ignored, especially the world of animated films. Animated films stimulate imagination and fantasy, reproduce an aura of innocence and wholesome adventure, and, in general, are "good" for kids. In other words, such films appeared to be vehicles of amusement, a highly regarded and sought after source of fun and joy for children. However, it is clear that the relevance of such films exceeded the boundaries of entertainment. Needless to say, the significance of animated films operates on many registers, but one of the most persuasive is the role they play as the new "teaching machines." Register refers to the variety of language that is used by a particular group of people usually sharing the same occupation (teachers, doctors, lawyers) or the same interests (rockers, football fans), with specific words and phrases, and sometimes with specific grammatical constructions.For children these films inspire at least as much cultural authority and legitimacy for teaching specific roles, values, and ideals than more traditional sites of learning such as the public schools, religious institutions, and the family. Disney films, for instance, combine an ideology of enchantment and aura of innocence in narrating stories that help children understand who they are, what societies are about, and what it means to construct a world of play and fantasy in an adult environment. The significance of animated films as a site of learning is heightened by the widespread recognition that schools and other public sites are increasingly beset by a crisis of vision, purpose, and motivation. The mass media, especially the world of Hollywood films, on the contrary, constructs a dream-like world of security, coherence, and childhood innocence where kids find a place to situate themselves in their emotional lives. Unlike the often joyless reality of schooling, children's films provide a high tech, visual space where adventure and pleasure meet in a fantasy world of possibilities and a commercial sphere of consumerism and co-modification. Increasingly as we watch animated films, we become aware of how necessary it is to move beyond treating these films as transparent entertainment. It is obvious that animated films, especially Disney animated films have great impact on children, their life and learning. It is much easier for them to learn through fun and enjoyment and the best way to gain it is by using animated films.- Snow White and Severn Dwarfs (1937), Pinochio (1940), Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Bauty (1959), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), Frozen (2013), The Wind Rises (2014), etc. Here is a summary of some findings regarding cartoons and SLA:a) Children can pick many words and sentences from watching cartoons. They can use these in their daily life. But sometimes they use it in the wrong context (e.g. breakfast used to denote Launch).b) In general boy children prefer actions and ghosts type cartoons like Ben 10 or Transformers, whereas the girl children like fairy tales, supernatural and magical cartoons like Barbie Girls, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast. c) They have the comprehension of cartoons. In Tom and Jerry, the children can understand that Tom chases Jerry as Tom is a cat and Jerry is a mouse. They also see it in their real life situation. d) They try to transfer the knowledge that they acquire from cartoons to their real life situation. They sometimes imitate (e.g Boys have been seen display some of the actions in his playfield. Girls have been seen to make them Queen or any supernatural characters). e) There is a relationship between age group and effect of the cartoons that is the older children try to imitate what they have seen in their expression and playground activities. f) f) Watching cartoons can be effective in developing their vocabulary. It has been demonstrated that children tend to pick up expressions and behavioural mood from cartoons. They also enjoy watching cartoons. Therefore it could be excellent vehicle for teaching if the programs are designed so. Children are innovative, young, restless and they are lovers of enjoyment and fun. The theoretical perspective on SLA takes into account the sociocultural as well as the cognitive perspectives in language learning and holds that YLs learn a foreign or second language when both are activated and interact with each other. To make it possible, we can use cartoon as a material in the classroom for the young learners. And for successful learning, teaching-learning environment should be friendly, stress-free, easy, associative and enjoyable. From the above, a summary of crucial points include: Easy to understand classes; Enjoyable classes that are free of worries; A process that is trusted by parents and communities; A system that can improve the provision for education

History of animated films

Animation refers to the recording of any image which goes through changes over time to portray the illusion of motion. Before the invention of film, the depiction of figures in motion through static art existed as far back as the Paleolithic (cave paintings). Egyptian burial chamber mural.In the 19th century there were several devices which successfully displayed animated images. These devices were used to entertain, amaze and sometimes even frighten people. Numerous devices which successfully displayed animated images were introduced well before the advent of the motion picture: The magic lantern (c. 1650), Thaumatrope (1824), Phenakistoscope (1832), Zoetrope (1834), Cinematograph (1844, Lumiere brothers), Flip book (1868), Praxinoscope (1877, Charles-Emile Reynaud), Kinetoscope (1883, Thomas Edison). The silent era Theatre Opatique (1892) - earliest projected animation by Charles-Emile Reynaud. Other animated works:- The Humpty Dumpty Circus (a short motion animation by Albert E. Smith and J. Stewart Blackton, 1908). Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906, Blacktons first animation on standard film). Fantasmagorie (1908, French Emile Cohl). The Beautiful Lukanida (1912, first puppet-animated film by Russian-born Polish Wladyslaw Starewiczs). Sinking of Lusitania (1918, Winsor McCay) Ko-Ko the Clown, Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor Man... - El Apostol (1917, the first animated feature film by Quirino Cristiani from Argentina). - Peludopolis (1931, the first feature length animation to use synchronized sound by Quirino Cristiani). The Cameramans Revenge (1911, Wladyslaw Starewicz) Gertie the Dinosaur (1914, Winsor McCay) - Felix the Cat (1920, Otto Mesmer of Pat Sullivan Studios. Felix the Cat was distributed by Paramount Studios, and became the first cartoon to be merchandised. Golden age of animation- In 1923 Walt Disney opened a new studio in Los Angeles which was the beginning of the Golden age of animation.- Some of the first animated sound films with recorded sound synchronised with animation: Song Car-Tunes films (1924-1927) Oh Mabel (May 1924); Mother, Mother, Mother Pin a Rose on Me and Goodbye My Lady Love (both from June 1924); Dinner Time (1928)- Steamboat Willie (1928, the first notable breakthrough, the third of Mickey Mouse series, which was the first cartoon to include a fully post-produced soundtrack, featuring voice and sound effects printed on the film itself . - In 1930 Warner Brothers Cartoons were founded.- The first animated feature sound film was Peludopolis (1931).- Flowers and Trees (1932, Disney Studios, the first animation to use the full, three-color Technicolor method; it won an Academy Award).- Honeymoon Hotel (1934, Merry Melodies series, Warner Brothers first colour film).- In 1934 Tex Avery released his first film for Warner Brothers introducing the Looney Tunes characters, extremely popular to this day. - Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs (1937, Walt Disney)- Momotaros Divine Sea Warriors (1945, dir. Mitsuo Seo, the first Japanaes anime.

- Fantasia (1940), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aritocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Nightmare before Christmas (1993), The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Iron Giant (1999), Shrek (2001), Spirited Away (2001), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Home on the Range (2004), Bolt (2008), Up (2009), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Rango (2011), Frozen (2014)...

Animated films as a means in EFLPositive and negative characteristics of application of animation films in EFL cartoons as an entertaining source of learning English (L2) for the young learners (YL) As a consequence of the rapid development in science, technology and media, foreign/second language teaching field has gained much improvement in the recent years, especially the function of language classes has changed dramatically. Their potential to provide comprehensible input, which, according to Krashen (1982), leads to subconscious language acquisition, has increased a lot with the provision of such technical devices as TV, LCD projector, laptop, DVD player and video materials into the classrooms. Out of all these, particularly, the use of video has grown rapidly due to the increasing focus on communicative aspects of language use (akr, 2006). This has helped language teaching quality boost both in and outside the class. Children can pick many words and sentences from watching cartoons. They can use these in their daily life. But sometimes they use it in the wrong context - e.g. breakfast may be used to denote Launch. According to some research boy children prefer actions and ghosts type cartoons like Ben 10, Tom and Jerry whereas the girl children like fairy tales, supernatural and magical cartoons like Barbie Girls. They have the comprehension of cartoons. In Tom and Jerry, the children can understand that Tom chases Jerry as Tom is a cat and Jerry is a mouse. They also see it in their real life situation. They try to transfer the knowledge that they acquire from cartoons to their real life situation.

There is a relationship between age group and effects of cartoons-older children try to imitate cartoon heroes, their expressions and activities.

Watching cartoons can be effective in developing their vocabulary. Children tend to pick up expressions and behavioural mood from cartoons. They also enjoy watching cartoons. Therefore it could be excellent vehicle for teaching if the programs are designed so.

Children are innovative, young, restless and they are lovers of enjoyment and fun. The theoretical perspective on SLA takes into account the sociocultural as well as the cognitive perspectives in language learning and holds that YLs learn a foreign or second language when both are activated and interact with each other.

To make it possible, we can use cartoon as a material in the classroom for the young learners. And for successful learning, teaching-learning enviromet should be friendly, stress-free, easy, associative and enjoyable. From the above, a summary of crucial points include:

Crucial points for successful TFL:

Easy to understand classes;

Enjoyable classes that are free of worries;

A process that is trusted by parents and communities;

A system that can improve the provision for education.

Watching cartoons can have a positive effect on learning English because the learning takes place while there is a lot of motivation, possibly integrative motivation. Hence, it stands to reason that if cartoons could be used in an educational context, an interest in learning might also be created.

(When students want to learn a language to become part of a speech community (integrate). People who immigrate to new coutries are some examples of people who may want to identify with the community around them. An important aspect of this form of language learning is using language for social interaction. This form of motivation is thought to produce success in language learners).

(Wanting to learn a language for the purpose of obtaining some concrete goals such as a job, graduation, or the ability to read academic materials. This form of motivation is thought to be less likely to lead to success than integrative motivation.)

When we plan to use the cartoons as a means in ELT, we should consider some of the specific language features which make them more difficult for non-native speaker to understand.

Negative Features

a) No clues from visual articulation One way in which video helps in comprehension is that it often let us see the speaker's mouth, from which we get clues as to what sounds or sequences of sounds the speaker is producing.These clues are completely absent in cartoons because we are not watching real people. The characters' mouths are made to move in imitation of real people, but the subtle movements of lips, tongue, and jaw that help us identify speech sounds even when we cannot hear them are completely missing.

b) The Use of Children's or Unusual Voices Another feature of cartoons which makes them more difficult than other genres for nonnative speakers to understand is the use of children's or unusual voices. Often the main characters in cartoons are children, so naturally they are given children's voices (skillfully? rendered by adults). Typical ELT listening materials for adult learners and even for young adult learners almost never include children's voices. This situation probably arises from the assumption that most adults indeed study English to be able to communicate with other adults, and communication with children is felt to be, and often is, incidental or of marginal importance. The result is that English learners, particularly in EFL situations, have little or no experience in listening to the higher frequencies of children's voices. Other than children, animals and other imagined creatures also populate cartoons. What kinds of voices should they have? Generally, smaller animals are given higher, more child-like voices, whereas larger creatures are given lower, louder voices. Other features of intonation and voice quality are added to make characters sound big and dumb, big and scary, big and wise, small and helpless, and so on. Again the nonnative speaker has little experience with comprehending these unnatural-sounding voices, although more and more we are exposed to artificial-sounding, electronically-produced voices from elevators, computers, and other technological devicesc) Exaggerated Speech Features The speech of these cartoon creatures, including futuristic humans and robots, may be given particular features (e.g. lisping, stammering, hesitations) or geographical dialects to indicate something of the personality of the character. These paralinguistic features are based on stereotypes the native-speaking society has about the speech of certain types of people, and these characteristics are transferred to the animals. Native speakers recognize the stereotypes without even applying conscious thought: for example, a lisping male may indicate effeminate behavior, a slow Southern dialect may be used to indicate laziness and/or less than average intelligence, a New York City accent may be used to portray a con man or wise guy. Nonnative speakers will most likely not recognize the added message or may interpret it according to the norms of their own culture. The two cultures may not share the same interpretation of the paralinguistic features Thus the nonnative speaker has to deal with the strange-sounding voices of animated creatures and even of adult characters. For those cartoons in which the main characters are children and the world of children is portrayed, adults are outsiders and their voices are meant to sound unnatural.

Positive Featuresa) Appeal to the child in us For most of us, children and adults alike, cartoons are appealing. We feel we are entering a dream, a fantasy world, and that we are escaping from everyday reality. Cartoons are colorful and amusing.They are pure pleasure. Although older folks may prefer Tom and Jerry or Cinderella over the more modern space war types or modern satires younger people seem to like, they are still entertainment that we enjoy.Therefore, if we, teachers, want to use a cartoon or part of one as a stimulus for some language activity in the classroom, we already have the students willing attention. Even with students whose native language is English, using animated versions of well-known stories can give the more unwilling students their first exposure to literary classics and perhaps even stimulate them to pick up the book. b) Story line Cartoons usually tell a simple story that is easy to follow. Often the good character fights the bad character of the forces of evil, and the good always conquers the bad. Because of the length of the typical cartoon, about 5 minutes, the story cannot get too complicated. Even the 20 - 25 minute cartoon story usually has a simple plot that can be exploited for classroom use, particularly if it is broken down into scenes. The full-length is too long to show at one sitting; our job is not to entertain students but to give them opportunities to use and improve their English If we have a cartoon film we especially like, we can use our favorite scene or two to spark some language activities in class, then let the students watch the rest on their own time if they are interested. We could really get their interest if we ended on a cliff-hanger, a point of suspense. c) Language Although some animated programs, such as full-length films and some TV programs like The Simpsons, are aimed also at an adult audience, most shorter cartoons are aimed at children. The child or creature characters talk in a language the children understand. They use contractions (shortening), elisions (omission of sounds), children's vocabulary, and slang terms.These features, in addition to the strange voices, add to the language learner's burden, but they also provide an excellent opportunity for exposure to slang, ordinary street terms, and children's languaged) Culture Many cartoons are particularly rich in cultural content. For example, we may see children considering whether to do something that their parents or teachers would not approve of; the children already know what is and is not permitted in their culture. Or we may see children interacting in school and compare whether they behave the same way as in our students' native culture. Better quality cartoons have a moral lesson, such as "cheating on a test is wrong" or "if you cheat you will not only be punished, but you will hurt others, too.Programs like The Simpsons or Family Guy aimed at adults, deal with social and moral issues in a humorous yet thought-provoking way; For example, in one episode Marge's successful crusade against cartoon violence also resulted in a ban on showing a famous nude statue at the local museum and brought her into conflict with the American First Amendment right of freedom of speech. Choosing a cartoon to use in classa) Theme The most obvious reason for using a cartoon in class is our desire to utilize its content to teach about a topic. Good cartoons tell a story and have a moral or lesson to teach. Longer cartoons such as The Simpsons often present topical issues such as TV violence versus censorship or the illegal reception of cable TV, so, like other genres, the video can be part of a set of materials on a topic. A pointless cartoon or the usual mouse-outsmarts-cat variety probably does not have enough intelligence to come to school.b) Language Despite silent viewing for prediction or dialogue activities, we usually use a video for its language to provide students with listening input. Some cartoons contain mostly action and have very little dialogue.Others contain too many strange voices combined with sound effects that further obscure clarity. It is probably wise to choose the more simple, old-fashioned type of cartoon, the kind that portrays small children (or animals) talking with one another. Because the story is usually calmer (few, if any, fights or chases), the characters talk more slowly and without the quality of excited voice (the use of an unusually high pitch). It is also more likely that in this type of cartoon, the characters will be made to speak more like the way ordinary children do speak to one another. The Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoons are very good examples of this more old-fashioned type. As an added benefit, these stories have very little violence and are so cute and innocent that they offend no one. Activitiesa) Cloze Because the language of cartoons is rather unnatural, students need some extra help in comprehending it.To help students get used to the voices, we can prepare a one-page cloze from the beginning of the cartoon, leaving out only single words or simple phrases, in affect giving students about 80% of the transcript. After they have had guided practice in listening to a few minutes of the cartoon in this way, they may become more used to the special characteristics of each character's voice. Upon completing and checking their cloze (a completed version shown on an overhead projector is useful), students can take the parts of the characters and imitate their intonation, voice quality, and expression, making as much noise and having as much fun as they like. b) Reading a transcript If there is a story worth understanding, particularly for longer cartoons, we may want to prepare a complete transcript for one or more scenes and have students take the roles before viewing. In this way students have a chance to read and comprehend what they are going to hear and they have a chance to speak out the lines themselves.The teacher can comment on vocabulary or idioms.Then students can watch without the text. c) Performing a miniplay If students have a complete transcript of a story, a cartoon or that of another genre such as asituation comedy, they can act it out in mini-play style. The advantage here is that they can mimic and learn the proper intonation and expression from the video. (Recommended- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving)d) Comprehension QuestionsComprehension questions can be given before viewing, with students predicting the answers. To aid comprehension, questions can focus students attention on the main points of the story.In Yes, Virgina, There is a Santa Claus(1974, Wolper Production, 24 minutes), based on a letter to the editor and reply that appeared in New York Sun in 1897, a little girl writes a letter to the newspaper to find out if there really is a Santa Claus. Giving students the following questions before viewing may focus their attention on the main points of the story.e) Related readingThe cartoon Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus mentioned above is based on a famous newspaper article which is printed in most Christmas anthologies. It makes good background reading before showing the cartoon.Toward the end of the cartoon, the teacher reads most of the newspaper article aloud, so at this point our students will be familiar with it.