ETEC 531

Danny Leeming
and
Scott Skanes

A Media Study and Curriculum Guide

Introduction

“What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state. As
Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family
history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive.” - Steam

INTRODUCTION WHY EDITH FINCH?

The Finches are an American family living on the coast of
Washington state. Christened "America's most unfortunate
family," the Finches believe they are being pursued by a curse;
every member of the family, going back at least five
generations, has died an untimely death, and only one child
from each generation has survived to have children of their
own.
The game begins with Edith Finch returning to her childhood
home for the first time in many years, intent on learning the
truth about her family’s history.
The story is one of love… and of loss. Of families trying to
provide while eternally struggle to “keep it together” through
hardships, hereditary mental illness… and a curse.
The goal of a classic novel study unit is to immerse students in
symbolism, big ideas, meaningful themes and rich, immersive worlds.
For many students, the classic novel study is a challenge due to a
number of learning and life challenges requiring differentiation to create
an inclusive classroom.
What Remains of Edith Finch provides these same opportunities in an
easily consumable 1.5-3 hours of playtime, blending basic textual
demands on the student with the symbolism, big ideas, themes, and
immersion of a classic novel study. Furthermore, the story is steeped in
important and interesting themes, messaging, and literary tools, making it
a viable, and truly inclusive, learning option for all learners. In the context
of our learning outcomes, it provides a gold star example of alternative
storytelling methods, helping to springboard students’ creative processes
and allowing them to practice their own methods of alternative story
telling later in our unit.
Learning Outcomes

Embracing British Columbia's

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Strategies and Processes
● multimodal reading strategies
● multimodal writing strategies
● metacognitive strategies
Changing Curriculum
Text Features and Structures, including
Multimedia This game aligns closely with several pieces of the new senior English curriculum being
● form, function, and genre of multimedia texts implemented in British Columbia over the next few years. Rather than a traditional english
● relationships between form, function, and course built as a ‘one size fits all’ solution, the curriculum is built around core modules
technology which teachers can use based on their personal skill set to best achieve the main
● interactivity concepts, referred to as “Big Ideas”, of the course.
● formatting and graphics
What Remains of Edith Finch is an excellent vehicle to explore many aspects of the
Big Ideas English 12 module entitled New Media Studies 12. Referring to the draft curriculum
● People understand text differently depending currently available online at the time of writing, our main goal is to achieve the stated
on their worldviews and perspectives. learning outcomes through the study of the game and the accompanying activities.
● The exploration of text and story deepens our
understanding of diverse, complex ideas
about identity, others, and the world
-From New Media Studies 12

What Remains of Edith Finch provides a clear

opportunity to explore multimodal reading and
writing strategies and the form, function, and
genres available in multimedia texts.
Key Concepts
Each of the eight Chapters in What Remains of
Edith Finch deals with loss and/or mental illness
from the perspective of a different member of the
Finch family.
Each story shines a light on pieces of her family’s
history, and is accompanied by an engaging
interactive story that encourages players to
consider the perspective, and experiences, of
others… and deal with the ensuing emotions.
KEY CONCEPTS
Perspective, Bias, Empathy, Understanding
Perceiving unfamiliar situations, understanding
concepts from alternative points of view
Dealing with Loss
Loss, and its accompanying grief, are a normal
part of life, and individuals have different ways
of experiencing and expressing grief
Mental Illness
Medical conditions impairing normal
psychological functioning, typically associated
with disruptions in normal thinking, feeling,
mood, behaviour, interpersonal interactions, or
daily functioning
Magic Realism
A literary style incorporating fantastic or
mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction
 Pre-Gaming - Preparing to Explore

OFFICIAL TRAILER PRE-GAMING

Want an engaging way to introduce the world your There are, of course, many ways students can begin their journey of exploring this
students will be spending the next few lessons game. Below are some suggestions of ways you can engage students and ease them
exploring? into thoughtful exploration.

Play the trailer below: ● Before playing the game, the students could be asked whether or not they have
ever heard of the game. If some have, they could discuss their experiences.

● The teacher could simply introduce the title of the game to students (“What
Remains of Edith Finch”) and, if no students have played it or heard of it, they can
make predictions based on the title alone.

● The teacher could choose to watch the trailer for the game and discuss further
predictions for what the game might be about, or leave the specifics of the game
a mystery at this stage.

● Students could be tasked to write a few sentences on what the following themes
mean to them:
○ Mental Health / Loss
○ Perspective / Bias / Point of View
○ Magic Realism
Official Launch Trailer - What Remains of Edith Finch
http://bit.ly/2qNYAgP
Gaming - Learning What Remains of Edith Finch

GAMING NOTES BEFORE PLAYING

Students should be encouraged to make notes throughout their playthrough, such as: How the students acquire the game, and how they
● how they felt when certain key events occurred; will play it (desktop, Chromebook, solo, in pairs, etc.)
● what they were thinking at various stages of the playthrough; is left to the discretion of the teacher.
● books titles found in the game that they felt were important;
● what emotions they feel were felt by characters in the game; The game takes an average of 2½ hours to
● moments where they felt specific emotions brought on by the narrative; complete, so students should be given an
● any content related to mental health, loss, perspective, bias, point of view, and/or appropriate number of classes to work their way
mystic realism; and through it.
● any other notes the teacher feels would be appropriate for their group.
As a last resort, schools that have no means of
playing the game could view a playthrough of the
Students may be encouraged to keep track of their thoughts in a table: game instead.

Perspective, bias, empathy, understanding

Dealing with loss

Mental Illness

Magic Realism

Playthrough of the game by Ladenstar

Post-Gaming - Breakdown with Focus Questions

POST-GAMING - PART 1
After completing the game, students could be asked any (or all) of the following questions to draw them deeper
into the content and lead them toward inquiry and thought:

1. Which of the stories told in the game do you believe “happened” - in the game’s universe - exactly as they
were told, if any? Do you think any of the stories would have been different if told from another family
member’s point of view?

2. Edith had most of the secrets of her house and family kept from her by a protective mother. She only
learned them in bits and pieces as she grew older. Even after discovering journals left by members of her
family, she often only received one side of the story, usually from the perspective of someone whose
recollection of the events may be suspect (a child; a hermit; a depressed teenager; a traumatized parent).
What are the benefits, or drawbacks, of keeping secrets from someone if you think that will protect them
from harm?
○ Split into groups of four, with two students making a list of benefits and two students making a list of
drawbacks.
○ When the lists are complete, discuss them together one at a time.
○ Decide as a group whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
○ Choose a spokesperson for each team, and have a whole-class discussion.

Questions continued on next page.

Post-Gaming - Breakdown with Focus Questions

POST-GAMING - PART 2
3. Choose two characters or chapters from the game and explain how they are connected by a particular
theme or circumstance. For example, explain how Lewis and his Uncle were both affected by mental
illness in very different ways.

4. There are thousands of books on shelves throughout the Finch home, and most of them actually exist.
Choose one of the books and explain how you think this book could have influenced the Finch family, or
the design of the game.

5. How does this game portray mental illness? How did this change your perception of mental illness, if at all?

6. Is the game’s aesthetic and storytelling style an effective way to tell this story? Are games in general an
appropriate way to tell stories? On your own or in groups, make a list of the pros and cons of telling this
story in this immersive visual format, rather than as a “traditional” text based story. Based on your list, do
you think the developer’s were successful?

7. How does the strategy of shifting perspective from one character to another impact the experience of the
player? Have you ever read (or played) through another story that used this strategy?

8. Do you feel that playing through this game has changed your perception of any of the Key Concepts?
Activity 1 - Creating a Story with Twine
TWINE
Twine is a free, online, tool that integrated simple
storyboarding with Java, HTML, and CSS to create
interesting multi-strand ‘choose your own
adventure’ style stories. Users can create stories
that branch off, rejoin, circle back, or restart
depending on their own storytelling purpose. It also
requires user interaction to proceed with the story
which is similar to the game's interactivity.
Official Website - Twine
twinery.org
CREATING A STORY WITH TWINE
One of the core storytelling techniques of What Remains of Edith Finch is shifting
perspective and narration to tell stories from multiple viewpoints. Students will discuss
and create understanding through the discussion on the reasons and power behind this
technique.
For this activity, students will:
1. Create a story that emphasizes the importance of one or more of the following
themes:
○ Perspective, Bias, Empathy, Understanding
○ Dealing with Loss
○ Mental Health
○ Magic Realism
2. Use Twine to create a story that has multiple pathways or narrators moving around a
central story line.
○ Stories should be written in a way to force users to explore all perspectives to
reveal the entire arc of the story
○ Must include perspectives from at least three characters
○ Extension: Use CSS, Java and/or HTML elements to incorporate color, images,
and other visual elements to enhance the telling of the story.
Please see our resources and links section for instructional information on learning and
using Twine in the classroom.
Activity 2 - Augmenting a Story with Aurasma

AUGMENTING A STORY WITH AURASMA AURASMA

What Remains of Edith Finch places the user in the position of exploring a world while immersive and Aurasma is a mobile app that
outlandish experiences spring forth from their environment as they explore the Finch home. allows users to create
augmented reality interaction
The following task will challenge students to apply those ideas to their very own school environment by creating in the physical world.
an immersive Story or Clue Hunt around their building by placing AR triggers in the school using Aurasma.
An example idea would be to use grad portraits, often displayed in school hallways, to create a mystery It does this by, essentially,
referencing grads and years, to send students on a scavenger hunt for clues around the halls. turning any object or photo into
a scannable QR code which
This assignment requires students to plan, write, film and edit a complex story assignment and then embed triggers a media playback of
their clips on their environmental triggers. Given the complex planning involved, and the fact that students may some kind.
be able to “enter” the story at different points, students may wish to use Twine to lay out and plan their story
elements to make sure they connect.

Students will:
1. Pre-produce and plan a number of short film clips that focus on one of the following themes:
○ Perspective/Bias/Point of View
○ Dealing with Loss
○ Mental Health
○ Magic Realism
2. Film and produce the short clips using mobile video editing software or more advanced equipment if
available
3. Use the Aurasma apps to embed their videos through their school environment
Official Website - Aurasma
4. Swap starting triggers with other groups in the school and play through their augmented reality
aurasma.com
experiences.
Resources for Further Exploration
Aurasma Tutorials

Twine User Guide

Other Immersive, Narrative-based Games:

That Dragon Cancer

Firewatch

Gone Home

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

References
BC Ministry of Education. (2017, August). Curriculum 10-12 Drafts: New Media 12 with elaborations. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/10-12/english-language-arts/en_ela_12_nwm_elab.pdf

Change, loss, and grief: key concepts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from
http://health.tki.org.nz/Key-collections/Curriculum-in-action/Change-loss-and-grief/Change-loss-and-grief-key-concepts

Gametrailers (2017, April 25). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0kKF5f8nS0

Ladenstar. (2017, September 23). Edit Finch - Chapter 1-7 Playthrough. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://youtu.be/fN9byKXeWNQ

Magic Realism. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magic%20realism

Mental Illness. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mental%20illness

What Remains of Edith Finch. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from
http://store.steampowered.com/app/501300/What_Remains_of_Edith_Finch/