Get the Reel Scoop: Comparing Books to Movies

With more and more books being adapted to the silver screen (and the DVD player) nowadays, this lesson engages students to think critically about the same or similar content in book and film. It prompts students to identify literary elements in the book, then watch the film and analyze its adaptations, both good and bad. The lesson ends with reading theatre, and students providing their own adapation of a passage in the book. This lesson encourages students to identify theme and literary elements in a written work, then explain how effectively they are translated into film. The lesson could certainly incorporate cross-comparisons of the same body work in other formats, such as stage and radio plays, film reviews and literary criticism.

Weblink address (URL):

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

Students will:

identify the characters, setting, plot, and resolution in a book and in the movie based upon the book.
describe similarities and differences between elements of the book and the movie.
discuss the effects of and state preferences toward these similarities and differences.
hypothesize why movie makers might have decided to alter characteristics in the book.
adapt and perform a scene from the book in readers theater format.

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Understanding

Helpful Hints

Materials and Technology:

Book(s) and film you plan to share with students (see Grade 3–5 Book and Film List)
Television and VCR or DVD player
Writer’s Notebook
Photocopies of selected scenes from the book OR additional copies of the book.

References

Contributors:

Jeffrey Hill

Originator:

Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation