Unit Ties A Study Guide Written By Lois Hoffman Edited by Joyce Freidland and Rikki Kessler LEARNING LINKS P.O. Box 326 Cranbury, NJ 08512
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction................................ 1-3 Glossary................................... 4-6 Playing the Role............................... 7 Cast-Away.................................... 8 Cut and Paste................................. 9 Predicting the Film........................ 10-11 Appearances................................. 12 Film-Viewing................................. 13 Watch the Camera........................ 14-15 Tracking the Tunes............................ 16 Seeing the Past............................... 17 Dressing for the Part.......................... 18 Setting the Scene............................. 19 Hard Sell.................................... 20 It s Fair to Compare........................... 21 Cinematic Crossword.......................... 22 Frame by Frame.......................... 23-24 Additional Activities........................... 25 Selected List of Films from Books............ 26-27 Answer Key.................................. 27 Novel-Ties are printed on recycled paper. The purchase of this study guide entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use in a classroom. Reproduction for use in an entire school or school system or for commercial use is prohibited. Beyond the classroom use by an individual teacher, reproduction, transmittal or retrieval of this work is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Copyright 1991 by LEARNING LINKS
GLOSSARY Writing adaptation climax conflict plot screenplay setting A work in one medium that is derived from a work in a different medium. Film adaptations may be made from plays, stories, novels, histories, biographies and sometimes poetry or song. Point of highest dramatic interest. Part of the plot that determines the outcome. Struggle between two or more opposing forces which motivates the plot. Actions and events in the story. The script for a film containing all the scenes as well as the dialogue and action. A shooting script will also include camera positions and angles. Time and place in which the action occurs. In a screenplay, it is also the specific location of the scene, whether natural or artificially situated. Casting anti-hero archetype character character type Major figure in literature or film who has non-heroic and weak qualities not usually associated with heroes. Basic character type that appears repeatedly in literature or film. Fictional person in literature or film such as the hero, heroine or villain. A character with distinct qualities who appears with different names in many films. An example is the homicidal maniac. Filming accelerated montage camera angle Rapid cutting from shot to shot to increase the pacing and rhythm of action as it appears on the screen. Point of view from which the subject is filmed. LEARNING LINKS 4
Black-line Master #1 PLAYING THE ROLE Name If you are reading a book that has many characters, it is fun to imagine that you are playing the role of one of the important characters. Describe your character and track your character s activities throughout the book. Book Title: Character: Appearance Activities Do you think your character will be different in the film or the same? Explain. LEARNING LINKS 7
Black-line Master #4 PREDICTING THE FILM Name You have read a book and now you imagine what the film will be like. Use this sheet to record how you think the film will be similar to and different from the book. After you have seen the film, look back at this worksheet to find out if you and the filmmaker interpreted the book the same way. Book Title: Question Answer Reason Plot How will the story change? How will it stay the same? Setting How will the place and time of the story change? How will it stay the same? Characters How will the people in the story be changed? How will they stay the same? LEARNING LINKS 10
Black-line Master #12 HARD SELL Name Design an advertisement for the film, bearing in mind its audience. You should include the film s title, author and your own ideas for actors to play the leading roles. Use your own drawings or pictures taken from newspapers or magazines to create an illustration that will reflect the main idea of the film and will seize the viewer s attention. LEARNING LINKS 20
SELECTED LIST OF FILMS FROM BOOKS Book Title Author Film Adventures of Huck Finn Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn MGM, 1939 Huckleberry Finn UA, 1974 Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain Tom Sawyer UA, 1938 Tom Sawyer UA, 1973 Alice s Adventures in Lewis Carroll Alice In Wonderland Pathe, 1927 Wonderland Alice in Wonderland Disney, 1951 Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables Turner, 1934 Anne of Green Gables Disney, 1987 Charlie and the Roald Dahl Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Chocolate Factory Factory Paramount, 1971 Charlotte s Web E.B. White Charlotte s Web Paramount, 1972 Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman Lorimar, 1986 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 MCA, 1985 Freaky Friday Mary Rodgers Freaky Friday Disney, 1976 Great Expectations Charles Dickens Great Expectations Universal, 1934 Great Expectations Universal, 1947 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby Paramount, 1974 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit Rankin/Bass, 1977 Island of the Blue Scott O Dell Island of the Blue Dolphins MCA, Dolphins 1964 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint The Little Prince Paramount, 1974 Exupery Mrs. Frisby and the Robert C. O Brien The Secret of NIMH MGM UA, 1982 Rats of NIMH Murder on the Orient Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express Express Paramount, 1974 My Side of the Mountain Jean Craighead George My Side of the Mountain Paramount, 1974 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men Prism, 1934 Old Yeller Fred Gipson Old Yeller Disney, 1957 Oliver Twist Charles Dickens Oliver Twist UA, 1948 Oliver! Columbia, 1968 The Outsiders S. E. Hinton The Outsiders Warner, 1983 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster The Phantom Tollbooth MGM, 1970 A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansbury A Raisin in the Sun Fries, 1988 LEARNING LINKS 26