Submitted by Melissa Melnick
Objectives:
Content:
Students will...
- demonstrate understanding of the elements of well-written dialogue.
- develop an understanding about the importance of messages and quality in the television programs and movies they watch.
Cultural:
Students will...
- begin to develop an understanding of the differences that exist between television and movies from the United States and Hispanic cultures.
- identify their own perspectives and relate them to those of people from other cultures.
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...
- use the present subjunctive with phrases such as opino, no creo, prefiero to express likes/dislikes related to television and movie dialogue
- use the present indicative with phrases such as creo, pienso, parece, me gusta to express likes/dislikes related to television and movie dialogue
- use the preterite to narrate story lines
- use the imperfect to narrate detail and background of story lines
Language: Content Compatible
Students will...
- use indirect and direct object pronouns accurately with verbs such as gustar, impresionar, encantar, interesar to express agreement/disagreement with their group and class members
- use expressions such as estoy de acuerdo, vale, por otro lado, además, más aparte to express agreement/disagreement
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...
- work cooperatively with peers from different cultural backgrounds.
Time Frame:
This lesson will be completed in three days.
Materials Needed:
- Television
- VCR
- Videotapes of movies or television programs
- Handout #1 (see Attachments below)
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Lesson Introduction
Preparation before class:
Teacher: The teacher should choose scenes from two different television programs or movies as a unit introduction, both in Spanish. Scenes should be about five minutes long. One scene should be one that the teacher considers an example of good dialogue that contributes to the overall transmission of ideas. The second should be an example of dialogue that the teacher considers to illustrate poor dialogue. Students will be in heterogeneous cooperative groups of four students. The teacher will insure that each group has native speakers of Spanish and English and that students of varying skill levels are in the groups. These groups will remain constant throughout the unit.Students: Approximately one week prior to beginning the unit, the teacher will ask students to watch and analyze one of their favorite television shows or movies. The teacher will inform the students that they will be participating in a unit involving theater. Students will answer the questions on Handout #1 to prepare for Day 2 of the unit. In addition, ask those students who are able to bring in a segment of their favorite show, no longer than five minutes, to view in class. (These shows may be in English or Spanish although discussion will be conducted in Spanish). You may also suggest that students bring in a segment of a program or movie that they do not like in order to make comparisons.
* * * Day 1: * * *
Classroom activities:
The teacher will show students the example of poor dialogue that he or she has chosen. Small groups will use the Introductory Handout to discuss the scenes they have seen. One student will be designated group leader and will read the questions and guide the small group discussion. The teacher will lead a full-class discussion based on the questions the students have answered in their small groups. The class should come to consensus on questions #3 and 6a and the teacher will write the classroom answers on newsprint for future reference. (20 minutes)
Then the teacher will show the example of the scene he or she considers an example of good dialogue. Students will use the same questions from the Introductory Handout to discuss the scene, with a different group member as group leader. As the class dicusses as a whole their answers to the Introductory Handout, the teacher should write any additions to questions #3 and 6a to class list. (20 minutes)
After the discussion, the teacher will tell the students that in his or her opinion one of the scenes contained an example of good dialogue and one a poor example. Students, still in their groups, should choose which scene represents the good and poor examples and defend their answer based on the lists the entire class has generated. Finally, the teacher should explain why he or she considers each scene to be an example of good or poor dialogue. (10 minutes)
Tarea:
Students must have Handout #1 completed by Day 2.* * * Day 2: * * *
Students will bring Handout #1 and videotapes to class. They will first discuss their handouts with their cooperative groups. After the groups discuss their homework in small groups, they should write down three similarities and three differences between their responses on questions #3, 4 and 5. The entire class will discuss their responses and the teacher will compile a list of similarities and differences from the groups. The class will then compare their answers with their lists of the previous day. (15 minutes)
After discussing Handout #1, students should show the portions of programs that they brought to class. Cooperative groups will evaluate the scene based on the lists of elements of good dialogue from the previous day. Groups will report to the class whether they believe the scene is an example of good or poor dialogue and defend their answer. The student who brought the video will explain why he or she believes the dialogue is good or poor. There will be some difference of opinion, so the teacher should remind the class that students should respect each other by listening and expressing ideas without attacking other students' opinions and ideas. Students should also be reminded that a large part of the task at hand is to evaluate the scenes based on the objective lists created the previous day. The teacher may use some of the questions from Day 1 to guide the discussion. (25 minutes)
Finally, the teacher will ask small groups to list three similarities and three differences between the Spanish language and English language examples. (10 minutes)
Tarea: (Journal)
Students should reflect on their analyses of programs. They may use the following question to spur ideas.Usted ha visto muchos ejemplos de programas/películas buenos y malos. ¿Cuáles son los elementos que usted considera más importantes en programas y películas buenos? ¿Cree que los programas de televisión, obras teatrales y películas deben de tener un mensaje social o una moraleja? Explique su respuesta.
Assessment:
The teacher can give students 5-10 points based upon completion of Handout #1. Students will receive 5 points for completing the journal entry. The teacher will read the entry and write a short response.