Short Description
In this lesson plan the vocational focus is on themes within the Healthcare, Childhood and Youth Development programme (HO): Relations between caregivers and caretakers, job proficiency, domestic violence, parenting, the importance of good relations between mothers and daughters and what happens when "babies are having babies" (quote from the film). Who are the grown-ups in the film?
The film also covers topics related to Restaurant and Food Processing (RM): The importance of food in an otherwise difficult society, how food can be an ice-breaker and how to treat customers. You may also focus on themes such as history and society, which are relevant to all English classes. The plan include 10 worksheets; two of these offer an in-depth focus on US black identity of today. NDLA also has some useful teaching material for this film.
The pupils will practice discussion skills, oral and written skills.
The film covers the "Bildung" perspective in the English curriculum, also represented in the Core Curriculum: "Knowledge about past events and achievements unite people over time. The knowledge of history enhances our ability to set goals and choose means in the future. Familiarity with what people have felt, thought and believed in earlier times expands the scope for insight and initiative and reminds us that today’s conditions will also change Core Curriculum, English version).
Competence Aims in K06
Engelsk
Muntlig kommunikasjon
- forstå og bruke et bredt generelt ordforråd og et faglig ordforråd knyttet til eget utdanningsprogram
- lytte til og forstå sosiale og geografiske varianter av engelsk fra autentiske situasjoner
- uttrykke seg på en nyansert og presis måte med god flyt og sammenheng, tilpasset formål og situasjon
Kultur, samfunn og litteratur
- drøfte engelskspråklige filmer og andre kulturuttrykk fra forskjellige medier
- drøfte kultur og samfunnsforhold i flere engelskspråklige land
Go to Overview of Competence aims for aims (and themes)for HOVg1/BUVg2 og RM /Vg1/vg2
Teaching Objectives
The project should enable students to:
- achieve a good understanding and knowledge of the US society in the deep South just before the Jim Craw laws were abandoned
- demonstrate increased ability to listen, speak, discuss and elaborate on a film and its themes
- widen their general and programme related vocabulary
- obtain an increased understanding of the US society of today (optional)
Debriefing and Assessment
The two character tables (Resources, sheet 2 and sheet 3) give the pupils and the teacher opportunities for peer- and self assessment while still being in the process of discussing the film. This is also the case with 4 and 4b. The letter (sheet 5) can be handed in and graded according to suggested assessment criteria in attachment 6. Maybe some letters could be read aloud in class?
A self-assessment form for an overalll evaluation of activities and learning outcomes is included (sheet 7). It could also be useful to write a text to the teacher reflecting on the learning process.
Resources
Vedlegg
Sheet 1: Pre-watching film activity (pdf)
Sheet 2: Character table 1 (pdf)
Sheet 3: Character table 2 (pdf)
Sheet 4: Quotes and dialogues (pdf)
Sheet 4b: My favourite scene (pdf)
Sheet 5: Write a personal letter (pdf)
Sheet 6: Assessment criteria_the letter (pdf)
Sheet 7: Self assessment form (pdf)
Sheet 8: Black identity in the USA today (in-depth work) (pdf)
Sheet 9: Police beating and killing blacks (in-depth work) (pdf)
Links:
Excerpt from the novel (from Book Browse - your guide to exceptional books)
Preparations
Teacher
- Book auditorium or make sure computer, speakers and projector works
- Have film at hand + access YouTube (if you need to repeat certain scenes from the film, i.e. the bench scene with Skeeter and Constantine)
- Have discussion points on paper for the pupils to think about during the film
- Have the recources as handouts (or pdf)
Plan of Lessons
Pre-viewing film activities (suggestions)
- Activate pupils’ previous knowledge.
- Have pairs and, eventually the whole class, discuss certain themes to prepare them for the film (see Overview of Competence aims and themes).
- Ask also about Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers and Jim Crow laws (maybe they can find some examples on the internet, either laws or photos).
- Teacher or pupils read the excerpt of the novel The Help.
- In pairs let the pupils discuss sentences from the excerpt (see Resources, Pre-watching film activity, sheet 1).
- A couple of the sentences with som relevant new words can be written on five different A3 posters. Hang the posters on the wall in the classroom and put the pupils in small groups (2-3). Competition: One students goes form one corner of the classroom (where the other student has paper and pencil/pen available) to the wall where the posters are. The "walking" student has to memorise what is written on the posters, and give the information to the other person(s) who write(s) it down. This activity will prepare the pupils for the content and themes of the film in additon to helping them understand vocabulary and dialogues when watching.
While-viewing activities (suggestions)
The Help - watch the film together
- In order to prepare the pupils for the follow-up activities, it might be an idea to hand out the two character tables (Resources, sheet 2 and 3) so the pupils have a chance to reflect and make notes while watching the film.
Post-viewing film activities (suggestions)
- Qoutes, dialogues and photos (Resources, sheet 4). Pupils work in pairs. They are to read the quotes, then find photos (search on the internet) from the actual scenes from where the quotes/dialogues are and discuss what can be understood from what is being said. Findings are to be presented in class.
- Alternatively the tasks may be divided among the pupils (because there are pretty many quotes/dialogues here). As a teacher you can ask them to focus on the tasks related to either parenting/caregiver/caretaker (HO) or the ones related to food (RM), but they are all relevant for both classes (or for any English class). Social issues etc. can be discussed with any of these questions/quotes. The handout can also be uses as a basis for the pupils to make a PowerPoint, Prezi or a Photo story to be presented in class.
- If the students have forgotten some of the scenes, they can watch film clips from YouTube (headsets or earplugs!). Discuss in pairs and then in class.
- My favourite scene
- As an alternative to the task in 4, or as an additional task, the pupils are to find their favourite scene from the film (see Resources, sheet 4b). They may use 10 - 15 minutes on YouTube to find their favourite scene, then give a short summary of it and give reasons for choosing it and how the scene relates to any of the themes of the film.
- The characters
- The students use their Character table 1 (Resources, sheet 2) and discuss in pairs which characters are easy to like and which are not. Make one (intermediate to stronger) group write their suggestions on the blackboard. Check if the other groups agree or not. Put table 1 sheet aside.
- Make the same pairs categorise the characters according to how they cope with society; use Character table 2 (Resources, sheet 3). Most likely they will put the "independent" characters in one box and find out that these are the same characters as they really like.
- Talk about being a true person to oneself and to others, and how it feels like being among/being friends with "fake" people.
- As the last task involves psychology, it needs some explanation. For example, Aibileen is independent/free in her mind, but still a little bitter because of what happened to her son Treelore. This could be related to nursing homes and meeting older people that are bitter. What lies behind? What are their stories? Take Hilly`s mother as an example. She is amusing in her way, but actually she has gone a little crazy. On the outside she is making jokes, on the inside she is crying. Why is this? When it comes to Restaurant and Food Processing (RM), discuss how difficult customers are being handled/dealt with.
- Writing
- The pupils are to write a letter. Their task is: Write a personal letter from person A to person B in "The Help" (see Resourses, sheet 5 with several suggested ideas/tasks to choose from).
- In-depth study: The situation of the blacks in today's US
- Tasks: Two worksheets have been developed for the pupils. They give links to video clips and texts as well as questions to reflect on:
- Sheet 8: Black identity in the USA today
- Sheet 9: Police beating and killing blacks
- Follow the procedure given in the worksheets.
- Assessment
- Go to Debriefing and Assessment to find suggested ways of assessing the work. Sheet 6 and sheet 7 (Resources) will provide additional ideas and support.
Follow-up
The Help is part of a bigger topic on US. Some following up activities that could be done: Making posters on some of the famous people from the 50s and 60s – Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, M.L. King, Medgar Evers etc.
More tasks/texts on racial segregation is recommended.
Watch American History X to get an understanding of US society today relating to race issues and why Donald Trump is so popular. See also Post-view activities (No. 4)
There is another excerpt from The Help (the novel) in Access Social Studies with tasks, that could be used in other classes as well.
Developed by
Katrine Vogel, Fusa vgs.
Et FYR-opplegg utarbeidet i samarbeid med Fremmedspråksenteret.