TV/Film Writing Week 5

Monday Bell Ringer: Make sure you have your book. What do you know about grief? How best would you define this word? Has there been a time in your life where you’ve felt like you were grieving? If so, give details. Finally, do you think everyone experiences grief in the same ways? Why or why not? Try to write at least 4-6 sentences. Be prepared to share with a partner.

Agenda: Bell Ringer Watch Trailer Read chapter 1 Discuss

Trailer:

Group reading: For this chapter, I want you to count off 1… 2… 3… 4… Get into your group Take turns reading the chapter. As one person is reading, the other group members are doing the following: Listening Answering questions on the study guide Creating other questions about the chapter When your group is finished, fill out the character chart and plot chart together.

Tuesday Bell Ringer: What are your thoughts on the first chapter? Likes and dislikes?

Tuesday Agenda: Bell Ringer Read chapter 2 Being Dead

Chapter 2: Silently read chapter 2. Then, answer the study guide & character/plot chart. Then, answer the writing prompt. When finished, begin reading chapter 3. Reading quiz over chapter 3 tomorrow when you come in! Finish for homework!

Writing Prompt: Susie's narrative voice is one of the central paradoxes in the novel. She is an innocent child whose world has been tainted by the most horrifically brutal experience imaginable. Early on in her experience of heaven, Susie and her new friend Holly ask Franny about 'growing up' there. When Holly asks if they can at least watch the living, she is assured by Franny that they already do. Susie is not satisfied: 'I think she means whole lives' I said, 'from beginning to end, to see how they did it. To know the secrets. Then we can pretend better.‘ In what ways do these words reflect Susie's confused existence? To what extent is there a blending of innocence and experience in Susie's voice here? How do you imagine this double perspective might be portrayed in the film? Do you view Susie as a reliable narrator? Do you trust her perspective on events? Explain your answers.

Wednesday Bell Ringer: Reading Quiz: Get a half sheet of paper. 5 questions.

Agenda: Catch up If you are not finished with chapter 3, complete it. You need to be at chapter 4 by the time you walk in tomorrow! You will get the study guide to chapter 3 – 5 tomorrow

Thursday Bell Ringer: What do you think about Ruth’s obsession with Susie?

Agenda: Bell Ringer Life & Death Chapter 4 & 5

Theme: Life & Death A central theme of The Lovely Bones is the relationship between life and death. This is embodied most clearly in the character of Susie Salmon who we watch cross the divide between these two states. In chapter 3, Ruth tells her mother about a dream that 'seemed too real'. She explains: 'I was crossing through the faculty parking lot, and suddenly, down out of the soccer field, I saw a pale running ghost coming toward me…It was female, I could sense that…It flew up out of the field. Its eyes were hollow. It had a thin white veil over its body, as light as cheesecloth. I could see its face through it, the features coming up through it, the nose, the eyes, the face, the hair.'

Watching the trailer: Consider the portrayal of the after-life in the trailer. Is the after-life illustrated in the trailer in ways you had imagined yourself when reading the book? Explain your answer. To what extent do our own ideas about life after death affect how we respond both to the book and the film The Lovely Bones?

Friday Bell Ringer: Compose a diary/journal entry as if you are Jack Salmon. Demonstrate your perceptions / understanding of the events that have unfolded thus far in this novel, in your life. For full credit consideration, discuss your thoughts, feelings, fears, and daily interactions. Be prepared to share with a partner and turn in.

Scene: We will watch a specific scene. As we do: Try to spot the moment Ruth describes Susie passing her as she moves from life to death. How has Peter Jackson, the film's director, chosen to adapt this episode? Why do you think he has changed the details of the experience? What is the effect of the changes? How do we understand Susie's after-death ability to watch everyone's life? Do you suspend disbelief and accept her descriptions of heaven and her perspective on the living? Or do you read her account metaphorically as an imaginative recreation of her voice in the minds of her bereaved family?

Scene

Writing Prompt: Answer the following questions: How has Peter Jackson, the film's director, chosen to adapt this episode? Why do you think he has changed the details of the experience? What is the effect of the changes? How do we understand Susie's after-death ability to watch everyone's life? Do you suspend disbelief and accept her descriptions of heaven and her perspective on the living? Or do you read her account metaphorically as an imaginative recreation of her voice in the minds of her bereaved family?

Reading Chapter 5 As I read chapter 5 Answer the study guide questions Predict what will happen next.