Fachdidaktik Englisch I Olivia & Mandana Reader Period Plan: Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
Reader Period Plan Level: Pre-Intermediate (Level 3: 1200 headwords) Time Frame: 5 lessons
Forrest Gump (written by Winston Groom)
Lesson Content Objectives 1 Topic: School, university & football (chap. 1-3) - Overview/ (SS have read chapter 1-3 at home.) introduction, motivate SS - Question: what do you already know about Forrest - Summarize and Gump? Who knows the book, the film, the music? retell a story Discuss in pairs and then in plenum. T writes from some answers about the character Forrest Gump on notes OHP. - Reading - Read introduction of book together: discuss the comprehension title, author, type of text (biography), setting - Interpretation /timeframe (story of America 1960ies and onwards), show map Mobile/ Alabama, etc. and answer two questions on p. 42 of the book. - Briefly discuss vocabulary problems of chapters 1- 3 in class. - Divide class into 3 groups. Each group is assigned one chapter and has to individually summarize it and write down some key words. T tells SS that summary should not take longer than about 1-2 min. Then, T forms groups of 3 (including one specialist of each of the 3 chapters). In these groups of 3 everybody summarizes his chapter. - In class: list all the characters that appear in the first 3 chapters. Discuss who they are and what relation they have to Forrest. Then do exercise 4 on p. 43 in class. - Discussion in class: (1) What is special about
1 Fachdidaktik Englisch I Olivia & Mandana Reader Period Plan: Forrest Gump (Winston Groom) Forrest Gump? (Can run very fast, knows how to play the harmonica without having been taught, etc.) (2) How does he think/write? (e.g. short sentences, often initiating with “I”, simple & surprising transitions, reader sees/understands/infers things Forrest cannot, etc.) (3) Forrest must now join the army; do you think Forrest will be a good or a bad soldier; why?
Homework: the groups of 3 have to establish a full written summary of chapters 1-3 and hand it in to be corrected. Read chapters 4-6.
2 Topic: The life of a Vietnam soldier (chap. 4-6: - Listening (song) Vietnam, White House) - Understand historical context: history of - Introduction to Vietnam War: Listen to song: America (60ies, 70ies) Dixie Chicks – Travelin’ Soldier. T. gives German translation orally (if necessary). Discuss (dis- )similarities between this soldier and Forrest, in pairs, then in class. Listen to the song again. - First, T asks SS what they already know about the Vietnam War. Then, T gives an overview (a PPP with the important pictures) of the Vietnam War: dates, important events related to the war, the nature of the war (Guerilla), the role of the media (e. g. Tet Offensive), how it affected America’s Image, etc. (Important to understand the literature of that time) - Discuss in class how Forrest perceives the war and relate his perception to “reality”. - In the same way discuss the meeting of the President in order to see the difference of Forrest’s perception and ours as readers (E. g. Forrest does not understand the importance of this meeting.) Show film sequence.
3 Topic: Protest against the war : The Flower-Power - Reading Movement (Jenny Curran) comprehension - Speaking/ - Give SS the following 2 citations from the book discussing and ask them to whom Forrest is referring to. (1) - listening (song) “She left school and went off with a group of - American people who were against the war.” (2) “There history 60ies were about two thousand people waiting for us at San Francisco airport when we got off the plane! What a surprise! A lot of them had beards and long hair. I thought perhaps they were there to welcome us, but I was wrong. They were shouting
2 Fachdidaktik Englisch I Olivia & Mandana Reader Period Plan: Forrest Gump (Winston Groom) unpleasant things, and then somebody threw a tomato at Colonel Gooch and it hit him in the face.” T asks SS why they do know that Forrest is talking about the “hippies”? What else is typical of these people? Their attitude towards the war/life, cloths, symbols, etc. - T then shows a picture of hippies (a woman and a man) at Woodstock (transition to song). Explains the movement etc. E. g. Jimy Hendix’s version of the American Anthem: shocked the Nation! - (Ev. http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=SboRijhWFDU; source You Tube) - Protest song from the Soundtrack of Forrest Gump: Joan Baez – Blowin’ in the wind (hand out lyrics with gaps to be filled in.)
Homework: read chapters 7-9
4 Topic: Jenny Curran: The love of his life (chap. 7-9) - Reading - In class: SS are asked to write key words that comprehension characterize Jenny / Forrest on the blackboard - Writing - In pairs: Each pair gets an overhead transparency - Speaking and tries to reconstruct the development of the love story between Jenny and Forrest. SS may write down key words or even draw the “storyline” with stickmen. - In pairs: Jenny breaks up with Forrest several times. One S tries to take Forrest’s perspective, the other Jenny’s. Both SS write down what – from their respective point of view – is difficult in their relationship with each other. > Role play: SS slip into the role of Jenny and Forrest and try to explain their feelings/ standpoints or problems regarding the other person - In class: T shows ending of the film and reveals that the ending of the book will be different from the ending in the film. SS discuss possible endings of the book. SS should try to find indicators for happy ending/ not a happy ending - Homework/individual work: SS read Jenny’s letter to Forrest on pages 31-32 again and write Forrest’s reply.
Homework: read chapters 10-12
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5 Topic: Life as a constant journey (chap. 10-12) - Text comprehension - T writes the words “Danang”, “Prison”, - Interpretation “Indianapolis”, “Jungle” and “Savannah” on the - Speaking blackboard, divides class into 5 groups and assigns one place to each group - SS discuss why / how Forrest got to the respective places. SS write a short summary about their results. - In class: One S per group summarizes briefly the findings of the group and presents them to the class - In class: Forrest seems to be travelling constantly. SS should try to find out / discuss the different reasons for his frequent travelling - T brings a world map and tells SS to trace out Forrest’s journey through different countries and places with fixing pins. SS also write on post-its what Forrest was doing at the respective place and thus develop an overall summary on the book together - In class: Throughout the whole story a lot of people call Forrest an “idiot”. Forrest does not even object, but always claims that at least he “tries to do the right thing”. Discuss in plenum whether Forrest really is an idiot (what is “an idiot”, in the first place) and if he really does “the right thing” at the end of the story
Material for lessons 1, 2 & 3 see below (The powerpoint presentation for lesson 2 (cf. uploads on wiki) is not yet finished; the uploaded version should just give an idea of how it will look like in the end.)
- Forrest Gump The Film - Forrest Gump The Soundtrack: 32 American Classics on 2 CDs
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Dixie Chicks – Travelin’ Soldier (2002)1
Two days past eighteen2 He was waiting for the bus in his army green Sat down in a booth3 in a cafe there Gave his order to a girl with a bow4 in her hair He's a little shy so she gives him a smile And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while And talking to me, I'm feeling a little low She said I'm off5 in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier6 He said I bet7 you got a boyfriend but I don't care I got no one to send a letter to Would you mind8 if I sent one back here to you
Chorus: I cried Never gonna hold the hand of another guy Too young for him they told her Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier Our love will never end Waitin' for the soldier to come back again Never more to be alone when the letter said A soldier's coming home
So the letters came from an army camp From California then Vietnam And he told her of his heart It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of He said when it's getting kinda9 rough10 over here I think of that day sittin' down at the pier And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
[Chorus]
1 Traveling soldier: Fusssoldat 2 Two days past eighteen: 2 Tage nach dem 18. Geburtstag 3 booth: Abteil, Kabine 4 bow: Haarreif 5 to be off: Feierabend haben 6 pier: Pier, Steg 7 to bet: wetten 8 would you mind: wäre es dir recht 9 kinda (inf. for „kind of“): ziemlich 10 rough: hart 5 Fachdidaktik Englisch I Olivia & Mandana Reader Period Plan: Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
One Friday night at a football game The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem11 sang A man said folks12 would you bow your heads13 For a list of local Vietnam dead Crying all alone under the stands14 Was a piccolo player15 in the marching band16 And one name read but nobody really cared But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.
[Chorus x2]
11 (American’s) Anthem: Hymne 12 folks: Leute 13 to bow one’s head: den Kopf senken 14 the stands (pl.): Tribüne 15 piccolo player: „Piccolo“-Flötenspieler 16 the marching band: Blaskapelle 6 Fachdidaktik Englisch I Olivia & Mandana Reader Period Plan: Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
Joan Baez – Blowin’ in the wind
Written by Bob Dylan (1963, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) (From Forrest Gump The Soundtrack)
How many ______must a man walk down Before they call him a man How many seas must a white _____ sail Before she sleeps in the sand How many times must the ______fly Before they are forever banned The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind
How many years must a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea How many years can some people exist Before they're ______to be free How many times can a man turn his head And ______that he just doesn't see The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind
How many times must a man look up Before he can see the ______
How many years must one man have Before he can hear people cry How many ______will it take till he knows That too many people have died The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind
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(Source: Wikipedia) “Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of philosophical questions about peace, war, and freedom without supplying concrete answers. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind". The song makes no reference to a specific event.“
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