Photo+Story-Like+Project

One assignment that can be used for teaching //Mister Pip// could be to have students- maybe midway through the text- collect images, pictures, or movie clips- that they think describe the book. They could use Photo Story (an example can be found [|here]) -but for a this particular idea I have- it is not so much describing or telling the story, as it is describing what each individual student imagines when reading about a certain aspect.

For instance- if students want to bring a movie clip that they envision while reading that describes the island- they might bring in a scene from “[|The Beach]” -Or maybe if a student is trying to describe their idea of civil war and the rebels they would present a scene from the movie "[|Hotel Rwanda]." The chapter beginning on page 185 gives readers the most direct portrayal of Grace offered in the book. I would like students to select one of the lists that Grace creates and form a photostory around it. There are seven lists but if the last two are lumped together, students could probably work in six groups of four to collect images and perform narration. After they've had this short group practice, students would be able to create their own list and show the class images that reflect their heritage. Also- any character, for example Melinda or Mister Watts, can be represented from a students mind in the novel to a clear picture in a movie- by simply bringing in a clip of a certain actor or character that is described similarly.

This lesson can be further developed in many ways. As students collect specific ideas for setting, themes, and characters in //Mister Pip// that they can represent through film, they can use these ideas to create their own personal trailer for the novel. Students can also write screen plays for the novel- or particular scenes. This task would involve close reading and the planing of particular actors, locations, different angles and shots of the video camera, costumes, music, and so on.

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