Snippet Lesson Plan on Determining Theme Using Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

Create Lesson Plans Based on Movies and Film

SAMPLE SNIPPET LESSON PLAN TO:

Determining Theme
Using "Pink Floyd: The Wall"

Subject:     Literature/Literary Devices: Theme

Ages:          14+

Length:       Snippet: Fifteen minutes, beginning at DVD Scene 5; Lesson: three 45 - 55 minute class periods.

Learner Outcomes/Objectives:     Students will learn a method for determining theme and will write a thematic statement in a paragraph or an essay. They can also be asked to write compositions of various types on topics suggested by the snippet.

Rationale:     Deriving theme is an important skill required by most ELA curriculum standards. An explication of the snippet enables students to practice deriving theme and writing compositions using subject matter of interest and value.

Description of the Snippet:     "Pink Floyd: The Wall" is a dark, expressionistic musical structured around the memories of Pink, a depressed British rock musician. As a young boy, Pink suffered from the effects of his father's death in WW II, a distracted and distant mother, and a repressive and unresponsive school system. In the snippet, a young Pink tries to express himself in writing, only to be ridiculed by his teacher and his fellow students. He escapes through fantasies of a factory/school in which faceless automaton children are processed on a conveyor belt which takes them to a meat grinder. The students then riot, singing "We don't need no education", and burn down the school. When the building is ablaze, they throw the teacher into the flames. This powerful snippet contains striking visuals, evocative music, and simple, forceful lyrics. The images are dark, the hopelessness palpable.

Note that the themes derived from the snippet are different than the theme of the overall film, which focuses on how Pink builds a wall to insulate himself from the pain he experiences in the world.


Already a member? Enter TWM SNIPPET MENU
Learner Outcomes/Objectives
Rationale
Description of the Snippet
Using the Snippet in Class: Preparation Step by Step Supplemental Materials -- Child Savior Archetype Concluding Activity/Assessment

Using the Snippet in Class:

See below.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TWM!

  FREE SAMPLES OF:

      FOUR TYPES OF
             LEARNING GUIDES &
                LESSON PLANS
                   MOST SUBJECTS K-12

LEARNING GUIDES to feature films
and documentaries

English: Billy Budd
History: Warm Springs (FDR)
Science: Finding Nemo
Health: Super Size Me

LESSON PLANS for snippets
and short subjects

Science: A Bird's Eye View of Migration; snippet from "Winged Migration"

English: Analysis and Explication of Poetry; snippet from "In Her Shoes"

Music: An Introduction to the Orchestra Using "The Bolero"

SET-UP-THE-SUB using movies, snippets,
and short subjects

History:  The Nashville Sit-Ins using "A Force More Powerful"

Science:  Symbiosis and Predation in the World of Insects Using "Microcosmos"

English:  Archetypes and the Child Savior Myth using "Man on Fire".

TALKING & PLAYING FOR GROWTH
-- with movies for children 3 - 8

Finding Nemo

Using the Snippet in Class:

Preparation

Preview the snippet and find its exact location. In the newer releases of the film, the scene selection can be complicated.

While previewing the snippet decide whether to give an introduction. A proposed introduction is set out below. Some teachers play the snippet without an introduction.

Review and, if appropriate, edit or supplement TWM's Worksheet on "Pink Floyd: The Wall" (provided with the "Snippet Lesson Plan". The worksheet contains many discussion topics and there may not be time to cover them all.

Step by Step

Introduction

1. Introduce the snippet by conveying the following.

The Snippet Lesson Plan includes a short introduction to the snippet.

2. Show the snippet.

3. Hand out the worksheet and review the questions with the class. Do not allow discussion of the responses. Students should be instructed that if they have ideas for responses based on their first viewing, they can make brief notes.

4. Play the snippet a second time.

5. Separate the class into groups of no more than four students. Allow the students to share ideas within the group. Students should be encouraged to use new information they may learn from their peers so that they will feel better able to write an essay when the assignment is given. Give students an estimate of the time that they should take with each question.

6. Select different students at random to lead a short class discussion on each question in the worksheet. Other students should be allowed to contribute their ideas to the class discussion. Tell students that there will be an assignment in which the information from the discussion will be useful. The teacher should ensure that the points described in the suggested responses set out below are covered during the class discussion.

7. Questions on the Worksheets with Notes on Responses.

Notes on Responses: While the mother prays, she ignores her child who is suffering from having lost his father. He is playing with an airplane, a tool of destruction that dropped the bombs that killed his father and terrorized Britain during the war. This scene occurs in a church, often valued as a representation of peace and comfort.

Notes on Responses: We laugh at what is called "comic relief,
" an element of film that provides a break from the tension of the serious, even tragic, story line. There is irony in the fact that we care about people and do not want them to be hurt yet we laugh when we see them fall. The fall may presage the coming danger the boys face as they seek to put bullets on the train line, a far more dangerous form of play than running down a slope.

Notes on Responses: Student reactions to the visuals . . .

Snippet Lesson Plan

Theme -- Exercising analytical skills: an effective method of determining theme

8. Often students will watch the snippet and decide that the subject is associated with criticism of the school system, which is true, but they will not look deeply enough into the action to derive a theme. In order to assist students in their efforts to understand theme, ask students to write brief answers to the following questions. The answer to the fourth question will constitute theme.

The Snippet Lesson Plan continues with two interpretations of the theme of this snippet based on answers to the following questions. Suggested responses to each of the questions for both interpretations are included in the Snippet Lesson Plan.

A. Whose story is this?

B. What happens to him?

C. Why does this ending come about?

D. What does the fact that the story ended this way mean to me?

Students can be asked to write an essay of several pages explicating the theme of the snippet or of the fantasy, using the questions set out above as a way of organizing their paper and citing evidence from the snippet to support their assertions. Citations can refer to the lyrics, scenes, images, dialogue and actions in the snippet. In the alternative, for a less demanding assignment, students can be asked to write a paragraph declaring the theme of the snippet or of the fantasy, using the questions and the answers held together with proper transitions.

The Snippet Lesson Plan also provides writing prompts for: a ruminative paragraph, an informal discussion piece, an informal essay, a formal analytical essay, a narrative, an opinion piece, and a critical essay.

The analysis of theme is an important skill taught in ELA classes. Exercising this skill using film, a medium favored by students, provides an excellent opportunity to teach this skill.


Possible Problems with this Snippet: None. Snippet Lesson Plans vary in length and detail. TWM does not provide copies of the movies. We supply Learning Guides and lesson plans based on movies. It costs only $11.99 per year for unlimited personal or classroom use of more than 300 Learning Guides and lesson plans. SUBSCRIBE NOW! This film is available from Amazon.com. Get the best that Hollywood has to offer! Subscribe to TeachWithMovies.com: Only $11.99 per year for unlimited personal or classroom use of more than 300 Learning Guides and lesson plans.

This Sample Lesson Plan was written by James Frieden and published on June 16, 2009.

Spread the GOOD NEWS about...

TeachWithMovies.com!

RECOMMEND THIS SITE TO A FRIEND!