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PREVIEW LEARNING GUIDE |
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TWM does not provide the movies.
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SOMETHING THE LORD MADE
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SUBJECTS — Medicine; U.S./1917 - 1991; Diversity; Tennessee & Maryland; |
Something the Lord Made is a fictionalized account that accurately conveys the sense of the actual events. Partners of the Heart is an excellent PBS documentary.
These films describe the unique and productive association between Vivien Thomas, a black high school graduate, and his white mentor and employer, Dr. Alfred Blalock. For more than 30 years, the two men pursued a variety of medical research projects. In 1944, in association with Dr. Helen Taussig, they designed and carried out the first blue baby operations. These procedures have saved tens of thousands of lives world-wide. The success of the blue baby operations confirmed that surgeons could operate on a living human heart. Afterwards, Mr. Thomas trained young doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical School in methods of heart surgery.
While a mid-20th century interracial partnership in the field of medical research and an important medical breakthrough are each worthy of note, there is much more to this story. Vivien Thomas fully participated in developing the blue baby operations, but he was not given credit for his contribution nor was he acknowledged to be a leading instructor of surgery for more than three decades.
The TeachWithMovies.com Learning Guide to these films shows parents and teachers how to use the relationship between these two men and the recognition that Vivien Thomas received only late in life as a unique window on race relations in America during the 20th century. The Guide provides historical background, discussion questions, links to the Internet, class projects, and a comprehension test with an answer key to help parents and teachers confirm and expand upon the lessons of these films.
TeachWithMovies.com's Movie Lesson Plans and Learning Guides are used by thousands of teachers to motivate students. They provide background and discussion questions that lead to fascinating classes. Parents can use them to supplement what their children learn in school.
Each film recommended by TeachWithMovies.com contains lessons on life and positive moral messages. Our Guides and Lesson Plans show teachers and parents how to stress these messages and make them meaningful for young audiences.
Learning Guides Feature the Following Sections. |
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Something the Lord Made and Partners of the Heart show the effects of racism and the triumph of the human spirit.
Learning Guide Excerpt
To give you a sense of how our Learning Guides can be used by teachers as lesson plans and by parents to supplement school curriculum or for homeschooling, we have set out below the Benefits section from the Learning Guide to Partners of the Heart & Something the Lord Made.
Benefits of the Movies: The story of Vivien Thomas and Alfred Blalock is an excellent paradigm with which to study racism in the United States during the period 1930 - 1980. It provides a graphic example of the interplay between altruism and self-interest in race relations. It shows doctors from different disciplines cooperating to make an important medical breakthrough and describes a pivotal time in the development of heart surgery. The story of the blue baby operations introduces three important medical researchers of the 20th century: Vivien Thomas and Drs. Alfred Blalock and Helen Taussig.
Each movie has its own strengths. Something the Lord Made is excellent in every respect: acting, screen writing, directing, set design, music, and in its ability to use drama to convey a realistic view of what actually occurred. It shows more of Vivien Thomas' family than the documentary. Partners of the Heart is also very interesting. It contains sections on Nashville and its black community. The special features are excellent. Both films are enriching....
The Learning Guide to the film Something the Lord Made & Partners of the Heart contains sections on Benefits of the Movie, Possible Problems, Helpful Background, Discussion Questions, Links to the Internet, and Bridges to Reading. The Discussion Questions are divided into three categories: Subject Matter, Social-Emotional Learning, and Moral-Ethical Emphasis.
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