Let’s Go to the Movies!
Posted by Hope Spencer on 02 Sep 2009 | Posted in: Literature Connections, Planning and Curriculum, Teacher's Helper
I love it when Hollywood takes a great kids’ book and makes it into a movie. Now don’t get me wrong; they don’t always make the movie the way I would like. But they usually get kids interested in the book. Anything that gets a child interested in reading is all right with me.
On September 18, a film adaptation of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett will appear onscreen. You and I know how much this book appeals to children. They get lost in the wonderful, magical land of Chewandswallow. I can’t wait to take my young nieces to see this movie! To help you make the most of kids’ enthusiasm for this story, I’ve gathered some of my favorite Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs activities and ideas and posted them here for you.
A Quick Check
Post the tall-tale traits shown. Then reread the story and explain that tall tales have common characteristics. Assign each small group one characteristic and lead the students to decide whether Grandpa’s story contains that characteristic. Provide time for groups to share their characteristic. As time allows, read aloud other tall tales. (Bookbag, April/May 2009)
The Plot Thickens
What a delectable tale cooked up by Grandpa! After an initial reading of the book, lead students to explore the plot of Grandpa’s story. Give a copy of this page to each student and read the directions aloud. Further explain that a story’s plot consists of the beginning (introduces the setting, characters, and problem), rising action (series of events leading to the solution), climax (when the tension is at the highest and the problem is about to be solved), falling action (leads to the story’s ending), and resolution (conclusion of events of the story). Next, reread the book and challenge students to identify these elements in the tale Grandpa shares before completing the activity independently as directed. (Bookbag, April/May 2003)
Showered With Action
After reading the story, have each student cut out the umbrella canopy pattern and handle cards; then have him cut apart the handle cards. Have the child glue the canopy to the top of a 12″ x 18″ sheet of paper. Next, guide him to arrange the handle cards in order below the canopy. Reread the story and lead each student to confirm the placement of his cards before he glues them in place. (Bookbag, April/May 2009)
Still want more? Check out this page to help children distinguish fantasy from reality. It’s from grades 2-3 Teacher’s Helper magazine, April/May 2005.
Hey, after your kids see the movie, why not try this? Draw a meatball-shaped Venn diagram on the board and have your students help you use it to compare and contrast the movie with the book. Now go get some popcorn and enjoy!
Hope
Congratulations to Linda S. of Rio Rancho, NM! She is the winner of a copy of the Social Skills for Little Learners book.
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22 Responses to “Let’s Go to the Movies!”
More Comments Pages: [1] 2 » Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: [1] 2 » Show All Comments
I read the book to my kids last year before the learned how to read and they loved it! I re introduce the book to them and they said that they prefer to wait for the movie….sigh……….
I enjoyed this story immensely when it was first published, and I look forward to reading it to my students in anticipation of the movie.
I guess I am old fashioned, but I like to see a book translated as closely as possible into a movie. Just from the previews of “Cloudy” it seems like an animated horror movie for kids. I will go and see it, and maybe I will be wrong, but any book that small in pages has to have a great deal added to it to make it into a full length movie. I hope parents read and talk about it with their kids, and notice the differences.
I love this book and can not wait to see the movie! I am taking my two children (ages 10 and 4) to see the movie. We read this book over and over! They can not get enough of it! I just hope it does not disappoint them when the movie is completely different than the book.
I cannot wait until “Where the Wild Things Are” comes to the movie theaters later this year. My son loved that book and memorized all of the words before he could actually read. Such memories… this year he turns 25.
I’m so glad I found this post. It’s so easy to forget what we have heard about the movies, and I almost was ready to miss out on this one! Now I not only will be able to get the children in my care out to see it, but will have some great activities to make it a learning venture as well.
I love the story….hope i like the movie.
I could always be found curled up with a book when I was growing up! I make it a practice to see all the movies made of children’s books just so I can discuss them with others who saw them and have an opinion…pro or con. HOWEVER, I always read the book BEFORE I see the movie just to enjoy the author’s take on the story first. I think we owe that much to the many great writers of good books for children.
Looking forward to this and to Where The Wild Things Are later this fall. Thanks for the ideas!!
I like movies when they’re faithful to the book. I’m probably going to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and I’m crossing my fingers that they do a good job with it.
I can’t wait for this movie to come out. I already have a date with my grandson to go see it. I get a double plus something I can share with my grandson Caden and something I can share with my preschoolers. Anything that will get our students reading is fine by me. I have found reading a book and adding activities to it really helps the kids to retain what they have read and causes more interest in the book. A book that becomes a movie has to be a plus.
I have mixed feelings about this. If the adaptation is relatively faithful to the book, that’s great! But when everything is completely changed, like when “Jumanji” was made into a movie, I kind of feel disappointed.
I haven’t decided yet whether to watch “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” or “Where the Wild Things Are” because I’m curious, but also kind of worried that the films won’t represent the books.