Day 39: 11/1/16 - D day: 2nd Half of Freak the Mighty - Comparing & Contrasting a Novel & a Movie

Good day 6th Graders,      

         I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. Today we will be watching the second half of the movie, and for homework you will be writing an essay comparing and contrasting them. Please make sure you have:

• Freak the Mighty
• ELA Folder & Notebook
• Red Folder & Agenda

                        Thank you

                       Mr. Trumble

Activity #1

• RL6.7 Compare & Contrast the experience of reading a story to viewing a video, including contrasting what you "see" or "hear" when reading the text to what you perceive when you view the movie.

Expectations:

While you watch the movie record similarities and differences using the graphic organizer. It is very important that you take good notes. You will be writing a a 4 paragraph essay on the 2nd half of the movie.

Movie - Freak the Mighty (2nd Half)

Homework: Write a 4 paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the 2nd half of the movie with the 2nd half of the book. Be sure to give your homework a proper heading.

**You will be scored on this essay the same way you were assessed on your first essay, using the district writing rubric on a 1 - 4 point scale.

Expectations:

Introduction:

Introduce the reader to the topic of your essay. Be sure to include the title of the book/movie, some background information, and your thesis statement.

Body Paragraphs:

Include at least 2 body paragraphs. One that discusses the similarities & one that discusses the differences. Focus on the big ideas, and the most important information. 

Conclusion:

Finish with a conclusion. Be sure to leave the reader with your own reflection. Don't finish with - "Those are some of the similarities and differences..." or with "Know you know some of the similarities and differences..." DO NOT give me a "know you know" ending. Give me an ending that is reflective and leaves me with something to think about.

**See my example from the first half of the movie to help you. 

Freak the mighty is one of my favorite books but did you know that it was also made into a movie. Author Rodman Philbrick does a wonderful job telling the tale of two misfit boys who had no friends but found each other, and became mightier together than they ever could be when they were apart. Although I like them both, there are many similarities and many differences between the book and the movie.

One of the similarities that stands out to me is how the movie and the book both portray the main characters. In the book and the movie Max is portrayed as a big dummy who has no brain, while Kevin is portrayed as overly small but extremely intelligent. In the book Max begins the novel by saying, "I never had a brain until Freak came along, and that's the truth, the whole truth, the unvanquished truth, as Freak would say. In both the movie and the book, Max acts as the narrator telling the story, and giving us inside information about his thoughts and feelings as we get to know him. He lives with his Gram and Grim because his mom is dead and his dad's in jail. In a similar fashion the movie mirrors the book by having Kevin live with only his mother, and revealing that his father was a magician who disappeared when he found out his son had a disability. Additionally, just like the book Kevin has a disability where his insides organs grow but his body does not. He wears braces on his legs, has a curved back and uses crutches in both the movie and the novel.

While the general story unfolds in the movie the same way it does in the book there are many differences between the two. For example, the inciting incident in the movie is completely different than in the book. In the book Max and Kevin become friends when Max shows Kevin an act of kindness by getting his ornithopter out of a tree, but in the movie they become friends when Kevin gets assigned to Max as his tutor. In the movie Kevin has to pay Max to take him to the fireworks which starts their friendship down a path towards becoming freak the mighty, but in the book the boys friendship is developed more naturally as they go on quests and hang out at each other's houses. In the book Max and Kevin become Freak the Mighty on Fourth of July when the police officers rescue them from the pond and ask for their names. Kevin responds by telling the cops that they are freak the mighty. In the movie Max and Kevin don't become Freak the Mighty until after they rescue Loretta Lee's purse and are confronted with who their fathers are. It is at this point Kevin takes Max to a museum where they look at a bunch of armor and King Arthur's roundtable. Kevin then takes out a sword and performs a private knighting ceremony where he names them freak the mighty.

Whether you choose to watch the movie or read the book you will surely be delighted by Philbricks coming of age tale about friendship, but if you ask my opinion I would recommend the book. It provides the reader an opportunity to see much deeper into Max’s thoughts and feelings, and allows for a far richer experience.

RTI/AIS - D Day 11/1/16

Step 1 - Choose a partner & an article.

Step 2 - Read through your article to get a basic understanding of what the article is about. Take turns reading. You may alternate paragraphs, or alternate sections.

Step 3 - Reread the article a 2nd time and write your inferences in the margin after each paragraph or two. You may write the same inference as your partner, or you can write different inferences. 

Step 4 - Underline the evidence from the text that supports your inference.

*** I will come around to each group during the last 10 minutes and ask:

1. What is your article about?

2. What is an inferences you made?

3. What evidence led you to make that inference?

• Next time we meet we will work on looking at the small inferences we made for each section, and see how they come together so we can make a big global inference regarding the article.