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Lesson 6

We will watch three segments of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and analyze the director’s use of cinematic techniques. We will update our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of a film?

  • Can I recognize points of connection between a film and the anchor text to make logical, objective comparisons?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Crown Publishing Group, 2010
  • Multimedia
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, George C. Wolfe, HBO, 2017

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: View – Write – Discuss

We will examine the opening scenes of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by studying cinematic techniques.

Step 1

In your groups, determine which of the four cinematic techniques you will take notes on for the film:

  • camera shots, angles, and movement

  • lighting

  • music and sound

  • editing

Review the definitions of your selected cinematic techniques for your topic.

Step 2

Watch the opening scene of the film, taking notes on your selected cinematic technique.

Once the scene is complete, discuss your notes with your group and answer the guiding questions:

  1. What is the effect of the cinematic techniques you wrote down?

  2. How are the key persons in the text portrayed?

  3. How does the director address one or more of the central issues from the text?

Discuss the answers to the questions as a class. Add to or modify your notes as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 2: View – Write – Discuss

We will examine a second segment of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by studying cinematic techniques.

Step 1

In your groups, determine which of the four cinematic techniques you will take notes on for the second segment. Pick a different technique from the previous activity:

  • camera shots, angles, and movement

  • lighting

  • music and sound

  • editing

Review the definition of your selected cinematic technique.

Step 2

Watch the second segment of the film, taking notes on your selected technique.

Once the scene is complete, discuss your notes with your group and answer the following guiding questions:

  1. What is the effect of the cinematic techniques you wrote down?

  2. How are the key persons in the text portrayed?

  3. How does the director address one or more of the central issues from the text?

Discuss the answers to the questions in a classroom discussion. Add to or modify your notes as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 3: View – Write – Discuss

We will examine another segment of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by studying cinematic techniques.

Step 1

In your group, choose one of the four cinematic techniques you have not completed and take notes on it for the film.

  • camera shots, angles, and movement

  • lighting

  • music and sound

  • editing

Review the definition of the selected technique.

Step 2

Watch the final segment of the film, taking notes on your selected technique. Once the scene is complete, discuss your notes with your group and answer the following guiding questions:

  1. What is the effect of the cinematic techniques you wrote down?

  2. How are the key persons in the text portrayed?

  3. How does the director address one or more of the central issues from the text?

Join a class discussion on the answers to the questions. Add to or modify your notes as you deepen your understanding.

Activity 4: Write

We synthesize our learning of the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by updating our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool.

Step 1

As a class, discuss the following questions:

  1. What aspects of Henrietta Lacks’s story are emphasized in the film?

  2. What aspects of her story are left out?

  3. What impact do the director’s choices have on the reader’s understanding of the story?

Step 2

Review your notes from the three viewing activities on the film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Choose evidence from your notes on the cinematic techniques used in the film and copy them into the first column of the tool. Make sure you include the cinematic techniques in your notes. Add analysis from your notes and complete the questions from the third and fourth columns of the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool.

Activity 5: Write

For homework, we will prepare for the Section Diagnostic.

For homework, review the Section 4 Diagnostic Checklist. Make revisions to your notes as needed.

Review your Vocabulary Journal. Select one word or words that you plan to use in your response.