Film Adapted from Picture Books Listed Above
Charlotte's Web, 1973
Adapted from book by the same name written by E. B. White
Directors: Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto
Produced by Paramount
Main characters and plot: Charlotte, a spider, and Wilbur, a pig, become friends. They live on a farm owned by Mr. Zuckerman. Mr. Zuckerman plans to sell Wilbur at the County Fair until Charlotte works magic with her webs and saves his life. Templeton, a rat, helps Charlotte with her plan to save Wilbur. As Charlotte is dying, Wilbur decides he must take steps to save her egg sac with five hundred and fourteen little spiders in it. Templeton helps him and together they are able to get the egg sac back to the farm. In the spring, Charlotte's eggs hatch and all but three of her offspring leave the farm.
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilb[u]r's Great Adventure (2003)
Director: Mario Piluso
In this movie, 30 years later, Wilbur, Templeton, and three of Charlotte's daughters, Nellie, Aranea, and Joy go on an adventure. Wilbur remembers Charlotte's friendship and does the same for a black lamb, Cardigan, who lives on the Zuckerman farm. He shows Cardigan around the farm and introduces him to the other animals on the farm. But things take a turn for the worse when Cardigan is sold to another farmer. Wilbur, Templeton, Nellie, Aranea, and Joy go on a journey to find him. They experience some interesting adventures but are successful in their quest to find Cardigan.
The Jungle Book, 1967 Animated Version, Film versions on Videos and DVD
Adapted from the book by the same name written by Rudyard Kipling
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by Walt Disney Productions with Buena Vista Distribution
The animated version differs from the book in that the human boy, Mowgli, is raised by wolves and when the wolves learned that Shere Kahn, the tiger, is nearby in the jungle, they decide to send Mowgli to a local "man tribe". The boy meets many animals along the way to the village while being tracked by Shere Kahn.
Stuart Little, 1999 (There have been two releases since 1999)
Adapted from the book of the same name written by E. B. White.
Director; Rob Minkoff
Screenplay: M. Night Shamalyan and Gregory J. Brooker
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Franklin/Watermans, Global Medien KG
Main Characters and Plot: Stuart is adopted by the Little family. The Littles oldest son wants a little brother but not a mouse, so Stuart Little has to win him over as well as the cat, Snowbell. Stuart is very caring and helpful within his family. He exhibits human qualities, wears small tailored clothing, takes public transportation, and sails a boat. His adventures while trying to find his friend, Margalo the bird, take him to very dangerous places.
The Wizard of Oz, 1939(There have been numerous version made over the years)
Adapted from book of the same name written by L. Frank Baum.
Screen Writers: Noel Langley, Florince Ryerson, and E. A. Woolf
Producer: MGM Studios
Main Characters and Plot: Dorothy is a lonely farm girl who has a dog named Toto and lives in Kansas. Dorothy is very unhappy and plans to run away to a happier place to escape a hateful neighbor. During a terrible tornado, Dorothy is struck on the head and she and Toto are transported to a magical land where she meets mysterious characters who exist in Kansas and in this magical land. They travel down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, and eventually she destroys the Witch of the West. Her friends have their wishes granted and Dorothy is able to return home to Kansas.
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears,
Adapted from the book of the same name written by Verna Aarderna
Produced by: New Video Group, Inc., from Animal Kingdom Studio
Narrated by: James Earl Jones
The DVD offers visual interpretation of novels including Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears.
101 Dalmatians, 1961(a live action version was made in 1996)
Adapted from the book of the same name written by Dodie Smith
Produced by Walt Disney Productions
Buena Vista Distribution
Main Characters and Plot: This is an animated version of a playful film for children where 15 Dalmatian puppies and other animals are rescued from the wicked Cruella De Vil who steals them in order to make herself a spotted coat from their fur.
In the animated version, the animals talk but they do not in the live action version, in which Glenn Close plays the evil Cruella.
This is a partial list of picture books and films that have been adapted from them. It is not exhaustive; many such books and films will be used in the classroom. The picture books listed often have different illustrators in different reprints, and I plan to use as many as necessary to compare and contrast. Some of the films are animated and some are live action. In some of them the animals talk while in others they do not. It will be interesting to let the students discover the differences on their own. I do expect my students to be successful because I plan to make the activities fun and interesting. There is no reason why developmentally disabled students cannot learn to appreciate children's literature using picture books and film.
For instance, The Jungle Book, which does not have many pages and does have a lot of colorful pictures, works well. I will sit in a circle with them and each will have their own copy of the book. We will talk about how it might feel to live in a jungle with wild animals. I will ask them if they have pets or if they have ever visited the zoo. This will be done in order to establish prior knowledge, so everyone feels comfortable as we go through the book. We will take time for the students to draw animals or color them using clip art of tigers, bears, elephants, and other wild animals. This exercise should also help them to understand who the main characters are and to discuss where they are or what the setting is.
Some questions I will ask the students to help them with clues to scan for characters will be:
What does the character do?
What does the character think?
What does the character say?
What do others (narrator, other characters) say about the character?
I will have clue words or phrases available on the board and help them read them. Hopefully by this time some of the students can read simple sentences. The clues will be:
(table 06.03.11.01 available in print form)
We will discuss friendly animals and not so friendly animals such as the tiger who is trying to kill the human. We will emphasize safety among strangers and how to stay away from danger. This exercise will be designed to introduce the plot, which involves protecting Mowgli from danger. I will ask them if they have ever been in a situation where they felt unsafe and what did they did. If they have not, we will discuss what actions they should take if they ever were, and they will learn that avoiding dangerous situations helps to resolve conflict.
As we are going through these exercises, I will show them how to complete a problem/solution graphic organizer that I will draw on the board. This requires them to identify a problem and think about how many ways the problem can be solved. They will answer who, what and why questions to complete the graphic organizer. They will dictate their answers to me or, in the case of for those students who have mastered short sentences, they can write the answers themselves.
The students will also complete a plot line using facts from Charlotte's Web. I will read the story and they will watch the film before attempting this skill. I will model a plot line on a transparency and use the overhead projector for them to copy it. They will start with the beginning of the story, by stating who the characters are, where the setting is, and what the problem is. Next, they will discuss the events which belong to the rising action. Then they will talk about the resolution or the peak of the plot line where the problem is resolved and then the declining slope, the falling action, which indicates the end. They will use construction paper and colored markers to draw their own plot line.
I will select some of the words from the story and put them on the word wall. As we read and reread the story, I will ask the students to identify words on the word wall that are in the picture book. After completing these activities with one picture book, they will understand how to repeat them with other picture books. The goal is to get them to be able to read the picture book independently.
Another classroom activity is to make personal picture books. The class has a digital camera and a color printer that they can use to make picture books. The class goes on community based instructional trips as indicated in their IEPs, and they can take the digital camera and take pictures in the stores, at the zoo, in the museum or at the school and use them to develop their personal picture books. They can use writing software to produce simple words or they can dictate to me and I will type and print the captions for them. I feel that the more they are involved with print, the sooner they will learn to read.
The picture books listed previously are not the only ones I plan to use to teach children's literature. I will expand the picture book approach to other subjects that I teach, such as math. I will be on the lookout for books that have corresponding software with DVD quality. I believe picture books can be useful in science, social studies, vocational education and health as well as language arts and reading. It is going to be a matter of researching and obtaining the resources appropriate for the students I teach.
Pictures come in varying sizes and shapes so I am going to use posters for commercial products such as Coca Cola, Toys "R" Us, MacDonald's and others to help students toward literacy. This may not seem appropriate for introducing my students to children's literature, but I think it will create interest in colors and print, and from there an interest in other print materials and colored images will follow. Any opportunity to get their interest and hold it is worth taking.
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