Strategies
Two of the main goals I want my students to achieve with the unit are related to the interpretation of various literary forms or structures and their adaptations to film. A third goal, having students become aware of the cultural aspects, goes along with the other two.
The world of magic realism and literature
All through the duration of the unit, I will furnish students with the necessary tools to recognize stuctures in stories, main features of magic realism and how to recognize both. I will provide them with appropriate activities by which they will practice reading and writing in Spanish, as well as trigger their critical thinking skills.
The world of film
Viewing Cues
This is a strategy that I included in the previous unit "Spanish Cultures Through Film and Literature"(12). Since it worked when I taught it, I will use it again. It consist on introducing one or two "Viewing Cue(s)" contained in Timothy Corrigan's The Film Experience (13) each day. Students will get a piece of paper with the description of a "Cue(s)" everyday as they walk in. We will discuss it as a group and then we will look at some examples to make sure they understand. We will do this in the first 10 minutes of each period.
Writing a newspaper film review
After having read and understood a number of film and theater reviews previously and during the unit, students will have to write one of their own. They will be able to choose one of the movies to work with.
Final Project: Press Book
As a final project, students will have to produce a pressbook of one of the movies/fragments viewed for the unit or, if they prefer so, any other Spanish-speaking movie they want. In order to do so, they will be divided in groups of 2 (or 3, depending on their skills) and they will be familiar with the format and all the requirements. As for the format, we will analyze and examine the pressbook (14) film Spanish director, Mateo Gil, created for the adaptation of Pedro Páramo he thought he was going to start filming in Fall 2007, and brought to Cannes Film Festival that year.
Not only will this analysis serve to have students learn about the importance of different aspects as marketing and advertising in films, but also they will review the novel and movie fragments, as well as practice their reading and writing and, those who are visual learners, bring out their artistic skills in a school that does not offer art in its curriculum.
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