blog task #6

In this blog task, we are supposed to think of a dream-project that makes use of new media. When I was thinking about that task, I realized that my dream-project would definetely be about the Amercian Dream which is part of the curriculum. In this teaching unit, pupils should learn how to analyze a movie concerning this topic after having dealt with the Amercian Dream in general. The movie I thought of is called “pursuit of happiness”. As Will Smith is the main character, the students might be interested in this movie. The story is about him and his son. Will Smith doesn’t make enough money to pay a house or even food for his little son. He tries to study further in order to earn more money. In my opinion, this movie is very authentic even if the end is, as we know it from many amercian movies, very optimistic. In the teaching unit, the class would be devided into groups of 5. Every pupil would get a question-sheet which they could work with during the movie. After the movie, the students should present their results and go on working in the groups. Each group would get one question concerning the American Dream and do some research on the Internet. Here are some ideas for the questions/tasks:

1)      Find  examples of individual people who talk about their experiences with the American dream. What can you say about their expectations and the actual outcome? Present the individual stories and a conclusion in front of the class.

2)      What do you think about the movie? Are there any differences in reality? Can you think of another end (positive or negative)?

3)      In how far did your understanding of the Amercian Dream  change after having watched the movie? Are you surprised about the story/end/development?

I know that these tasks wouldn’t be done in one session but as we have no restrictions or time limits for this idea, I am convinced that this way of working with the Amercian dream in the Oberstufe would be motivating and interesting for the pupils. In my opinion, people don’t forget movies soon. Working with boring texts on the contrary isn’t usually stored in their memories for a long time.