By Club Together

To identify main events in a reading text.

To relate events in a man’s life to the reasons for the decisions he made.

To identify main ideas in an interview.

To create a text describing a person’s life story.

Taking into account that you cannot write on this PowerPoint presentation, please do the following:-On a separate piece of paper, take notes on your answers to the questions asked here. These questions are numbered and coloured red.-Use them as support for the final stages.-Post your answers on the forum your teacher/tutor tells you.-Send them to your teacher/tutor by e-mail

This is the poster for a famous movie called Angela’s Ashes, directed by Alan Parker, in 1999.

1. What kind of movie do you think it is?

2. What do you think it is about?3. Does it look interesting?

Click on the photo below to watch the movie trailer for Angela’s Ashes and confirm your guesses.

Alan Parker’s movie is based on Frank McCourt’s memoirs, especially about the difficulties he suffered in his childhood.

Read ONLY the first two paragraphs of his biography on http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mcc1bio-1 and find out what these difficulties were.

4. Why do you think he became famous after these situations? 5. What do you think he did when he was a teenager?

Read the rest of the biography and confirm your answers to questions 4 and 5.

He wrote about poverty and hunger, which must have been traumatic for him as a child.

6. Do you think it is easy to write about traumatic experiences? Why/Why not?

And answer these questions:7. Why did not he consider writing about his own life

story before?8. According to him, what is the positive side of poverty?9. Do you agree with him when he says that “whatever

damage you suffer in childhood… takes a long time to heal”? Support your opinion.

10.Why does he have such negative opinion of strategies like sending rice and grief counsellors to help poor people or to places where there has been a tragedy? Do you agree with this opinion?

The video you have just watched is an excerpt of the interview, but , in case you want to see the entire interview with Frank McCourt, go to:http://fora.tv/2007/11/28/Frank_McCourt_Angela_and_the_Baby_Jesus

Is there a person (famous or not), who you consider a role model, an inspiration? Why/Why not?

Write a text about him/her or about any person who you consider exceptionally important in your life, describe his/her characteristics and support his/her importance.

Remember the notes you took are essential for your paper.

Taken from Holt, Rinehart & Winston. (n.d.). Rubric 40: Writing to describe. Retrieved from http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_ss/teacher99/rubrics/RUBRIC40.pdf

2.13-minute theatrical trailer for Angela’s ashes [Electronic source.] Parker, A. [Director]. (1999). Los Angeles: Universal. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://edublogs.tv/play.php?vid=2425.

American Academy of Achievement. (2009). Frank McCourt Biography. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mcc1bio-1

Angela’s Ashes movie poster. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved on Novermber 6, 2009 from http://www.impawards.com/1999/posters/angelas_ashes_ver2.jpg.

ForaTV. (2007). Frank McCourt, Angela and the Baby Jesus. [Video]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://fora.tv/2007/11/28/Frank_McCourt_Angela_and_the_Baby_Jesus.

ForaTV. (2007). Frank McCourt: Writing about poverty. [Video]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9H5PolaUME&feature=fvst.

Frank McCourt leaning against a desk in a classroom. [Online Image] (n.d.). Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.meli-mello.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mcc1-007.jpg.

Holt, Rinehart & Winston. (n.d.). Rubric 40: Writing to describe. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_ss/teacher99/rubrics/RUBRIC40.pdf

Parker, A. (1999). Still from Angela’s Ashes. [Online Image]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.wolfpackproductions.com/archive/ashes.jpg.

Waters, R. (2005). To Laugh is to Know How to Live. On Ça Ira. [CD]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment.