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In this lesson, students will watch French filmmaker Christian Chaudet's adaptation of Igor Stravinksy's opera "Le Rossignol" or "The Nightingale." Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, the opera adheres closely to the original story of a fickle emperor and the nightingale that enchants and humbles him. Using the fairy tale, the students will learn to appreciate the art of storytelling, and in keeping with the oral storytelling tradition, they will retell parts of the story with contemporary lyrics and/or poetry to demonstrate their understanding of the plot, characters, relationships, themes, and moral of the story.
Time Allotment:
Five to six one-hour class periods.
Subject Matter:
Music, Poetry, Language Arts, Literature, Drama
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
1. To help their classmates enjoy fairy tales as a form of literature and to make them understand the moral lesson the genre helps to convey.
2. To gain an understanding of the use of morals and lessons in Hans Christian Andersen's work.
3. To learn about and appreciate storytelling (and reinterpretation) as an art form.
4. To write their own lyrics or poem for a part of the opera to demonstrate their understanding of the story's moral and plot.
5. To work collaboratively.
Materials:
A copy of GREAT PERFORMANCES' "The Nightingale"
Pens or pencils
Prep for Teachers:
Record the GREAT PERFORMANCES broadcast of "The Nightingale" (check local listings to determine if and when the program will air in your state). Make sure that computers are functional and have the required plug-ins (such as RealPlayer), Internet connections are working, and Web sites are active. Cue the video to the appropriate starting point. Print out and make copies of the related student handouts: Activity One Organizer and Song/Poetry Organizer.
Bookmark the following sites:
English Translations of "The Nightingale"
http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheNightingale_e.html
http://hca.gilead.org.il/nighting.html
Hans Christian Andersen
http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/liv/minibio/index_e.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen
STANDARDS:
MCREL LANGUAGE ARTS, Level 4, Standard 6
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=6
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of literary passages and texts (e.g., fairy tales, folktales, fiction, nonfiction, myths, poems, fables, fantasies, historical fiction, biographies, autobiographies, chapter books).
MCREL LANGUAGE ARTS, Level 4, Standard 5 http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=5
Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
MCREL LANGUAGE ARTS, Level 4, Standard 8
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=8
Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.
MCREL LANGUAGE ARTS, Level 4, Standard 9
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=9
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.
MCREL WORKING WITH OTHERS, Level 4, Standard 1
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=22&StandardID=1
Contributes to the overall effort of a group.
This lesson was prepared by Anna Chan Rekate.
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