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INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES:
Time Allotment: two class periods
This activity will help the students learn about the fairy tale as a form of literature and understand its primary and secondary purposes.
1. For the students to have an understanding of the plot and the prejudices presented in the musical, they must know some basic information about World War II as well as some geography related to the war. Distribute the Student Activity Sheet and have the students work in pairs or small groups to complete the activities using the Internet resources noted in the sheet. The questions are listed below along with simple answers.
- What major event led the United States to enter World War II?
(Answer: The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941)
- Which country was responsible for the bombing?
(Answer: Japan)
- Where did most of the fighting take place during the Pacific campaign?
(Answer: In the Philippines and numerous other small islands located south of Japan in the southwestern Pacific Ocean -- see maps at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/maps/maps_02.html)
- What happened to Japanese Americans as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War II?
(Answer: They were sent to internment camps for the duration of the war because they were of Japanese descent and the government felt they could not be trusted -- see details about internment camps at http://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/social/asian_americans)
- Describe some of the key events of the U.S. campaign in the Pacific
(A detailed description of each battle is available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/peopleevents/e_battles.html):
- Guadalcanal: The United States defeats Japan and begins establishing strategic bases across the Pacific, placing Japan on the defensive.
- Saipan: The two-day air and sea battle where large numbers of Japanese civilians committed suicide rather than being captured by the Americans; it led to Japan adopting the national policy of "death before surrender." This victory allowed the United States to establish airfields that put B-29 bombers within striking distance of the main Japanese islands.
- Battle of Leyte Gulf: The largest naval battle in history, where the Allies destroyed the Japanese navy and the Japanese used the first kamikaze attacks.
- Battle of Iwo Jima: An intense five-week battle over the island ended in an American victory and the deaths of 20,000 Japanese and 7,000 American soldiers. The Americans then used the island as a safe haven during their bombing runs to Japan.
- Okinawa: The deadliest battle in the Pacific campaign, where the Japanese and U.S. forces fought for 82 days to gain control of the island. The United States was victorious and planned to use it to invade the Japanese mainland. Seventy thousand Japanese soldiers died and 12,000 U.S. soldiers were either killed or missing.
- Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: In an effort to end the war, President Harry Truman ordered that atomic bombs be dropped on the two major Japanese cities. The cities were destroyed and casualties were high; Japan soon surrendered, ending World War II.
- Based on what you have learned about the Pacific campaign, why was it critical to U.S. and Allied success in World War II? Explain your answer.
(Answers will vary and should be based on what was learned from the students' responses to the above questions.)
2. When the students have completed the activity sheet, discuss each question as a group. Take time to reference the maps of the Pacific and have them share firsthand accounts of what people actually experienced in the Pacific islands during World War II. Use the Web sites noted in the key above to provide these details for the students.
3. Complete this introductory activity by having the students respond to the following question through small group discussions or by composing a written response.
- Based on what you have learned about the brutality of the Pacific campaign and the prevailing American attitude toward the Japanese and other minority groups, do you believe the general public would have been accepting of an interracial relationship, particularly between an American and a native Pacific Islander? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
LEARNING ACTIVITY:
Time Allotment: two class periods
1. Introduce the students to the musical "South Pacific" by printing the Viewing Guide. Remind them to listen carefully to the lyrics of several songs to learn details about the two characters presented in Question 1 of the guide. Encourage the students to take specific notes about the characters. To facilitate this, stop the musical and provide writing time after the following songs:
- "Cockeyed Optimist"
- "Younger Than Springtime"
- "This Is How It Feels"
- "Happy Talk"
2. Question 2 relates entirely to the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." Replay this song for the students so they are able to hear the lyrics clearly before answering the question.
3. After viewing is completed, distribute copies of the essay "A New Challenge for Two Not-So-New Talents" by Thomas S. Hischak (available at http://www.pbs.org/gperf/shows/southpacific/essay1.html) or read it aloud to the class. Using this essay and their experience viewing the musical, the students should answer Question 3 in the Viewing Guide.
4. After all the questions have been answered, facilitate a class discussion beginning with Question 2 and moving directly to Question 3. Encourage the students to provide specific details from the musical and the essay to support their opinions.
CULMINATING ACTIVITY:
Time Allotment: three class periods
1. Using the notes from Question 1 in the Viewing Guide, have the students create a Venn diagram or other graphic organizer that compares and contrasts Nellie and Lt. Cable. They should focus their comparison on the similarities and differences in the prejudices each character feels, the way each character acts on these prejudices, and how each ultimately comes to terms with them.
2. After creating the Venn diagram, the students should participate in a class discussion based on the following questions:
- In what ways are Nellie and Lt. Cable similar? Support your answers by noting specific dialogue or lyrics from the musical.
- How do Nellie and Lt. Cable differ? Support your answers by noting specific dialogue or lyrics from the musical.
- If you had been in Nellie's situation, what would you have done? Why?
- If you had been in a situation like Lt. Cable's, what would you have done? Why?
- Which character is more courageous, Nellie or Lt. Cable? Why?
- Do you agree with this line from the song "Some Enchanted Evening": "once you have found her, never let her go"? Why or why not?
3. Organize the students into small groups and have them work together to rewrite the story of "South Pacific" using the current war in Iraq as the setting. The groups should focus on the key scenes from the musical and rewrite the dialogue and/or song lyrics to be more representative of how the situation might be handled in today's society. Each group should then perform its scene for a retelling of the story. Think of a more fitting title for this new version of the musical and provide details about the setting and characters through the use of dialogue, simple props, and song lyrics.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Have the students write their own musical, set during a historically significant event. The central conflict should be something internal that the characters must overcome from within themselves (similar to the prejudices that caused Nellie and Lt. Cable's conflict), and the story should leave the audience with a strong lesson or message about the topic that is the cause of the conflict. The students should write this in story form first and share it with the class. Have the class vote on which story is best. Using the winner, have the students work in a large group to develop the script and songs for the musical and perform it as a class for others in the school or for a public audience. Finish by polling the audience about the message of the show and how it affected them as audience members. Close the activity by having the students examine the impact of their work on the audience and compare it to how audiences reacted to "South Pacific."
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