1. Lesson 35: Compare different forms of a text
About this lesson
Students compare and contrast the short story, Flowers for Algernon with clips of a film adaptation in order to evaluate the choices made by the director and the lead actor.

2. We wrote a final draft of an essay in response to the prompt:
Consider how Charlie has changed from the beginning of “Flowers for Algernon.” How does the surgery improve or worsen his life?
Let’s Review!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Briefly review the previous learning.

3. Watch two scenes from Charly.
Today we will:
Watch two scenes from Charly.
Compare the film version to the written version to evaluate the choices made by the director and the lead actor.
Let’s Prepare!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Read the slide.
Briefly explain how this lesson prepares students for another lesson and/or the end-of-unit assessments.

4. Progress Reports 1-3 from “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
You will need:
Progress Reports 1-3 from “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
“Open, Relentless Search” and “I’d Like to Be Smarter” from Charly, directed by Ralph Nelson
The viewing guide
Let’s Prepare!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 3 minutes
Directions:
Distribute the text.
Access and the viewing guide handout.
You will also need access to two online clips:
“Open, Relentless Search”
“I’d Like to Be Smarter”
Students will also need the extension task directions handout and two copies each of the student discussion tracker handout, but do not distribute those until the end of the lesson.

5. Follow along as I read aloud Progress Reports 1-3 from “Flowers for Algernon.”
Let’s Read!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 5 minutes
Directions:
Say to students: “We are going to watch some clips from Charly to evaluate the extent to which the film version follows the written version and consider the decisions the director and lead actor Cliff Robertson, who plays Charlie, made as they created the film version and the meaning of those differences. Before we watch the clips, let’s remind ourselves what happens at the beginning of ‘Flowers for Algernon.’”
Read aloud the first three progress reports from “Flowers for Algernon.”

6. Clip One: “Open, Relentless Search” from Charly
Watch “Open, Relentless Search” and “I’d Like to Be Smarter” from Charly.
Complete the viewing guide to identify similarities and differences between the written and film version of “Flowers for Algernon.”
Clip One: “Open, Relentless Search” from Charly
Clip Two: “I’d Like to Be Smarter” from Charly
Let’s Read!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 27 minutes
Directions:
Ask students to review the questions on the viewing guide to ensure they know what they are watching for as they view the clips.
Instruct students to watch the first clip the without completing the viewing guide.
Play the first clip: “Open, Relentless Search.”
After the first viewing, allow students about 2 minutes to record any initial thoughts on their viewing guide.
Instruct students to complete the first page of the viewing guide as they are watching the first clip a second time.
Play the first clip a second time for students.
Allow students an additional 3 minutes to complete the first page of the viewing guide.
Then repeat the process with the second clip: “I’d Like to Be Smarter.”
Allow additional time after viewing the second clip a second time to complete the Venn diagram on page 2 of the viewing guide.
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
If students are not completing the viewing guide with answers similar to the Student Look-Fors:
Ask: “Where is Charlie in relation to other characters in the second scene of ‘Open, Relentless Search’?” (Minutes 2:02-2:06)
Ask: “What is different about the way Charlie interacts with the children and with people closer to his age?”
Ask: “How does Charlie’s attitude change from when he is around children to when he is around people closer to his age? What does that mean?”
Student Look-Fors:
Access the completed viewing guide handout.

7. How faithful is Charly to “Flowers for Algernon”?
Discuss the following questions based on your viewing guide. Use evidence to support your ideas.
How faithful is Charly to “Flowers for Algernon”?
What did the director or actors change or add?
How well did those choices help you better understand Charlie?
Let’s Express Our Understanding!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 8 minutes
Directions:
Divide the class into pairs using an established classroom routine.
Purposefully pair together students with similar levels of language proficiency.
Direct pairs to select a partner A and B.
Establish norms for the partner work and explain that students will be held accountable for their learning by using the conversation stems learning tool and relevant evidence during the discussion.
Give students 60 seconds to develop their answers and locate evidence to support their ideas.
Then direct partner A to begin the discussion by sharing their answer to the first question on the slide: “How faithful is Charly to ‘Flowers for Algernon’?”
Allow 30 seconds for partner A to share.
Then direct partner B to respond and share for 30 seconds.
Prompt students to use the conversation stems learning tool during the discussion.
Ask students to continue discussing the remaining questions on the slide.
Conclude the discussion by conducting a brief whole-class discussion in response to the last question on the slide: “How well did those choices help you better understand Charlie?”
Use teacher talk moves so students clearly express their ideas (Goal One), listen carefully to understand others’ ideas (Goal Two), provide evidence to support their claims (Goal Three), and establish new ways of thinking (Goal Four).
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
As needed, explain that “staying faithful” in this context means means “stays close to or is similar to.” So the question, “How faithful is Charly to ‘Flowers for Algernon’ is asking how similar the movie is to the short story.
If students are not providing answers similar to the Student Look-Fors, ask the following questions to guide the discussion.
Ask: “Why might the director have chosen the playground and the college campus for the opening of Charly? What is he trying to show us about Charlie without telling us directly?”
Ask: “Consider the point of view of the text and the film. What do we learn from watching Charlie that we also learn through reading his progress reports? In what other ways does the film show us things about Charlie’s character that we learn from reading his written progress reports?”
Ask: “What is different about the way the film presents information in the second clip about the Rorschach tests and Charlie racing Algernon and how it is written in ‘Flowers for Algernon’? Why might more be needed in writing than is provided in the film?”
Student Look-Fors:
Students should understand the clips and the two contrasting scenes (playground and college campus) at the beginning of Charly serve to further develop Charlie’s character. From those scenes, viewers can see that Charlie views children as his equals and feels like an outsider with people who are close to his age. Charlie doesn’t belong with his age group. This is further supported when we see Charlie writing at the end of clip one and then discussing how he wants to be smart like those around him in clip two. These details are similar to what we learn from the written progress reports in “Flowers for Algernon.” Another difference is that we don’t see Charlie take the Rorschach tests and Miss Kinnian is more of a go-between for Charlie and the doctors. The progress reports help us to better know that Charlie, while not very smart, does try very hard. Since we can see this in the way the actor plays Charlie in the film, we don’t need the extra scene with the tests.

8. Materials you will need
Assignment
Materials you will need
Read the two discussion questions on the extension task directions.
Write a response to each question, one response on each tracker.
Include at least two pieces of textual evidence per response.
Extension task directions
Two student discussion trackers
“Flowers for Algernon”
Notes from the unit
Homework
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 4 minutes
Directions:
Distribute the extension task directions to students using an established classroom routine.
Say to students: “Throughout ‘Flowers for Algernon,’ Charlie’s understanding of intelligence evolves. In the next few lessons we are going to explore theories of intelligence and then write an essay that explains how our understanding of intelligence has changed over time. To prepare for our research, we are going to engage in a series of fishbowl discussions in the next lesson.”
Ask students to review the extension task directions, paying careful attention to the discussion topics.
Distribute two student discussion trackers per student.
Say: “For homework, read the two discussion questions on the extension task directions. Answer each question on the student discussion tracker, 1 answer per tracker. Include at least 2 pieces of textual evidence to support each response.”
Make sure students understand the materials they will need to complete the work.
Use your established classroom routines to ensure that students have noted the assignment in the appropriate place (e.g., notebook, student planner, weekly homework calendar, etc.).
Additional Notes:
If you do not wish to assign homework, this work can be completed during class at according to your schedule.

9. In this lesson, you compared two clips from Charly to “Flowers for Algernon” to see how others interpret Charlie’s character.
You also evaluated how the decisions made by a director and actors impact understanding of the characters.
Let’s Close!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Read this slide