Gretchen L. Gallagher
One may use this curriculum unit in isolation, providing only a brief exposure to the rain forest, India, and Kipling. One may use this unit as part of a larger unit about the rain forest. Once the students have been introduced to these concepts, they will have a frame of reference to support their new knowledge about
The Jungle Book
.
The following lessons propose reading
The Jungle Book
with students before. viewing the movie. With all they have learned about rain forests, and with the pictures they have seen of its animals and plants still fresh in their minds, they will be well equipped to visualize their own jungle book as they listen to the teacher read Kipling’s Jungle Book aloud. The portion of
The Jungle Book
that concerns Mowgli and friends is approximately one hundred twenty-one pages in length. I expect to take five to ten twenty minute sessions to cover this part of the unit. Because the language Kipling uses may sound odd, and in order to keep portions of the book that have already been read in the students’ minds, one should ask literal and inferential questions of the students after each portion of the book is read. Lesson I divides the three stories, “Mowgli’s Brothers,” “Kaa’s Hunting,” and “Tiger! Tiger!” into several-page chunks and provides suggested questions to ask after each chunk or portion is read.
Because the stories of Mowgli do not occur in linear time, it is suggested that the teacher keep a timeline of Mowgli’s adventures with the class. One may use the blackboard or chart paper to record a class timeline, or distribute empty timelines and have the students supply the important details after each story is read. An example of a completed timeline is included at the end of this unit.
To prepare. students to see the animated and live-action versions of
The Jungle Book
, a storyboard activity may be completed once the novel has been shared with the students. A storyboard is used by film makers when they are planning the way they will shoot each scene of a film. Every scene in a screenplay is mapped out onto a storyboard. To reinforce the concept of sequencing and to review such story elements as setting and characters, a storyboard like the one included in this unit may be completed by students. They may either map out the plot of the entire Jungle Book, or pictorially summarize one particular adventure. Regardless, the components of the storyboard remain the same: setting (where the action takes place), characters (who is involved), the beginning event, what occurs in the middle, and the action that takes place at the end. An extension of this activity would be to have the students make flip books of the story or parts of the story they have just illustrated on their storyboards. Several books about film making and animation techniques for children are available at local libraries, and the bibliographies at the end of this unit suggest some that may be particularly helpful for this activity.
Walt Disney Pictures created the animated version of The Jungle Book almost thirty years ago. Last year, in 1994, a live-action version based upon the Mowgli stories was released. Showing both movies to the class will help introduce them to different styles of movies, and will show them the differences and similarities between the two interpretations of Kipling’s work. As was previously mentioned, the live-action version takes many liberties with the original story. The entire focus of the movie is on Mowgli’s relationships with the Englishmen who have found and “adopted” him. This version is more realistic, in that the animals do not actually talk, but communicate with Mowgli with their eyes, movements, and growls or roars. However, the live-action Mowgli is sixteen or seventeen years old, a marked change from the ten year old hero in Kipling’s novel or in the animated film. The students will find it easier to identify with the younger Mowgli.
Once the movies have been seen (it is recommended that they be seen over a span of two to four days, so that similarities and differences will be fresh in the students’ minds) and discussed, a culminating activity would be to have. the students write their own reviews of whichever Jungle Book appealed to them: novel, animated film, or live-action film. A sample review worksheet is included in this unit.
