Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

Goals for the lesson 

• You can express your own opinions about what particular parts of the book signify and justify this using the text. 
• You can anaylse a film clip and discuss how the different aspects of film convey meaning.
• You can explain what "subtext" is.
• You can discuss your responses and opinions to a film clip.

Post your questions 

 Type your questions, comments and thoughts about what you have read. Add to or respond to each others posts.

Click HERE to go to Padlet

Padlet filters bad language and uses AI to filter responses. Display Padlet on the digital board.

If students are struggling with discussion points, drip feed the following: Why do you think the story of Hiroshima is told? What might the various pictures in this part of the book mean? Why do you think there are words and phrases that are circled in red? Who is the narrator at this point? What does it tell us about them? - trauma, fixation on certain things. What feelings and emotions do you get from having Grandma as the narrator? What do you think the story of Sixth Borough might be a metaphor for? (Possible directions for the last question -  That nothing stays the same, repression of emotions, lack of wanting to communicate, people being isolated in their beliefs). 

When the timer is up. Bring the class central and discuss the most interesting comments or insights

When you were little and you were scared, what did you do?

Critical viewing

You all have been given one of the following aspects to focus on and a worksheet to make notes on: 

• Images
• Lighting choice 
• Music / sounds
• Camera focus
• Dialogue (questions)
• Mood / emotions seen
• Setting / spaces

Teacher makes the 7 groups and hands out the worksheets. 

Get ready to make notes!

Play from 31:40 to 38:31

The film clip will be played twice. Use a different coloured pen/pencil for the second viewing.

Ask the kids not to discuss what they are noticing but to wait. After the second time ask them to note down any thoughts about what they saw/ heard etc. with the two minute reflection on the next slide. 

Two minutes to reflect

Write down anything that comes to mind surrounding what you have just watched.

Combine notes - by aspect

• Teacher will indicate one group member from each aspect to post an observation in Padlet with the title e.g. Music etc.
•  All the other group members post their observations in the comments of the RELEVANT post. (Images>> in images thread)

•  Add new information, don't repeat.

• Click HERE to go to Padlet

When students have completed their own aspect. Ask them to look at the others and add anything that they noticed that is missing. 

What were the explicit messages and the implicit messages in the clip?

Explicit - what was said or done (Oskar buying a new answer phone)

Implicit - body language, actions, movements. 

Write down any questions that you would have expected to hear in this situation, but didn't?
What is the elephant in the room?

The fact that nobody asked where his father was. If he was ok? 

Why is this? And what does it tell us about the characters ?

We understand as a viewer that they all know what has happened but they can't say it otherwise, it is real.

Try to elicite that a story/ information can also be told in the dialogue that is missing, not just what is spoken - Subtext or Ellipsis (in dialogue) 

What we have just been discussing is.....

SUBTEXT: When something is not directly stated but is implied beneath the surface of dialogue, actions, or context. The viewer or reader must pay attention to character behavior, tone, and other subtle cues to understand the underlying meaning or emotion.

In which medium is this easier to notice? Film or literature? 

This is easier to see in film as the small glances, actions are more obvious, but it is also something that happen in literature. 

In groups of 3 or 4 

- How did you feel during the clip?

- What one image or shoot stood out for you? Why?

- Why is Oskar looking at Grandma through his fingers?

- In what way does the positioning of the characters in the clip convey meaning, and if so, what?

- What type of spaces/ settings did we see in the clip? Is there meaning in this?

-Whose message or emotions are the most strongly communicated? Whose are excluded, why is that?

 

Bring the group back together and discuss what you heard while walking around. Move on to the last slide. 

Rounding off 

What were some of the points or insights that came up in your discussions? 

What did you find to be the most interesting thing today?

If time allows ...

Start reading the next section of the book p. 234 to p.284