“The Call” and the Common Core Standards

Educators Package

 

The Common Core State Standards are designed to encourage teachers and students to access a wide variety of texts, in multiple formats, and to think critically about those texts. By watching “The Call” and completing the accompanying activities of the Educators Package, students take a nontraditional text and are encouraged to analyze it, make connections, and draw their own conclusions about both the meaning of the material presented and its importance in their lives. Specifically, the film and Guide meet the following Common Core anchor standards for English Language Arts as follows.
READING:  INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

1.  Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
   a.  Students are asked to determine the central message of “The Call” and what most impressed them about the movie in a “First Thoughts” exercise.
   b.  Students analyze smoking ads, determining their purpose and focusing on key details.
2.  Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
   a.  “Fast Facts” combined with “The Call” offer students multiple forms of information.
   b.  Students are asked to use facts about smoking, prior knowledge, and the film to answer questions about smoking and complete short research projects (“Facts and the Media”).
3.  Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
   a.  Students are asked to analyze the relationship between the children and their grandfather through the “Discussion Questions.”
   b.  Students are asked to analyze the effect of the brother and sister warning the surfer about smoking through the “Discussion Questions.”
4.  Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different media (e.g., print or digital text, video, or multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
   a.   Students are asked to determine the effectiveness of the movie.
   b.   Students see the topic in both movie form and in the form of facts and statistics.
   c.   Students find and view advertisements in multiple forms.
WRITING

 1.  Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
   a.  In “The Truth About Smoking” activity, students interpret facts and create their own posters, comic strips, and ads to share the truth about smoking with teens in a unique way.
   b.  The section “Further Activities” encourages students to write letters, reports, and persuasive pieces.
2.  Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
   a.  The “Facts and the Media” activity has students complete a short research project.
   b.  The “Further Activities” section encourages students to conduct additional research on smoking.
SPEAKING/LISTENING
1.  Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade-appropriate topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
   a.  Students discuss their reactions to “The Call” movie.
   b.  Students discuss the controversial topic of smoking.
   c.  Students engage in role-playing activities that lead to discussions in the “Smoking and Peer Pressure” activity.
2.  Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, and orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
   a.  Students are asked to interpret the film “The Call” and the metaphors and symbolism it contains, particularly in the “First Thoughts” activity students complete right after viewing the film.
   b.  Students watch a movie rather than read a traditional text. They also have access to interviews with the actors, which offers a different perspective.
   c.  Students interpret facts about smoking and compare them with the impact of the film, both in the “Discussion Questions” and “Facts and the Media” activity.
   d.  In “The Truth About Smoking” activity, students interpret facts and create their own posters, comic strips, and ads to share the truth about smoking with teens in a unique way.
3.  Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, and orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
   a.  Students determine and analyze the main idea of “The Call,” which is presented in a nontraditional format.
   b.  Students look at facts and statistics and connect them to the main idea of the film, both in the “Discussion Questions” and the “Facts and the Media” activity.
   c.  Students have the option to view interviews with the actors to gain an alternate perspective.
4.  Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
   a.  Students watch “The Call” and discuss its message, purpose, and effectiveness.
   b.  In “The Truth About Smoking” activity, students interpret facts and create their own posters, comic strips, and ads to share the truth about smoking with teens in a unique way.

 

Educators Package