Before the Talkies
- Grades: 3–5, 6–8
What it teaches: History of technology, research, collaboration
What you need: Internet access, library books, long roll of paper, pens and pencils
What to do:
- Begin by sharing pages 100–125 of Wonderstruck. Ask your students if they know what kind of film Rose is watching. Most will be unfamiliar with silent film and its conventions. You may want to share examples of silent film. You can find clips at charliechaplin.com and on YouTube. You may also want to read Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which explores the history of film.
- Explain to students that together you are going to create a timeline of film and television from the beginning of silent film to the present. Encourage students to generate questions to be answered and record them on your interactive whiteboard or the chalkboard. When did silent films end? When were movies first made in color? When could you first watch a film at home? Or on a computer? Or on a mobile phone?
- Divide students into small groups. Have group members focus on researching movies and TV in a single decade. Then, invite the groups to record their discoveries on the timeline. Have kids glue on pictures and add illustrations to make the timeline more visually compelling.
- Hang the timeline in the hallway where everyone can learn from it!
Extension: With a simple digital camera, you can have students make their own silent movies. Ask them to think about how to tell a story with no sound and almost no dialogue. Alternatively, students could write a short silent play of a minute or two in which all necessary words are written on the blackboard or projected onto an interactive whiteboard. Clips from silent movies by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are sure to inspire students to create their own comedies.