Germinal Lesson Plan

"The Book Was Better"

Kind of Activity:

Group Discussion

Objective:

Students will compare various adaptations of "Germinal" to Zola's original work.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5

Structure:

Germinal has been adapted to film several times, as far back as 1913 and more recently in 1993. A list of adaptations may be found on the novel's Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germinal_(novel)#Adaptations

For this activity, students will select a film adaptation of Germinal and watch it in groups of three or four apiece. After they have had time to do so, groups will...