Three monks (三个和尚 -- san ge he shang) is a classical Chinese animation film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The film is based on the ancient Chinese proverb "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water. The most interesting feature of this 20 minute long film is it doesn't contain any dialogue.
I will use it to serve multiple purposes in the middle school Mandarin class.
First, I will ask students write an short essay to retell the story in English, explain why three monks end up with having no water to drink and how they solve this problem at the end.
Second, I will assign an research project about the Buddhism in Chinese Culture. Students need to observe and record certain typical symbolic signs from the movie, i.e. the monks' clothes, hair style, the setting of the temple, the sculpture of God that monks worship, etc. Then they choose some of the subtopics to research, and write a report.
Third, I will assign students into small groups and ask them to act out some of the scenes. Since the film itself doesn't have any dialogues, students are asked to write their own dialogue in target language, for instance, to greet each other in Chinese, to talk about food and hobbies with newcomers.
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Three Monks
05/25/2015 05:41 PM
#1
Three Monks
Thank you for posting this. After hours of looking through post and links, I found something I can fit into my lessons this close to the end of the school year.
Three philosophies brochure/ Three Monks film
Standards
6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China.
3. Know about the life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism
Goals/Objectives:
· Students will be able to create a brochure detailing the founder, teachings, and influence of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism
· Students will be able to identify details of each religious philosophy in the video.
Body of Lesson:
Opening- “How does religion influence people?” Upon answering, share their answer with their shoulder partner.
Book Activity-Will serve as to establish prior knowledge before video activity.
o Students will fold into three even sections. This will create a brochure foldable. (T
o Students label each section of the brochure and use their textbook to identify the founder, teachings, and influence of each philosophy.
o As students read each section, they will periodically stop to fill in information in the appropriate category.
Film activity- Students will see the short film (20 minutes), “Three Monks”. The film has no dialogue, but it is easy to follow and identify key ideas or themes.
o I will stop the video at 4:15 and give students brief reflection time. “What behaviors were apparent with the first monk?” (question will be written on a poster paper) Answer will be written on one color post it.
o I will stop the video at 8:15 and give students brief reflection time. “What behaviors were apparent with the second monk?” Answer will be written on another color post it.
o I will stop the video at 13:15 and give students brief reflection time. “What behaviors were apparent with the third monk?” Answer will be written on another color post it.
o Students will have think time and infer of what will happen next. They have to support their reasoning with evidence from film, text or both. Pair share.
o Students will identify possible themes in film (on a 4th color post it).
o Poster will be place on each side of the room. Students will be divided into 4 groups. They will place their post it on appropriate poster, given time to read others responses, switch poster, and repeat.
o Discuss findings as a class and create a group chart.
This movie was highly enjoyable. I love the fact that it had no dialogue, thus allowing the children the opportunity to focus on body language and actions. The music playing on the background was catchy.
edited by malvarenga on 5/26/2015