A River Runs Through It

Media Unit Plan

Six Days of Lessons
By:
Mary Jacqueline Beane
Lizzie Johnson
Jenn Amano
 Sunshine State Standards
(Applied to whole unit)
The eighth grade Language Arts student…

LA.A.2.3
1. determines the main idea or essential message in a text and identifies
relevant details and facts and patterns of organization.

LA.A.2.3
2. identifies the author’s purpose and/or point of view in a variety of texts
and uses the information to construct meaning.
3. recognizes logical, ethical, and emotional appeals in texts.

LA.B.2.3
1. writes text, notes, outlines, comments, and observations that demonstrate
comprehension of content and experiences from a variety of media.

LA.C.2.3
1. determines main concept, supporting details, stereotypes, bias, and
persuasion techniques in a non-print message.
2. uses movement, placement, juxtaposition, gestures, silent periods, facial
expressions, and other nonverbal cues to convey meaning to an audience.

LA.D.2.3
2. uses literary devices and techniques in the comprehension and creation of
written, oral, and visual communications.
4. understands how the multiple media tools of graphics, pictures, color,
motion, and music can enhance communication in television, film, radio, and
advertising.

LA.E.1.3
2. recognizes complex elements of plot, including setting, character
development, conflicts, and resolutions.
3. understands various elements of authors’ craft appropriate at this grade
level, including word choice, symbolism, figurative language, mood, irony,
foreshadowing, flashback, persuasion techniques, and point of view in both
fiction and nonfiction.

LA.E.2.3
1. understands how character and plot development, point of view, and tone
are used in various selections to support a central conflict or story line.
2. responds to a work of literature by interpreting selected phrases,
sentences, or passages and applying the information to personal life.
A River Runs Through It: Lesson 1
(Lesson by Lizzie)

A.Purpose
The purpose of this unit is to use the movie, A River Runs
Through It, as a text in which to teach not only film
analysis, but literary elements such as plot, foreshadowing,
symbolism, among others, and the narrative structure of
Freytag’s Triangle.

B.Objectives
1Students will identify and activate their prior knowledge
by use of an Anticipation Guide.
2Students will organize their schemata with the help of a
brief summary of the movie.
3Students will plan to analyze the movie as they are
watching it with the help of the teacher-provided
“Questions to Think About”.

C.Time Required / Materials Needed

1The time required for this lesson is one fifty minute
period.
2The A River Runs Through It Unit Power Point
Presentation.
3A projector and screen for the power point presentation is
needed.

**All handouts attached. ("PowerPoint" is shown below in Word

format)**

D.Students Will
a. Complete the Anticipation Guide by using the given
words.
b. Share the stories they have created with their
classmates.
c. Compare their stories to the brief overview of the
movie.
d. Be introduced to the sources of conflict within the film.
e. Combine what they already know about Prohibition to
what is presented in the Power Point presentation.
f. Discuss the “Questions to Keep in Mind”, comparing
these issues to their own lives or other texts they have
read.
E.I will
g. Complete the Power Point for this lesson.
h. Facilitate the discussion about the Anticipation Guide.
i. Briefly overview the movie.
j. Introduce the sources of conflict.
k. Overview Prohibition with the students.
l. Facilitate discussion using “Questions to Keep in Mind”

F.Assessment
Students will be informally assessed on their participation
during the lesson today. They will be more extensively
assessed later in the unit.
 Anticipation
Guide
Use as many of the following words from A
River Runs Through It and make up a story
with a partner.
Fly Fishing
Family
Brothers
World War I
Prohibition
Jail
Blackfoot River
Fighting
English Professor
Alcohol
Missoula, Montana
Gambling
 A River Runs Through It is about:
*The Narrator and his brother through their lives
*Small town life in Missoula, Montana during the early 20th
century
and the conflicts that are created

Sources of Conflict
Familial Relationships
Prohibition
The Role of Women
 A Little Bit About Prohibition

*Prohibition makes manufacturing, selling or transporting

alcohol ILLEGAL.
*The movement started in the US just after the Civil War due to
intense religious revivalism. People wanted to become
perfect, especially after the abolition of slavery.
*The 18th Amendment put Prohibition on a national level in
January of 1920.

*Prohibition was supposed to make people stop drinking. But

guess what?
*It didn’t.
*Prohibition enforcement varied through the 1920s. It was
enforced in the communities that agreed with the law, and not
where they didn’t. It was enforced in many rural areas, like
the setting for A River Runs Through It.

*Prohibition didn’t stop everyone from drinking, and it actually

brought a lot of crime.
*A new criminal was introduced - the bootlegger. Named so
because he would hide liquor against his leg in the boot.
*It also saw the birth and growth of organized crime. The
Mafia started because of Prohibition.

*The career of Al Capone is a dramatic instance of the

development of bootlegging on a large scale.
*His estimated yearly earnings were $60,000,000.
*Many people became disenchanted with Prohibition, citing
organized crime and lack of personal freedom.

*In December of 1933 the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th,

pretty much ending Prohibition.
*The last state to end their Prohibition did so in 1966.
*Think about how Prohibition plays a part in the story.
*Also, think about the role alcohol plays. Who is drinking and
why?
 Qestions to Keep in Mind

*What is the relationship between the brothers?

*Between the brothers and the father? Mother?
*What are relationships between men and women like? How
are they different and the same?
*Look for contrasts between good and “loose” women.

*How does the setting affect the story?

*How does the time period affect the story?
*How does religion affect the story?
*What are the deeper meanings of water, the river, and fly
fishing?

*What are the conflicts of the story?

*Which characters are round? Flat?
*Think about what we have learned in our film studies unit.
Think about:
*Framing
*Focus
*Camera Angles
*Lighting
*Editing
A River Runs Through It: Lesson 2
(Lesson by Jenn Amano)

"Societal and Familial Expectations/Roles"

Objectives:
1students will recognize societal and familial expectations in their
lives through individual reflection and class discussion.
2Students will make connections between the text (a film in this
case) and their lives.

Process:
Warm-up: Student brainstorm
What are some expectations of you/your age group in our society?

Quickwrite: Identifying Familial Expectations

Students will write about what expectations others have for them
within their family.

Class discussion:
What are some societal expectations you observed in the movie (and
during that time period)?
What are some familial expectations in the film?

Guided Practice:
Teacher will model the student activity by using student answers to
demonstrate the completion of the body biography. On one side, the
teacher will write a student’s answers to the societal/familial
expectations of them (their façade) and on the other, the teacher will
ask for a student’s input on the reality of their character.

Activity:
Students will complete double-sided body-biographies of a film
character of their choice. On one side of the handout they will write
characteristics of their chosen character’s façade. On the other side of
the handout will be a blank outline for students to write the truth about
the characters revealed in the film.

Assessment:
Students will turn in their body biographies for evaluation purposes.
They will also be evaluated based on their participation (meaningful
comments and quickwrites) during the class period.
Body Biography Handout:

Façade Reality
A River Runs Through It: Lesson 3
(Lesson by Jenn)
"The Hero"

Objectives:
1Students will understand the characteristics of a classic tragic hero
2Students will make connections between the characters in the
film/popular culture and those of a tragic hero.

Process:
Warm-up:
Students will quickwrite about the film, considering the following
questions:
1Who is the hero in this story?
2Who would you want to be?
3Who would you want to be friends with?
4Who would you want to date (*wink*)?
Then, the students can share their answers with a partner. Next, the
whole class will come back together to talk about the student opinions.

Class discussion:
What are some characteristics of a hero?
The teacher will have a few different pictures of potential heroes on
the board so students can visualize characteristics.

Direct Teaching-Classic Tragic Hero (see handout)

We will investigate some characteristics of a tragic hero, including:
Stature, potential, tragic flaw, crisis of choice, recognition, and
acceptance.

Student Application:
Then, students will be asked to write about one hero that they can
think of who contains some or all of these characteristics. Students
can choose a character from a movie, book, or real life or can choose
one of the brothers from the movie.

Assessment:
Students will be evaluated on their participation in the class discussion
and quickwrite. Additionally, students will hand in their one to two
paragraph application assignment.
Tragic Hero Handout: