¨Be sure to watch this film before showing it in the class.  Choose at least five characters for students to focus on in groups as they watch the film. 

¨Tell students that today they are going to practice deconstructing the film The Lion King.  Emphasize that this exercise is not about watching a movie casually.  They will have to pay close attention and think critically about the story, how the characters are depicted in the film, and come up with some ideas about the main messages of the film. 

¨Divide the students into groups of four.  Hand out The Lion King Handout to each student.  Then have each group select one character to focus on as they watch the film.  You should have characters pre-selected that have rich, central roles in the film.  Don’t overlook the hyenas or the “bad” characters.  Their accents and depictions leave much to deconstruct in terms of underlying messages.

¨Tell them that they will all be required to take notes during the film on their assigned character and that they will all hand in their notes at the end, along with one copy of The Lion King Handout that the entire group must complete.

¨Before showing the film, walk students through The Lion King handout.  Tell them that their job is to write down as many details about this character on their handout.  They should fill in details in each section of the chart as they watch the film.  Provide them with an example with a character of your choice.

¨Ask students if they have any questions before you show the film.  Insist upon total silence as the film is playing.

¨Show the film.  If you notice confusion or talking at the onset, stop the film once to clear up any final questions.

¨Once the film is over, have students tally all of their observations about their group’s character on The Lion King Handout for their entire group.  Walk around the room to help them.

¨Once the students are finished with the tally, remind them that deconstruction is about how we read a text and that there are many ways to do this.  Also emphasize that part of deconstruction is to notice “bipolar oppositions” in a text (i.e. good and bad; thin and fat; easy and hard; black and white, etc.) and to think about what kind of message those bipolar oppositions convey to an audience.

¨Students should complete this assignment by answering the “Deconstructing The Lion King” supplemental handout in their groups.  It is their task to come up with a reading of this film that considers both the surface-level message of the film as well as the under-the-surface level messages in this film that will vary based on the viewer.  Encourage students to think critically and not just accept characters at face value.

¨Once students have completed their handouts, have them share their findings with the class.

¨Congratulate students on a job well done.  Deconstruction is a hard task!

¨In order to complete this assignment, you are going to have to watch this film in a different way than just watching a movie for fun.  You need to take notes, pay attention to detail and stay alert. 

¨Your teacher is giving you a handout to use as you watch The Lion King.  You will hand this in for a grade.  Your group will also compile one together after you watch the film.  All of the sheets get handed in, however. 

¨Pay attention as your teacher gives an example on how to take notes about your character during the film.  Remember:  your job is to be an observer and critic.

¨If you have any questions, speak up.  There will be no talking during the film.

¨Now that the film is over, you are going to work with your group to fill out The Lion King Handout as a group.  You will compile all of your different notes about your character together on one sheet.

¨As a group, complete the Deconstructing The Lion King handout.  Answer the questions together and include differing opinions for different questions.

¨Share your thoughts with the class.