Comparing Adaptations to the Source
Aligned to RL.11-12.7 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
A single text can be staged, filmed, or recorded in many ways, and each version interprets — not merely copies — the original. Evaluating an adaptation means asking what it emphasizes, cuts, or reimagines and why.
Worked example
A film that sets a classic play in a modern city keeps the plot but recasts a king as a CEO, shifting the theme from divine right to corporate power.
Practice questions
- List one thing an adaptation might add and one it might cut.
- Explain how a casting or setting choice reinterprets a source.
- Judge whether a change stays faithful to the original's meaning.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Comparar Adaptaciones con la Fuente
Un mismo texto puede llevarse al teatro, al cine o al audio, y cada versión interpreta —no solo copia— el original. Evaluar una adaptación implica preguntar qué enfatiza, recorta o reimagina y por qué.
Ejemplo: Una película que sitúa una obra clásica en una ciudad moderna conserva la trama pero convierte a un rey en un director ejecutivo, desplazando el tema del derecho divino al poder corporativo.
More Reading: Literature lessons
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