A collection of activities to exploit the film The Breadwinner. www.abelsenglishpage.blogspot.com

1. The Breadwinner
(El pa de la guerra)
Nivells: ESO. Àrees: llengua anglesa / tutoria / ciències
socials, geografia i història / educació per a la ciutadania i
els drets humans / literatura universal / món contemporani
/ història. Temes: educació en valors / recursos naturals,
comerç, consum, riquesa i pobresa / dones, violència de
gènere / cultura de la pau, violència, conflictes polítics i
armats / infància, drets dels infants / diversitat cultural,
immigració, emigració / geografia humana / món laboral,
relacions laborals / relacions humanes, psicologia, sociologia
/ família, relacions familiars / drets humans / mort, dol /
adaptació cinematogràfica d’obra literària / sistema judicial,
presons, pena de mort / política, sistemes polítics.
www.cinemaperaestudiants.catTRÀILER

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Índex d’activitats
Fitxa tècnica i artística. Sinopsi ………………….………..............……………….............…………….....………. 2
Activities in English. Before the film
Vocabulary at a concert ……………………………………………..………….…………..……….. …………………..….. 3
The synopsis of the film ……………………………………………..………….…………..…………...…………..……….. 5
Song “I Want To Break Free” …………………………………………………………..…..………….…………..……….. 7
The 27 Club ……………………………………………..………….…………..…….…………......……….…………..……….. 8
Activities in English. After the film
The characters …………………….………………..………….…………..…….…………......……….…………..……….. 10
Authentic reading: “Live Aid Concert” …………………….……..…….…………......……….…………..……….. 11
Authentic reading: Book Somebody to Love. Interview with the author .……….………….…..……… 12
Activitats LGBT en català
Nascuts lliures i iguals. …………………………………………….……..…….…………......……….…………..……….. 14
Fitxa tècnica i artística
Direcció: Nora Twomey. Guió: Anita Doron basat en el llibre de Deborah Ellis. Gènere: drama, animació. Any:
2017. Països: Irlanda, Canada, Luxemburg, EUA. Durada: 94 minuts.
Sinopsi
Film basat en la novel·la homònima de Deborah Ellis i nominat a un Oscar. Parvana és una noia que viu a la
capital de l'Afganistan, Kabul, durant el període de domini dels talibans. El seu pare ha estat detingut i la seva
família s’ha quedat sense recursos. Llavors ella decideix tallar-se els cabells i vestir-se de noi per poder treballar,
perquè les dones tenen prohibit sortir soles al carrer i guanyar-se la vida.
The Breadwinner director Nora Twomey, producer Angelina Jolie and voice actress Saara
Chaudry.

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ACTIVITY ONE. THE PLOT OF THE FILM.
Read the plot of The Breadwinner and then choose the
name of the person described in each sentence.
1- She is eleven years old.
a) Soraya b) Fateema c) Parvana
2- He's a teacher.
a) Zaki b) Baba c) Idrees
3- She's beaten by the Taliban.
a) Fateema b) Shauzia c) Soraya
4- She's Parvana's sister.
a) Fateema b) Shauzia c) Soraya
5- This girl helps Parvana dressed as a boy.
a) Fateema b) Shauzia c) Soraya
6- The family live in…
a) Taliban b) Kabul c) Sulayman.
7- This violent boy helps the Taliban.
a) Zaki b) Sulayman c) Idrees
8- The name of Parvana's brother who died.
a) Zaki b) Sulayman c) Idrees
Parvana is eleven years old. She lives with her family in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban are
the leaders of Afghanistan and the situation is not comfortable for many people, especially
women. When her father Nurullah, or Baba, is arrested for being a teacher, Parvana's
mother, Fateema, has to take care of their three children.
Women cannot walk in the streets without a man, but Parvana’s mother travels to the local
prison to see her husband. The Taliban soldiers beat her and she must go back home
devastated.
Parvana lives with her mum and dad, her older sister Soraya and her younger brother Zaki.
With Baba in prison, they become desperate for food, so Parvana must cut her hair and
disguise as a boy. Then she can go out in public and become the breadwinner for her family.
She meets a girl named Shauzia who is also dressed as a boy for the same reason. Shauzia
teaches Parvana how to earn money on the streets of Kabul and they become good friends.
With her new friend and freedom, Parvana gains confidence in herself and takes the
responsibility of bringing food to her family. She also invents a fantastical story to cheer her
family up while they wait for their father’s return. The story is about a young boy named
Sulayman who must travel a great distance and complete three trials in order to defeat a
giant elephant who is terrorizing his land. Sulayman was the name of Parvana's brother, but
he died accidentally.
Parvana takes a lot of risks to earn money and free her dad. Young Taliban boy Idrees is very
hard on the girls, and he wants to kill them when they are discovered. The war is going to
start in Kabul soon, so the situation is very tense now. The family has to leave Kabul but
they don't want to leave Baba behind.
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ACTIVITY TWO. THE CHARACTERS IN THE BREADWINNER.
These are the images of some characters in the story. Although you
have not watched the film yet, try to reorder the words to create two
short sentences about each character.
2 This is / and helpful /
clever / Parvana /
She’s really
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
She’s really
clever
is a teacher / Baba /
This is / The father
The mother / of her
family / takes care /
Mama-jan / This is
Soraya / She's
young / This is / and
beautiful
This is / He's a / Zaki
/ little baby
money / Shauzia / to
earn / She helps
Parvana / This is
helps / Idrees / the
Taliban / He's
violent and / This is
These are / violent
and disrespectful /
the Taliban / They
are
ACTIVITY THREE. VOCABULARY IN THE FILM.3
These images show objects that are important in Parvana's life. Can
you write the names of the objects in the correct place?
a bucket - a well - a bag - a walking stick - a stall
Now, can you write the name of the object in the correct sentence?
1- Parvana uses a small ……………….. everyday to get water.
2- The people in Kabul go to the ……………….. to get the water.
3- Baba goes to the market everyday to sell goods at the
………………..
4- Baba is an old man, so he uses a ……………….. to help him
walk.
5- Parvana uses a ……………….. to get food from the market.
..……….….. …………….. …………….. …………….. ……………..
A B
C D
E F
G
E
H
E

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When we talk about routines, we use the Simple Present in English.
 If the subject is singular, the verb adds and -s at the end.
Parvana helps his father at the market.
 If the subject is plural, the verb keeps the base form.
They work at the market in Kabul.
Can you complete the following sentences writing the verb in brackets
in the correct form? Pay attention to the subject: is it singular or plural?
Every day Parvana (1) .......................... (get up) early.
Then, Parvana (2) .......................... (get) water from the well.
Next, she (3) .......................... (come) home and (4) .........................
(prepare) breakfast with her mum.
She (5) .......................... (have) breakfast with her family.
After that, she (6) .......................... (go) to the market with her dad.
She (7) .......................... (sell) goods in the stall of the street market.
In the evening, she (8) .......................... (play) games with her brother
Zaki. Then, they (9) .......................... (have) dinner together.
The family (10) .......................... (tell) stories or (11) ........................
(read) books together.
Parvana (12) .......................... (have) a happy life, but the Taliban
(13) .......................... (start) a war and they (14) ..........................
(destroy) it.
ACTIVITY FOUR. WHAT DOES PARVANA DO TO HELP HER FAMILY?4
The film is based on a graphic novel written by the Canadian author and activist
Deborah Ellis. The novel is a series of four books, and was first published in 2000.
It has sold over two million copies worldwide, and has been translated into
twenty-five languages.
The Breadwinner is a story about loyalty, survival, family and friendship under
extraordinary circumstances during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan.
 Here you have seven cartoons of the novel. Can you reorder them?
ACTIVITY FIVE. THE BREADWINNER: A GRAPHIC NOVEL.5
Stories that
celebrate the
determination and
strength of girls,
like Parvana in The
Breadwinner, are
needed now more
than ever.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Vocabulary: curfew (toc de queda),
has been through enough (ha sofert bastant)

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ACTIVITY SIX. WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE?6
In English we say children GO TO
SCHOOL because we aren’t
thinking of a specific school. We
are thinking about school as a
general idea (children learning
together in a class). We don’t use
the article “THE”.
Some specific words follow the
same rule: work, home, prison,
church, home, university...
 Can you write sentences about
the following images using this
structure?
Where are the workers? (work)
The children on the right are students. These
children GO TO SCHOOL everyday. They ARE
AT SCHOOL now.
Where is the family? (home)
Where are the people? (church)
Where are the patients? (hospital) Where are the prisoners? (prison)
ACTIVITY SEVEN. TELL ME A STORY.7
Parvana’s family live a difficult situation: her father is in prison and the three women are
alone with a baby. The Taliban make the situation more difficult because they don’t allow
women in streets without a man. This is sad and discouraging. For this reason, Parvana
invents a story to cheer her family up, the story of Sulayman, who is a brave boy that must
help the villagers and defeat the Elephant King. Read the beginning of the story and fill the
blanks with the verbs from the list. Most verbs are in the past simple tense.
ran – ate - were dancing – was – sang – managed – danced - there was - were coming – ate –
laughed – stole – lived - there was
One time, in the distant past, 1 ................... a little village at the foot of the Hindu Kush
mountains. The villagers had just 2 ................... to gather precious seeds and so 3 ...................
dancing and singing and laughing and eating. Everyone 4 ................... happy! Especially for one
boy who 5 ................... and 6 ................... and 7 ................... and 8 ................... more than
anyone else.
While the villagers 9 ................... and singing and laughing and eating, monsters 10 ...................
The monsters frightened the donkeys and 11 ................... the trees. They 12 ................... the
most precious thing in the whole village,the seeds for next year's crop. And they 13 ...................
back to the Hindu Kush mountains where their master 14 ................... the dreadful Elephant
King with spikes for tusks!
Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-breadwinner

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ACTIVITY EIGHT. AUTHENTIC READING LANDMINES.8
When Parvana tells the story of her brother, Sulayman, we understand
the real reason of his tragic death.
The text you are going to read here is authentic. It gives some
information about landmines, and explains the effects of this weapon.
 Read the text carefully and say if the next sentences are TRUE or
FALSE. Then, correct the false sentences to make them true.
1. Landmines are not dangerous.
2. The danger of landmines stops when the war is finished.
3. Soldiers can forget where they put the landmines.
4. A landmine can hurt people for more than ten years.
5. Landmines can be activated by the feet of people.
6. Vehicles are not damaged by landmines.
7. Landmines are really expensive weapons.
8. Landmines haven’t killed many people in the world.
9. You can find landmines in more than sixty countries today.
10. There are non profit organizations which want to prohibit
landmine use in the world.
One of the most deadly legacies of the 20th century is the use of landmines in warfare. Anti-
personnel landmines continue to have tragic consequences years after a battle and even the entire
war has ended. As time passes, the location of landmines is often forgotten, even by those who
planted them. These mines continue to be operative for many decades, causing extra damage, injury
and death.
Landmines are basically explosive devices that are designed to explode when triggered by pressure of
someone’s foot or a tripwire. These devices are typically found on or just below the surface of the
ground. The purpose of mines when used by armed forces is to disable any person or vehicle that
comes into contact with it by an explosion or fragments released at high speeds.
Landmines are easy to make, cheap and effective weapons that can be situated easily over large
areas to prevent enemy movements. Mines are typically placed in the ground by hand, but there are
also mechanical machines that can dig the earth and drop and bury mines at specific intervals.
Nowadays, there are more than 100 million landmines located in seventy countries around the
world, according to OneWorld International. Since 1975, landmines have killed or injured more than
1 million people, which has led to a worldwide effort to ban further landmine use and clear away
existing landmines.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/landmine.htm
Sudan, Neutralisation and Removal of Landmines. 2015

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Direcció i concepció gràfica
Cinema per a estudiants
Activitats i adaptació de textos
Abel Gálvez i José Pica
info@cinemaperaestudiants.cat