B1322. Rain Man. Teacher s notes LEVEL 3. About the authors. Summary. About autism. Leonore Fleischer

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1 Teacher s notes LEVEL 3 Leonore Fleischer About the authors is based on a story written by Barry Morrow. Morrow then collaborated with Ronald Bass to write the screenplay. Bass was the principal screenwriter. Fleischer s novelisation is based on the screenplay. Barry Morrow was the lead singer in a rock and roll band for a long time. He became interested in handicapped people and formed a theatre company to perform for them. He has written a number of plays for television. is his first screenplay. Ronald Bass has a law degree from Harvard University. He published three novels and then began to write successful screenplays. He now writes full-time, but he still works as a lawyer occasionally. Leonore Fleischer has worked in every area of publishing over the last twenty-five years. She has novelised approximately fifty screenplays. Summary The novel is based on the screenplay of the hugely successful 1988 film of the same name. The performances of its stars, Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, played a great part in the film s success, but the story is powerful and moving on its own, and therefore Leonore Fleischer s novelisation of the film deserves to be read in its own right. revolves around Charlie Babbit, a tough young man eager to get rich quick. His business is in trouble and he needs money badly. He receives news of his father s death. Nothing I did was ever good enough for him says Charlie bitterly to his girlfriend, Susanna. Then he learns that his wealthy father has left him only his 1949 Buick and his roses, and that he has left all his money to someone very important to me. Charlie is understandably angry he feels that the money belongs to him. He discovers that his father has left the money to his older brother Raymond a brother he never even knew he had. Raymond is autistic. He can t feel things the same way that other people do, and therefore he is unable to have normal relationships with people. Requiring a very secure environment, he lives in an institution. Charlie kidnaps his brother, although he refuses to admit to his girlfriend that this is what he has done. He tells her, I m keeping him until I get my money. He and his brother drive across the United States to Los Angeles, where he plans to live with his brother. During their journey, Charlie gets to know Raymond, who has some extraordinary skills. For example, he can count 246 toothpicks in a second, and he can memorise a page of telephone numbers in a minute. More importantly, however, Charlie realises that Raymond is the, whom he vaguely recalls from his childhood. Charlie didn t know it at the time, but his secret friend was actually his brother. Charlie takes Raymond to Las Vegas. He has decided to solve his money problems by using Raymond s unusual skills to win at cards. Raymond indeed wins $90,000 for Charlie, but by now, Charlie is beginning to care for his brother. When Charlie reaches Los Angeles, he finds Raymond s guardian waiting for him, and the two agree that a specialist will decide who should look after Raymond. Raymond s guardian offers Charlie $250,000 to have Raymond back now, but Charlie refuses. He says, I don t want your money, Dr Bruner. I want my brother. He has changed. The specialist questions Raymond, and Charlie begins to realise that his brother needs to be cared for in an institution. By now, Charlie loves Raymond enough to want what is best for him. Can I visit him? Charlie asks in the end. About autism Autism is a rare mental disorder. Autistic children are physically well-developed, but they are very limited in their ability to understand and communicate with other people. They seem isolated from the world around them. Many autistic people hardly speak at all. Some of them (around ten percent) are called idiot savants, as they also have a condition called Kanner s syndrome. They have an exceptional memory, and many of them possess unusual skills in music, art or mathematics. They insist on being c Pearson Education Limited Teacher s notes of 3

2 Teacher s notes LEVEL 3 surrounded by sameness. Raymond suffers from this syndrome. About the film was the most successful film of It won four Oscars at the Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman) and Best Original Screenplay. Before the film s release, few people knew much about autism, and cinema audiences all over the world were moved by Hoffman s portrayal of an autistic savant. It is difficult to play a man who lacks the ability to feel while remaining sympathetic to the audience, but Hoffman accomplished the feat. He conveyed the desperately insecure world of an autistic person, with his small, monotonous voice and the tense set of his shoulders. Tom Cruise, who played Charlie, had a less obvious challenge. Unlike Raymond, who is unable to change, Charlie undergoes a transformation in the film. He begins as a hard, me-first materialist, and he ends by learning that there are more important things than money. Background and themes shows us something new the strange world of an autistic individual. However, the novel is also an in-depth study of character and relationships. In seven days, Charlie learns to love someone who can t give him anything in return. The critic Roger Ebert put it well when he said that is about acceptance: Charlie Babbit s first appearance has him trying to control his life and the lives of others. What Raymond teaches him is that he can relax, because he will always be powerless over other people. They will do just about what they choose to do no matter how loud Charlie Babbit screams. Raymond has a lot he can teach Charlie Babbit about acceptance even if it is the solitary thing he knows. Discussion activities Chapters 1 3 Before reading 1 Discuss: Ask students if they have ever seen the film version of. Did you like the film? Why or why not? Do you remember any of the characters in the story? List the characters the students mention on the board, and then ask them to find pictures of the characters in the book. 2 Discuss: Ask students to think about why the book is called. What do you think means? Do you think the phrase refers to a person or a thing? Why do you think this? 3 Research: Ask students to bring information about autism to class. Put a large piece of paper on the wall and then get students to attach their information to the piece of paper to make a wall display. After reading 4 Discuss: How would you feel if your father was rich and left all his money to someone you didn t know? What would you do? Get students to work in small groups and think of answers to these questions. 5 Write: Would you like to have Raymond as a brother? Why or why not? Get students to write a sentence to answer these questions. 6 Pair work: Teach the word childhood to students. Put them into pairs and get them to ask each other how important it is to have a happy childhood. You can start the activity by asking them the following questions: Does a person s childhood affect his or her life as an adult? If so, how does it affect it? Can a person be happy as an adult if he or she didn t have a happy childhood? Why or why not? What can cause a person to have an unhappy childhood? What can cause a person to have a happy childhood? 7 Research: Put students into pairs and get them to look up the word disabled in a dictionary. Make the exercise into a competition the first pair of students to find the definition wins. They should stand up and read the definition out loud to the rest of the class. Chapters 4 6 Before reading 8 Read carefully: Get students to read the footnote about autism (at the bottom of page 15) as a class. Each student should stand up and carefully read one sentence out loud until the entire section has been read. When they have finished, they should discuss the condition in greater detail. 9 Guess: Ask students to predict what will happen to Charlie and Raymond in Chapters 4, 5 and 6. Will they be together? Will they get along? Where will they go? What will they do? What will happen to them? Will Charlie get his father s money? After reading 10 Check: Review students predictions about what would happen to Charlie and Raymond in Chapters 4, 5 and 6. Check if their predictions were right or wrong. 11 Discuss: Teach the word experience to students. Put them into small groups and get them to discuss the following questions: What new experiences does Raymond have in Chapters 4, 5 and 6? How does he react to the new experiences? Do you think the new experiences are good or bad for him? Why do you think this? c Pearson Education Limited Teacher s notes 2 of 3

3 Teacher s notes LEVEL 3 12 Role play: Put students into pairs and get them to role play the scene in which Raymond gets upset at the airport (from the bottom of page 25 to the top of page 27). When they have finished, some of the pairs should role play the scene in front of the class. 13 Role play: Put students into pairs. Student A is Charlie and Student B is Dr Bruner. Charlie should tell Dr Bruner why he wants Raymond to be with him instead of at the hospital. Dr Bruner should tell Charlie that it isn t a good idea for Raymond to be with Charlie and explain why this is the case. 14 Write: What can Raymond do well? Get students to make a list of the things that Raymond is good at doing. 15 Write: What can Raymond not do well? Get students to make a list of the things that Raymond isn t good at doing. Chapters 7 9 Before reading 16 Guess: Ask students to predict what will happen to Charlie and Raymond in Chapters 7, 8 and Pair work: Put students into pairs. Get them to look at the picture on page 32 and discuss the following questions: Who is the woman in the picture? What is she doing? Where is she doing it? Why do you think Charlie and Raymond go to this place? After reading 18 Check: Review students predictions about what would happen to Charlie and Raymond in Chapters 7, 8 and 9. Check if their predictions were right or wrong. 19 Write: Write the following words and phrases on the board bath, Beatles song, January 21st, 1965, photograph,, Susanna and toothpaste. Put students into pairs and get them to write a paragraph to summarise what happens in Chapter 7. They should use each of the words from the board at least once in their summary. When they have finished, some of the pairs should read their summaries to the rest of the class. 20 Discuss: Where is Las Vegas? What is Las Vegas like? What do people usually do in Las Vegas? Have you ever visited Las Vegas? If so, did you enjoy your visit? Why or why not? If not, would you like to visit Las Vegas one day? Why or why not? Get students to work in small groups and discuss these questions. 21 Write: What has this book taught you about autism and autistic people? Get students to write a paragraph to answer this question. 22 Pair work: Do you think Charlie s father was right to send Raymond to Wallbrook? Why do you think this? Do you think he was right not to tell Charlie about Raymond? Why do you think this? Get students to work in pairs and ask each other these questions. Vocabulary activities For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to c Pearson Education Limited Teacher s notes 3 of 3

4 Activity worksheets LEVEL 3 Photocopiable While reading Chapters Answer these questions. a What kind of work does Charlie do? b What is the problem with his business? c Why is he driving through the desert? d What news does he receive? e When is his father s funeral? f How did he feel about his father? 2 Discuss these questions with another student. What do you think? Write the answers. What kind of person is Charlie? Do you like him? Why or why not? Do you think that he is right to do this? Why or why not? What kind of person is Susanna? Do you like her? Why or why not? 3 Correct these sentences. a Charlie goes to his father s house in Palm Springs. b He loves the roses that he receives. c His father was sixty when he wrote the letter. d His father gave him three million dollars. e He is very happy about his father s will. f He talks to a man at his father s bank. 4 Answer these questions. a Why does Charlie go to his father s bank? b Why does Charlie go to Wallbrook? c Why does Charlie talk to Raymond? d Why is Charlie astonished in Chapter 3? 5 Work in pairs. Student A is Charlie and Student B is Charlie s father (pretend that he is still alive). Charlie s father should tell Charlie that he plans to give all his money to Raymond. He should also explain why he wants to do this. Charlie should tell his father how he feels about his decision to give all his money to Raymond instead of to him. Chapters Match the questions with the answers. a What does Raymond write down in his notebook? b What happens at the end of Chapter 4? c Why doesn t Raymond like his room at the hotel? d How does Charlie make Raymond feel better about the hotel room? e What does Raymond hear in Charlie s and Susanna s room? f Why does Susanna decide to leave Charlie? g How did Raymond learn the waitress s telephone number? h How many toothpicks fall on the floor in the restaurant? 1 Because she is very angry with him. 2 He read it in the telephone book. 3 Things that he is afraid of. 4 He moves the bed and gets him a pizza. 5 Raymond gets into the car and Charlie drives away. 6 Because it is different from his room at Wallbrook. 7 Two hundred and forty-six. 8 The television. 7 Work in pairs. Write the conversation. Student A is Charlie and Student B is Dr Bruner. Charlie should ask Dr Bruner about Raymond s condition. Dr Bruner should answers Charlie s questions and explain what Raymond can and can t do well. 8 Write a letter. Pretend that you are Charlie and write a letter to Dr Bruner. Tell him what you have done with Raymond and explain why you have done it. c Pearson Education Limited Activity worksheets of 2

5 Activity worksheets LEVEL 3 Photocopiable 9 Discuss these questions with another student. What do you think? Write the answers. How is Charlie s life difficult? How is Raymond s life difficult? Whose life is more difficult Charlie s or Raymond s? Why do you think this? 10 Finish these sentences. a says, What can I tell you? b says, Where are we taking him? c says, Just for tonight. d says, Do you ever smile? e says, Go and talk to him! f says, I have not kidnapped him! g says, How do you know my telephone number? h says, I can t do that, Mr Babbitt. Chapters Match the answers with the questions. a Because he needs to save his business. b On Thursday, January 21st, c Because he put Charlie in hot water. d Eighteen years old. e Two years old. f Very little. g A little television. h For five hours. i Ninety thousand dollars. j A letter from Dr Bruner. k His brother. l The photograph. 1 How long does Raymond play cards? 2 When did Raymond leave his family? 3 What does Charlie give Raymond? 4 What does Charlie find when he returns to Los Angeles? 5 Why did his father send Raymond away? 6 How much money does Charlie have left? 7 Why does Charlie need to get home? 8 How much money does Raymond win? 9 How old is Raymond in the photo? 10 What does Raymond give Charlie? 11 How old is Charlie in the photo? 12 What does Charlie want more than money? 12 Write a letter. Pretend that you are Susanna and write a letter to Charlie. Tell him how you feel about what he has done with Raymond and explain why you feel this way. 13 Discuss this question with another student. What do you think? Do you think it is right for Charlie to use Raymond to win money in Las Vegas? Why or why not? 14 Work in groups of four. Role play the scene in which Dr Bruner and Dr Marston ask Raymond questions to show Charlie that he is still autistic. After reading 15 In Chapter 9, Charlie says, But I have helped Raymond more in one week than you have in twenty years. Do you agree with this statement? Write a paragraph to answer this question. Give reasons to support your opinion. 16 How has Charlie changed in the book? Write a paragraph to answer this question. Give examples to support your answer. c Pearson Education Limited Activity worksheets 2 of 2

6 Progress test LEVEL 3 Photocopiable Chapters Write the right names in the sentences. Charlie Dr Bruner Mr Mooney Raymond Sanford Susanna a can t feel love. b is a lawyer. c goes to the funeral with Charlie. d was disappointed in Charlie. e won t give Charlie the money. f has a business in Los Angeles. 2 Write in, on or at in the sentences a j. a Charlie gets a call his car phone. b The funeral is Sunday Cincinnati. c All the houses Walnut Hills are big and expensive. d Charlie finds an old coat a box the corner of the room. e Charlie looks carefully the little coat. f Charlie and Mr Mooney meet the diningroom. g Mr Mooney puts his glasses. h Charlie hears his father s voice the letter. i Raymond writes things his notebook. j Raymond has no expression his face. Chapters What happens first? What happens next? Write the numbers, 1 8. a Charlie talks to Dr Bruner on the telephone. c b Charlie takes Raymond away from Wallbrook. c c Raymond follows Charlie out of the airport. c d Raymond eats pizza in the hotel room. c e Charlie, Susanna and Raymond go to a hotel in Cincinnati. c f Charlie calls his office from the airport. c g Charlie learns about autism from Dr Bruner. c h Susanna leaves Charlie because she is angry with him. c 4 Choose 1 or 2 to complete the sentences. a Raymond knows Sally Dibbs telephone number because 1 it is on the front of her dress. 2 he read the telephone book. b Raymond knows the number of toothpicks on the floor because he 1 picked them up and counted them. 2 looked at them and knew the right number. c Raymond doesn t like the plane because 1 he knows about another plane that crashed. 2 it is too small. d Charlie needs to return to his office 1 because Dr Bruner wants him to go there. 2 so that he can fix his problems. e Charlie tells Dr Bruner that he will bring Raymond back 1 after he gets his money. 2 right away. Chapters Underline the wrong word in each sentence and write the right word. a Charlie hated it when Raymond sang to him.... b Raymond begins to laugh when Charlie turns on the water.... c Susanna asks Charlie to give her some money.... d Charlie asks Raymond if he has ever played baseball.... e Charlie and Raymond go to Las Angeles to play cards.... f Raymond is a very bad driver Who says the sentences a h? a Raymond will see a special doctor on Friday. b I want my brother. c They can look after him there. d Tell me what you did. e I want to go back to Wallbrook. f You re upsetting him. g Can I visit him? h Are you all right, son? c Pearson Education Limited Progress test of 1

7 Answer keys LEVEL 3 Book key 1 a casino b mutter c toothpaste d will e funeral 2 a Charlie s brother. b He is autistic. c No, he didn t. d Remembering facts and numbers e Open answers 3 a 3 b 7. He is in trouble with the bank. c 3 d 7. He lives in Los Angeles. e 3 f 7. He isn t upset. g 7. He hated his father. h 3 4 Possible answers: Good things: Susanna; he thinks he s going to make $80,000 this weekend Bad things: he has borrowed a lot of money from the bank; he is angry about his relationship with his father 5 Open answers 6 a Walnut Hills b sixteen c a 1949 Buick d a rose e an old coat f g seventy h a car and some roses i $3 million 7 8 Open answers 9 a because b Dr Bruner c looking after d will e the old car f Raymond g Charlie 10 Possible answers: a he is always writing in a notebook. b There is no expression on his face. c His face looks neither happy nor sad. d He often mutters to himself. 11 Open answers 12 a Susanna to Raymond b Charlie to Dr Bruner c Susanna to Charlie d Raymond to himself e Susanna to Charlie f Charlie to Susanna g Susanna to Charlie h Raymond to himself 13 The correct order is: 1 g 2 b 3 c 4 f 5 e 6 a 7 d 14 Open answers 15 a b Tuesdays c Dr Bruner d $1.5 million e 246 f four g Los Angeles h 1987 i three 16 a There aren t any on the table. He always uses them to eat at Wallbrook Home. b Yes, he s not a prisoner. c No, he wants the money. d He can count things very quickly. e He thinks it will crash. 17 Open answers 18 a anxious b astonished c sad d happy e frightened f better 19 a R b C c C d R e C f R Open answers 22 a can t > can b The lawyers are > A special doctor is c $1,000,000 > $250,000 d Charlie > Dr Bruner e has > hasn t Open answers Discussion activities key 1 4 Open answers 5 Possible answer: Yes, I would like to have Raymond as a brother because he is very friendly and interesting. c Pearson Education Limited Answer keys of 2

8 Answer keys LEVEL Open answers 14 Possible answers: counting reading remembering 15 Possible answer: having relationships with other people seeing the relationships between things feeling happy or sad smiling being in different situations having different experiences Open answers Activity worksheets key 1 a He sells cars. b He borrowed money from the bank and they want it back, but he doesn t have the money. c He and Susanna are going to Palm Springs for the weekend. d He receives news that his father has died. e Sunday. f He hated him. 2 Open answers 3 a Charlie goes to his father s house in Cincinnati. b He hates the roses that he receives. c His father was seventy when he wrote the letter. d His father gave someone else three million dollars. e He is very angry about his father s will. f He talks to a woman at his father s bank. 4 a Because he wants to find out who is looking after his father s money. b Because he wants to talk to the person who is looking after his father s money. c Because Raymond knows things about the car. d Because Dr Bruner tells him that Raymond is his brother. 5 Open answers 6 a 3 b 5 c 6 d 4 e 8 f 1 g 2 h Open answers 10 a Dr Bruner b Susanna c Charlie d Raymond e Susanna f Charlie g Sally Dibbs h Dr Bruner 11 a 7 b 2 c 5 d 9 e 11 f 6 g 3 h 1 i 8 j 4 k 12 l Open answers Progress test key 1 a Raymond b Mr Mooney c Susanna d Sanford e Dr Bruner f Charlie 2 a on b on / in c in d in / in e at f in g on h in i in j on 3 a 6 b 2 c 8 d 4 e 3 f 7 g 1 h 5 4 a 2 b 2 c 1 d 2 e 1 5 a Charlie liked it when Raymond sang to him. b Raymond begins to scream when Charlie turns on the water. c Susanna asks Charlie to give her some time. d Charlie asks Raymond if he has ever played cards. e Charlie and Raymond go to Las Vegas to play cards. f Raymond is a very good driver. 6 a Dr Bruner b Charlie c Dr Marston d Dr Bruner e Raymond f Charlie g Charlie h Dr Bruner c Pearson Education Limited Answer keys 2 of 2