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The Wonders of Wonderstruck

A new movie showcases the deaf community

November 2017
By Alexa Kurzius
Courtesy of Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions

The film Wonderstruck (scene above) is based on a 2011 book of the same name. 

Courtesy of Scholastic Inc.

Last month, Wonderstruck hit the big screen. The movie, based on a Scholastic book by Brian Selznick, tells two stories from different time periods in parallel.

One story is about a girl named Rose running away to New York City in 1927. The other story is about a boy named Ben living in northeast Minnesota in 1977. Their lives eventually intersect in an unexpected way. Rose and Ben have a few similarities (we won’t spoil them all!), including that they are both deaf. 

Wonderstruck is a movie. A movie came out last month. The movie is based on a Scholastic book by Brian Selznick. It tells two stories from different time periods in parallel.

One story is about a girl named Rose. She runs away to New York City in 1927. The other story is about a boy named Ben. He is living in northeast Minnesota in 1977. Their lives eventually intersect in an unexpected way. Rose and Ben have a few similarities. One similarity is they are both deaf. 

Learning ASL
A background video of Millie Simmonds from Wonderstruck teaching sign language
Dave Bedrosian/Geisler-Fotopress/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Millie started the YouTube channel milliesimmonds_ to teach others American Sign Language.

Millicent “Millie” Simmonds plays Rose. In real life, the 14-year-old actress is deaf. Historically, very few deaf actors have appeared in big-budget movies. With six other deaf actors, Wonderstruck has an unprecedented number of deaf actors in one film.

To communicate on set, Millie worked with an interpreter. The crew filmed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 2016. They worked at night so people could still visit during the day. 

Rose’s story helps explain some of the challenges that the deaf community faced in the 1920s—and today. Back then, parents of deaf children were discouraged from learning sign language. That was the case with Rose’s father; he wanted Rose to talk instead of sign.

Millie experienced something similar with her own father. “A lot of parents are still being told not to learn sign language for their deaf kids,” she says. “This needs to change.”

Millicent "Millie" Simmonds plays Rose. In real life, the 14-year-old actress is deaf. Historically, very few deaf actors have appeared in big-budget movies. Wonderstruck has an unprecedented number of deaf actors in one film.

There are seven deaf actors, including Millie. To communicate on set, Millie worked with an interpreter. The crew filmed in 2016 at the American Museum of Natural History. It's located in New York City. They worked at night. That's so people could still visit the museum during the day.

Rose's story helps explain some of the challenges that the deaf community faced in the 1920s. They face similar challenges today. Back then, parents of deaf children were discouraged from learning sign language. That was the case with Rose's father. He wanted Rose to talk instead of sign.

Millie experienced something similar with her own father. "A lot of parents are still being told not to learn sign language for their deaf kids," she says. "This needs to change."

Rex Features via AP Images

Millie and her co-star signing at a film festival with Brian Selznick, the author of Wonderstruck

There have been some improvements, though. Today, deaf people have many ways to communicate. “I remember when I was really little and my mom or my brother would have to interpret the whole movie for me,” she says. Now deaf people have many options, including closed-captioning, hearing aids, texting, video calls, and interpreting devices.

Millie hopes her acting can help highlight the ability and accomplishments of artists in the deaf community.

“The deaf community has faced a lot of challenges, but we don’t want people to feel sorry for us,” she says. “We’re proud of being deaf. We can do anything hearing people can do. We just can’t hear.”

There have been some improvements. Today, deaf people have many ways to communicate. "When I was really little, my mom or my brother would have to interpret the whole movie for me," she says. Now, deaf people have many options. They include closed-captioning, hearing aids, texting, video calls, and interpreting devices.

Millie hopes her acting can help too. She hopes it highlights the ability and accomplishments of artists in the deaf community.

"The deaf community has faced a lot of challenges. But we don't want people to feel sorry for us," she says. "We're proud of being deaf. We can do anything hearing people can do. We just can't hear." 

MATH TALK:

What are some ways you can tell time or calculate elapsed time using fractions?  

MATH TALK:

What are some ways you can tell time or calculate elapsed time using fractions?  

Adding Fractions

Adding Fractions

Each day she was on set, Millie worked for 8 hours. This included getting into costume, acting, and studying with a private tutor. She spent 3 hours studying. The fraction of working hours she spent studying each day is 3/8. Draw an area model for that fraction.

Each day she was on set, Millie worked for 8 hours. This included getting into costume, acting, and studying with a private tutor. She spent 3 hours studying. The fraction of working hours she spent studying each day is 3/8. Draw an area model for that fraction.

Is this greater than or less than the benchmark fraction 1/2? 

Is this greater than or less than the benchmark fraction 1/2? 

How much time did Millie spend studying in 2 days? Use repeated addition to write an expression with 2 fractions. Do you think the total is greater than or less than 1/2? 

How much time did Millie spend studying in 2 days? Use repeated addition to write an expression with 2 fractions. Do you think the total is greater than or less than 1/2? 

Some days, Millie had to travel by car for filming in a different location. It was a 1-hour drive each way. The travel time was included in her 8-hour working limit. Draw an area model and write the fraction of her workday she spent traveling.

Some days, Millie had to travel by car for filming in a different location. It was a 1-hour drive each way. The travel time was included in her 8-hour working limit. Draw an area model and write the fraction of her workday she spent traveling.

Let’s say for the same day, Millie spent 1/2 of her total time on set acting. Draw a model representing this fraction. 

Let’s say for the same day, Millie spent 1/2 of her total time on set acting. Draw a model representing this fraction. 

What fraction of her day did Millie spend traveling and acting? Adjust your models so they have a common denominator, then solve. 

What fraction of her day did Millie spend traveling and acting? Adjust your models so they have a common denominator, then solve. 

On days she was at the museum, Millie was on set between 12:00 and 3:00 a.m. The following expression represents the amount of time she spent getting into costume for 3 different nights:

1/2 hour + 5/6 hour + 3/12 hour 

Draw this expression using 3 models with a common denominator. Which parts should you add to find the total?

On days she was at the museum, Millie was on set between 12:00 and 3:00 a.m. The following expression represents the amount of time she spent getting into costume for 3 different nights:

1/2 hour + 5/6 hour + 3/12 hour 

Draw this expression using 3 models with a common denominator. Which parts should you add to find the total?

What is the total amount of time Millie spent getting into costume? Express your answer as a mixed number. 

What is the total amount of time Millie spent getting into costume? Express your answer as a mixed number. 

One-third of the movie is in black and white. The equation below uses a question mark to represent the length of time that the movie is in color.

1 = 1/3 + ?

Express the value of the ? as a fraction with the denominator 3. Draw a model to prove your answer.

One-third of the movie is in black and white. The equation below uses a question mark to represent the length of time that the movie is in color.

1 = 1/3 + ?

Express the value of the ? as a fraction with the denominator 3. Draw a model to prove your answer.

Let’s say Millie spent 2/8 of her day traveling by car on 3 separate days. A student draws the area models at the right to represent the total.

Correct the student’s mistake. What kind of error in reasoning do you think the student made? What is the correct sum?

Let’s say Millie spent 2/8 of her day traveling by car on 3 separate days. A student draws the area models at the right to represent the total.

Correct the student’s mistake. What kind of error in reasoning do you think the student made? What is the correct sum?

Fractions
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