1) Frank McCourt wrote the memoir Angela's Ashes about growing up in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. He faced great hardship as a child, including hunger and a lack of basic necessities. 2) After these difficult experiences, he became famous when Angela's Ashes was published. It told the story of his traumatic childhood in an engaging way. 3) In an interview, McCourt said that writing about his own life was difficult but that sharing his story could help others and show that even in poverty, there are positive experiences to be found.

1. Frank McCourt’s life:A lesson of hope By Víctor Lugo

2. Self access activity No. 6Objectives To identify main events in a reading text. To relate events in a man’s life to the reasons for the decisions he made. To identify main ideas in an interview. To create a text describing a person’s life story.

4. Use them as support for the final activity.

6. Movie trailer Click on the photo below to watch the movie trailer for Angela’s Ashes and confirm your guesses.

7. Frank McCourt’s life story Alan Parker’s movie is based on Frank McCourt’s memoirs, especially about the difficulties he suffered in his childhood. Read ONLY the first two paragraphs of his biography on http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mcc1bio-1and find out what these difficulties were. 4. Why do you think he became famous after these situations? 5. What do you think he did when he was a teenager?

8. His biography Read the rest of the biography and confirm your answers to questions 4 and 5. He wrote about poverty and hunger. 6. Do you think it is easy to write about traumatic experiences? Why/Why not?

9. Famous McCourt Click on the photo to watch an excerpt from an interview with writer McCourt and compare your opinion with his:

10. Watch the video again And answer these questions: Why did not he consider writing about his own life story before? According to him, what is the positive side of poverty? Do you agree with him when he says that “whatever damage you suffer in childhood… takes a long time to heal”? Support your opinion. Why does he have such negative opinion of strategies like sending rice and grief counsellors to help poor people or to places where there has been a tragedy? Do you agree with this opinion?

11. Optional activity In case you want to see the whole interview with Frank McCourt, go to: http://fora.tv/2007/11/28/Frank_McCourt_Angela_and_the_Baby_Jesus

12. Extension Frank McCourt’s story is really impressive. The first time I saw the movie, I did not know anything about him, but I got curious and read his biography and the original book. He has been a good inspiration for me. Is there a person (famous or not), who you consider a role model, an inspiration? Why/Why not? Write a text about him/her or about any person who you consider exceptionally important in your life, describe his/her characteristics and support his/her importance. Remember the notes you took are essential for your paper.

13. This is the rubric to evaluate your text Taken from Holt, Rinehart & Winston. (n.d.). Rubric 40: Writing to describe. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_ss/teacher99/rubrics/RUBRIC40.pdf

14. References 2.13-minute theatrical trailer for Angela’s ashes [Electronic source.] Parker, A. [Director]. (1999). Los Angeles: Universal. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://edublogs.tv/play.php?vid=2425. American Academy of Achievement. (2009). Frank McCourt Biography. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mcc1bio-1 Angela’s Ashes movie poster. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved on Novermber 6, 2009 from http://www.impawards.com/1999/posters/angelas_ashes_ver2.jpg. ForaTV. (2007). Frank McCourt, Angela and the Baby Jesus. [Video]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://fora.tv/2007/11/28/Frank_McCourt_Angela_and_the_Baby_Jesus.

15. References ForaTV. (2007). Frank McCourt: Writing about poverty. [Video]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9H5PolaUME&feature=fvst. Frank McCourt leaning against a desk in a classroom. [Online Image] (n.d.). Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.meli-mello.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mcc1-007.jpg. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. (n.d.). Rubric 40: Writing to describe. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_ss/teacher99/rubrics/RUBRIC40.pdf Parker, A. (1999). Still from Angela’s Ashes. [Online Image]. Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.wolfpackproductions.com/archive/ashes.jpg. Waters, R. (2005). To Laugh is to Know How to Live. On Ça Ira. [CD]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment.