Talking with Authors: Mary Roach, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
26:28
Grades: 9 - 12
Video Description: Mary Roach isn’t afraid to go there. After tackling the “curious science” of cadavers, outer space, and the human digestive system (Stiffed, Packing for Mars, Gulp), the bestselling author explores the military in her new book, “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War” (W.W. Norton & Company). In Grunt, Roach uses her trademark wit, warmth, and curiosity to dissect the fascinating science of keeping soldiers alive – before, during, and long after battle.
Type of Video: Interview*
Unique Video ID: Literature-37**
Quick Ideas for Using the Video:
- How does one research topics that Ms. Roach has written about? Examine some of the titles mentioned in this video and explore how they were formulated.
- What would you write about if you wanted to explore a ‘taboo’ topic? Have students brainstorm a list to share with the class.
- Use the video as inspiration/example for an activity that has your students interview each other on writing they have done. Use the video to show interview styles, types of questions, and how a finished interview video could be edited together.
*Interviews feature extended conversation exploring fascinating topics with fascinating people in the area of study.
**The unique Video ID can be used to quickly locate a single video in the ET collection. This search function is designed to let teachers assign students to watch a specific video and have only that video appear as a search result. Just click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Then type in the Video ID as it appears above. Be sure to include the dash.
