Coach Carter Assignment

Questions to answer:

You must choose four of the following ten questions to complete.

*** Answers should be in complete sentences, with correct grammar, spelling and
punctuation.

1) How did Coach Carter and his team learn to respect each other as the season
progressed?
2) Do you feel the contract Coach Carter made his players sign in order to play on
the basketball team was fair?
3) Why was the contract important to the development of the story line of this
movie?
4) How did Coach Carter save the life of at least one of his players?
5) Did helping his team achieve academic success ultimately mean more than
winning basketball games?
6) “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.” How does this quote
apply to this movie? Explain.
7) What was the main theme (message) of this movie? Explain.
8) There were examples of many different types of conflict in the movie. Choose one
and explain it. Your choices are Man vs. The Environment, Man vs. Man, Man vs.
Himself.
9) If you were telling a friend about this movie, what would you say? How would you
explain the movie? Pretend that you have to fill a peer in on what the movie was
about because he/she missed it. Write a paragraph to explain what happens in
this movie. This is a resume, not a play-by-play account. Be careful not to miss
important points, though!
10) You’ve been asked by the local newspaper to critique this movie. What would
you write? Be sure to express your opinion and back it up with facts!

Plot Summary of Coach Carter

In 1999, Ken Carter, a successful sporting goods store owner, accepts the job of basketball coach for his
old high school in a poor area of Richmond, CA, where he was a champion athlete. Since he was as much
dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as their dismal play performance, Carter sets about to
change both. He immediately imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that include
stipulations for respectful behavior, a dress code and good grades as requisites to being allowed to
participate. The initial resistance from the boys is soon dispelled as the team under Carter's tutelage
becomes an undefeated competitor in the games. However, when the overconfident team's behavior
begins to stray and Carter learns that too many players are doing poorly in class, he takes immediate
action. To the outrage of the team, the school and the community, Carter cancels all team activities and
locks the court until the team shows acceptable academic improvement. In the ensuing debate, Carter
fights to keep his methods, determined to show the boys that they need to rely on more than sports for
their futures and eventually finds he has affected them more profoundly than he ever expected.