Koko the Talking Gorilla: video worksheets, differentiated.

This very moving and provocative account of describes Koko’s life with researcher Penny Patterson. Covering: earlier work by Kat Beach with Washoe; methods to teach Koko ASL; details of the project’s criteria for defining success; rate of sign acquisition compared to human infants; use of gestures by wild gorillas; modifications of ASL to suit gorilla dexterity; Koko’s gorilla companion Michael – his ASL take-up; contrasted with Clever Hans the counting horse; how it was shown that Clever Hans couldn’t count; blind tests to assess Koko’s accuracy; signs used to show emotions; Koko’s fascination with cats and apparent desire for motherhood; apparent grief after a cat’s death; interactions with ‘funnyman’ Robin Williams; Koko and Michael use ASL to tell lies; links between ASL and spoken language comprehension; Motor Theory of Speech Perception explained; signing rhyming words for unknown signs; Koko’s paintings; Koko’s death and controversial final message.

The film is uncritical of Patterson’s work, which is widely discredited elsewhere. Used as is, this resource gives an inspiring insight into the potential for communication between species. For older students, especially those studying science, philosophy, or linguistics, I would recommend following up with a more critically acute view. (See also Why Koko the Gorilla Can’t Talk).

Find the film by searching YouTube’s BE AMAZED channel for “Koko The Talking Gorilla”.

14 questions for the 24-min film. Differentiated! Both versions look very similar, but “B” version has subtle clues. Excellent subtitles: scripted, not auto-generated. Answer sheet. Very easy to mark. .doc & .pdf for all files. Link to film on all sheets.