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WHAT'S NEW ON
TEACHWITHMOVIES.COM
Helping Teachers with Lesson Plans -- A Resource for Intentional Parents
ADDED DURING THE SUMMER, 2008
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Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives is an excellent introduction to slavery in the American South. Actors give dramatic readings of the recollections of former slaves who were interviewed in the 1930s by the Federal Writers' Project. A narrator links the episodes with basic information about slavery in the U.S. The movie is also an excellent introduction to the genre of the personal narrative.
The TWM Learning Guide to Unchained Memories features an article on the slave narrative in American literature as well as a student handout on "Slavery: A World-Wide View, Then and Now". The Guide also contains a homework assignment, a comprehension test, discussion questions, suggested readings, projects, and activities.
The Witness is an award winning documentary about personal transformation and caring for animals. Eddie Lama, a street wise Brooklyn contractor, takes viewers inside his personal odyssey from animal avoider to animal protector --- and then to vegetarian and crusader against the cruelties of the fur industry. It all began when a woman he wanted to date asked him to petsit her cat for the weekend.
Eddie Lama is an articulate narrator who speaks from the heart. He tells his story with self-deprecating humor. Mr. Lama's love for animals radiates from the screen and envelopes the audience. The final scenes show Mr. Lama driving a van, outfitted with a large screen TV, playing video clips of the abuse of animals in the fur industry. He parks the van in front of high fashion New York City stores that sell fur. The scenes of animal abuse and the compassionate reactions of the by-standers are riveting.
The Witness is an engrossing story of the capacity for emotional and moral growth that all people possess. This movie is appropriate for English Language Arts classes for two additional reasons: (1) it will drive writing and other skills-based assignments; and (2) it will facilitate critical thinking and self-awareness.
This film is an excellent vehicle for awakening students to the fact that our actions have implications for animals that we need to take into account. It is also an excellent introduction to the animal rights movement, which gains adherents daily and which is an increasingly vocal part of society's current debate about ethics.
Teaching Students to Write a Narrative is a complete lesson plan suitable for any secondary level class. Here are a few excerpts from the introduction:
A narration lets us know something. It tells us what happened. It tells us a story.
Our students love to hear narrations. They strain to hear the latest news among their friends about what happened over the weekend and they rush to see the latest films that promise a good story. . . . . They are held by a good narrative in the same way that our ancestors, hundreds of years ago, gathered around a fire and listened to a tale woven from words.
As teachers we can use this interest to help students learn to write and, at the same time, meet most of the curriculum standards associated with writing skills. The key is student interest. When their heads are into it, young people can write far better than when they are simply doing an assignment. Narratives, perforce, put their heads into the task.
TWM has expanded its materials on alcohol and drug abuse to include a student handout on "Codependence -- What Happens When a Family Member is an Alcoholic or a Drug Addict". The handout is part of the "Lesson Plan on Alcohol Abuse, Alcoholism and Codependence" presented in the Learning Guide to When a Man Loves a Woman.
From prior editions of "What's New on TeachWithMovies.com"
Teachers: Are you concerned that time will be wasted if you're absent from class?
Worry no more . . . Check out TWM's exclusive Set Up the Sub.
Get the most out of movies in English Language Arts and Literature classes:
. . . use our new Film Study Worksheet.
New Learning Guides on TeachWithMovies.com:
Swan Lake is a beautiful and popular Romantic ballet which explores the archetypical metaphor identifying female grace with the movement of swans. The ballet is set to an enchanting score by Tchaikovsky and presents some of the most expressive and appealing movements ever seen on stage.
The Learning Guide to "Swan Lake" shows teachers (and parents) how to: (1) introduce ballet to young audiences; (2) use the movie to provide an example of the Romantic movement in an art form other than literature, music, or visual arts; (3) discuss some themes popular in the Romantic movement; (4) provide an example of the use of metaphor and symbol; and (5) provide an SEL lesson about romantic relations. Knowledge of this ballet and of its place in the tradition of the Romantic movement will enhance the understanding of history and of art.
All My Sons. This Guide is to the play, not the movie. Arthur Miller wrote the play to be read as well as performed and the 1948 movie doesn't quite measure up. However, the play is a classic of American theater. It explores themes that are interesting to teenagers, such as cheating and relations between father and son.
The Learning Guide to "All My Sons" provides a full and in-depth analysis of the play including its use of language, symbol, character, irony, and foreshadowing. The Guide compares the structure of "All My Sons" to ancient Greek tragedy and analyzes the character of Joe Keller as a tragic hero. It evaluates the play and its characters from social, psychological and historical perspectives. The Guide sets out the themes of the play and provides 70 discussion questions, with suggested answers, relating not only to theme but also to the dramatic devices used in the play.
From What's New on TeachWithMovies.com for Previous Months
TALKING AND PLAYING FOR GROWTH
A new, free resource, for teachers in K - 3 to involve parents in the learning process!
Talking and Playing Guides to family movies show parents of children ages 3 - 8 how to use movies to foster verbal development, promote social-emotional learning, and teach character education. Designed by the creators of TeachWithMovies.com, in conjunction with Dr. Betty Bardige, Ed.D., the Guides help parents interact with children to foster growth and development.
"Teachers can use these Guides to suggest that parents talk to their kids about the movies kids like to watch."
Talking and Playing Guides are currently offered for:
Finding Nemo ---
Happy Feet ---
The Adventures of Milo and Otis ---
An American Tail ---
Babe ---
A Bug's Life ---
Cars ---
Ben and Me ---
Toy Story
From What's New on TeachWithMovies.com for Previous Months
TWM is a Resource for Social-Emotional Learning
TeachWithMovies has always had a focus on Social and Emotional Learning. Now we are calling it that. The former Character Development Index has been converted to a Social and Emotional Learning Index. The Guides now feature discussion questions on SEL.
New Learning Guides on TeachWithMovies.com
The Pursuit of Happyness shows a homeless African-American father taking responsibility for his child while succeeding as a stockbroker. Supplemented with the additional materials in the Learning Guide this film be used to teach important lessons about medial literacy, homelessness, and parenting. TeachWithMovies.com has written an 18 page handout, Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What's Not in the Movie) describing the life of the man on which the movie was based. Did you know that Mr. Gardner's most impressive achievement is not even mentioned in the movie?
When a Man Loves A Woman -- With a Lesson Plan on Alcoholism and Codependence. The movie is an in-depth dramatic exploration of the effects of alcoholism on a marriage and the changes that one couple must go through when the alcoholic member enters recovery. Michael has learned to protect Alice from the consequences of being drunk since the very beginning of their relationship. Someone he loves is in pain and Michael does what he can to reduce that pain. Alice encourages Michael's enabling behavior because it allows her to live an intoxicated life without paying the price. Over the years, this interaction has become deeply imbedded in their relationship. However, when Alice hits bottom and enters a rehab program, she needs Michael's enabling behavior to stop.
The Lesson Plan that accompanies the movie covers the basics of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. It contains a student handout, a comprehension test, and discussion questions.
TWM has also added a new feature: Movies to Supplement Health Classes. We are just starting this project and would love to hear your suggestions and comments. Check it out!
FEATURES FROM WHAT'S NEW FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS
We've taught Stand and Deliver to hundreds of students. Not only is the movie an inspiration to children but it can be used to teach important concepts about due process, particularly the burden of proof in courts in criminal and civil cases. It has sections on the movement of ideas over continents, oceans and time, a taste of calculus, literary devices in a work of historical fiction, and the pitfalls of cheating. Teaching aids include: an introductory lecture, student handouts, diagrams to use in class, three comprehension tests with answer keys, and several class projects.
The Learning Guide to "The Glass Menagerie" has been completely revised. New background material includes a full exposition of the themes and symbols in the play. This classic of American theatre, the first great American "memory play", contains themes that relate directly to the lives of many adolescents.
TeachWithMovies.com has also revised its lesson plan on The Development of Lorenzo's Oil, Strange Twists of Fate, and the Scientific Method. This is excellent for teaching the scientific method in a real world situation that will mean something to students who have seen Lorenzo's Oil.
In April TWM featured three new Learning Guides:
The Outsiders is a classic novel which many children read in Middle or High School. It shows young men searching for their identity in a violent and dangerous world. The story is about cliques, fighting, friendship, loyalty, fitting in, struggling to understand who you are, courage, and redemption. The movie uses a number of literary devices and shows deep psychological insight. Its message is at once wise, concerned, and hopeful.
Bend It Like Beckham focuses on two English girls who want to play football (soccer) professionally. Jesminder (Jess) is from an Indian Sikh family that has recently emigrated to England. Julie is from a traditional English family. Each suffer from the prejudices of her parents. Jess' parents believe that playing football and displaying her legs to the world are not a proper role for a traditional Sikh girl. They forbid her to play. Julie's disinterest in things feminine and her friendship with Jess lead Julie's mother to fear that her daughter is a lesbian. It all comes to a head at Jess' sister's version of the "Big Fat Sikh Wedding".
This movie shows girls serious about sports. The TeachWithMovies.com Learning Guide shows how to use this movie as the basis for a unit on the ethics of lying to parents.
Ice Princess is a girls' sports formula movie that exceeds the expectations of its genre. The characters grow and change in ways that have a ring of truth.
Casey is an ugly duckling high school physics geek whose mother has groomed her for Harvard. To become a graceful swan on ice Casey must make her mother understand that Harvard is her mother's dream, not Casey's. She must also overcome her mother's disdain for women who pursue a sport. When Casey finally makes it to the ice, not only must she beat the competition, she must survive the stratagems of the skating rink owner (Tina). This woman will stop at nothing to ensure that her own child (Gen) makes it to the regional finals.
Gen, it turns out, is tired of training most of the day trying to live Tina's dream of glory on ice. A subplot details Gen's efforts to live a normal life in which she can see her boyfriend and go to parties. She even wants time to study so that she doesn't look like an idiot in math class. A second subplot involves the romance between Tina's son and Casey.
Effective immediately, each Learning Guide contains discussion questions relating to Social-Emotional Learning topics that can be taught through the movie.
From a recent "What's New on TeachWithMovies.com"
Teach about the Renaissance and fairy tales with a lesson plan based on Ever After, an enchanting re-imagining of Cinderella.
Set in France in the early 1500s, this version features as the little cinder girl a well-read young woman of passionate intelligence and integrity. She awakens a jaded prince of France by advocating concepts from Sir Thomas More's Utopia. The Prince, it turns out, is suffocating in the gilded cage of royal life. In a charming departure from the plot of the classic tale, the cinder girl saves the Prince just as much as he saves her.
Leonardo Da Vinci, who served as artist in residence at the French court from 1516 to 1519, acts out the role of fairy godmother. The Mona Lisa and several of his famous inventions make cameo appearances. This is a very literate tale, told with great wit and charm.
TeachWithMovies.com has prepared a lesson plan for Ever After complete with an introductory lecture, a time line, discussion questions, a comprehension test, and an answer key. A unique "Learning From Historical Errors" section allows teachers to use the film's many departures from the historical record as teaching tools.
TWM has also redrafted the Learning Guides to Romeo and Juliet, Cool Runnings, and A Christmas Carol. Each of these Guides now provide suggested answers to all of the discussion questions.
From an Earlier "What's New on TeachWithMovies.com"
See our new Lesson Plan for Health Classes based on the film "Super Size Me" and a Learning Guide to Deepa Metha's searching inquiry into the treatment of widows in India, a love story called Water. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category.
Both of these films have a deep impact on kids. "Super Size Me" can reduce the amount of fast food they eat. We've seen it happen. After our presentation of Water at Palisades High School in Los Angeles several students said it was the "best movie" they'd ever seen. The introduction makes all the difference (and the introduction is in the Learning Guide).
In recent months, TWM has added or substantially revised Learning Guides to Stand and Deliver, The Glass Menagerie, The Outsiders, Bend It Like Beckham, Ice Princess, Ever After, Romeo and Juliet, Cool Runnings, A Christmas Carol, Super Size Me, and Water. This is a very strong line-up of new or revised materials from which teachers can create lesson plans. The Development of Lorenzo's Oil, Strange Twists of Fate, and the Scientific Method is an excellent lesson plan for teaching the historical method.
Be sure to look for Social-Emotional Learning topics in each Learning Guide.
James Frieden
Deborah W. Elliott July 5, 2008
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