Lesson Plans Based on Movies & Film!

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Film Study Worksheets for:

• General Fiction;


• Adaptations;


• Historical Fiction;


• Science Fiction;


• Cinematic and Theatrical Elements;


• Hero's Journey


• Documentaries

Informational Documentaries and

Films that Seek to Persuade on Issues of Political or Social Significance

Articles

For Teachers:

• The Common Core State Standards and Film in the ELA Classroom by James Frieden


• How Teachers Can Use TeachWithMovies.com by James Frieden


• Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film by John Golden


• Set-Up-the-Sub by Mary Red Clay and James Frieden


• Questions Suitable for Any Film That is a Work of Fiction


• Assignments, Projects, and Activities for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction


• Films as Rewards


• TV Program Lesson Plans

For Parents:

• Parents: How to Embark on an Entertaining Educational Adventure by James Frieden


• Ideas for Talking and Playing Using Movies -- Verbal, Social and Emotional Learning for Children Ages 3 to 8 by Dr. Betty Bardige and James Frieden


• How to Tell Bedtime Stories . . . Any Time by James Frieden and Mary Red Clay

Student Handouts

• Alcohol -- and How It Affects Us by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to When a Man Loves a Woman"


• Attachment Theory Applied to Good Will Hunting by Froma Burack, Psy.D. and James Frieden


• The Child Savior: An Example of a Literary Archetype by James Frieden and Mary Red Clay, as part of the Snippet Lesson Plan based on "Man on Fire"


• Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film - An Introduction by John Golden


• Codependence -- What Happens When a Family Member is an Alcoholic or a Drug Addict by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "When a Man Loves a Woman"


• Convenience Food Student Handout by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "Super Size Me"


• Drama — The Nature of Drama -- A Brief Introduction by Mary Red Clay


• Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What's Not in the Movie) by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "The Pursuit of Happyness"


• Hero's Journey — Stages and Archetypes — Introducing the Monomyth by Mary Red Clay and James Frieden


• Migratory, Nomadic, and Dormant Behavior in Living Organisms by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "Winged Migration"


• Myths of the Western Genre — Are American Men Just a Bunch of Cowboys? by Mary Red Clay and James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "The Searchers"


• Slavery: A World-Wide View, Then and Now by James Frieden, as part of the Learning Guide to "Unchained Memories"



• TV Program Worksheets for Homework with instructions on how to use the Worksheets;
  
  
• Individual TV Program Worksheets for Homework
  
  — Fiction (Soaps, Dramas, and Reality/Survival Shows);
  
  — Historical Fiction;
  
  — Documentary and Nonfiction; and
  
  — Reality Show Competitions.
  
  

Lesson Plans For Secondary School Students
Based on Full Length Movies

Note that all Snippets and Short Subjects are fully developed lesson plans but are not included in this list.

Homework Projects:

• Movies as Literature Homework Project for ELA classes. Help students understand that movies tell stories that can be analyzed using the elements and devices of fiction. You may change the way your students look at film for their entire lives without a large investment of class time.


• Historical Fiction in Film Homework Project. Without a large expenditure of class time, this unit requires students to watch as homework movies that are historical fiction. They are required to analyze the films for the elements and devices of fiction and for their historical accuracy and perspective.

Lesson Plans Based on Full-Length Movies:

• Alcoholism & Codependence — "When a Man Loves a Woman" provides a dramatic representation of how alcoholism and the recovery process affect a marriage in which the husband has developed behaviors that enable his wife's drinking. The lesson plan provides the theoretical framework for students to understand the operation of codependence.


• The Human Rights of Artists — Based on "For Love or Country — The Arturo Sandoval Story", this lesson plan helps students understand the importance of freedom of expression as it applies to the arts. It is excellent for both World History and Fine Arts classes.


• "Migration, Nomadism and Dormancy Lesson Plan" — Knowing how living organisms adapt to the cyclical changes in their environment is important for an understanding of biology. This lesson plan is designed to be used in conjunction with portions of "Winged Migration".


• Nutrition — Obesity Epidemic: A Lesson Plan for Health Classes based on 'Super Size Me' — Health classes are enhanced when students watch this movie and teachers confirm and supplement the facts set out in the film.


• The Scientific Method: The Development of Lorenzo's Oil, Strange Twists of Fate, and the Scientific Method — Using the strong emotions set off by watching this film, the lesson plan is a mental exercise in applying the scientific method and developing hypotheses in the real world situation faced by Lorenzo's parents.

Other Lesson Plans for Secondary Level Students

• Teaching Students to Write a Narrative — This charming lesson shows students how to write one of the most important forms of literature. Contributed by Mary Red Clay


• Chemical Bonds: "How Does Soap Clean?" — The mechanism by which soap cleans our hands illustrates several different types of atomic and intermolecular bonding.


• "Mass Casualties Lesson Plan" (focusing on the decision to end WW II with atomic attacks on Japanese cities) — The real villains of the piece were the Japanese Imperial government, but it was the U.S. that dropped the bombs. This lesson plan allows students to come to their own decision about whether the U.S. should have become the first country to use an atomic weapon.


• Genetics: "Predicting Combinations for Alleles in a Zygote Using Punnett Squares" — This is a basic exercise in genetics.

To learn more about our authors, just click on the links: John Golden, Dr. Betty Bardige, James Frieden, and Mary Red Clay.

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