Make your scholars more aware of stereotypical portrayals in film and television. Discuss the definition of "stereotypes" and how they are used to present a story. High schoolers look at specific television shows and complete a chart...

Learn about film and TV ratings systems in Canada (includes a comparison to the MPAA system) and how they influence appropriate viewing for youths. A detailed commentary about the film Seven pointed at revealing flaws in ratings systems...

As part of their study of the influence of TV and films, class members consider how music, lighting, costumes, camera angles, etc. are used to influence the response of viewers.

A study of how public perception is both reflected and influenced by film and television, this instructional activity helps students develop an awareness of audience as well as a critical view of media. Depictions of police in television...

Young scholars explore communication by participating in a role playing lesson. In this media analysis lesson, students answer surveys about their own television watching habits and compare them to the rest of the class. Young scholars...

As part of a five-lesson unit on how television uses technology and film techniques to communicate meaning, elementary young scholars create their own media productions that demonstrate their understanding of these concepts.

The Empress Myeongseong is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to examine a historical record and a first-hand account of one of Korea's most intrepid and controversial women.

Students propose and create documentary films depicting a slice of "ordinary" life that reveals something unique or surprising about its subject. They, in groups, make films and present them to the school.

Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...

Teaching documentary in your class? Inform your instruction with a guide meant to support teachers as they begin with documentary. The resource includes information on what a documentary is as well as documentary modes, elements, and...

Tired of 20-somethings portraying high school middle schoolers? Tired of athletes and principals always being the villains? Class members examine the student and teacher stereotypes presented TV shows and films that are et in schools. 

Use this general lesson plan guide to inform your instruction surrounding a documentary. The lesson plan is made up of five activities. The activities are intentionally general because they are designed to adapted for specific films....

Students explore Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this analysis lesson, students recognize the use of poetic conventions as a principle of dramatic structure after analyzing the sonnetShakespeare created for the first meeting between...

Students generate their own definition of documetary. They watch and discusss a series of extracts that demonstrate the breadth of the documentary form. Students create a defintion of the term documentary that takes into account the...

Students discuss their experiences with television. They break into small groups and go through the steps of producing a television show themselves. Their presentations are made to the entire class.

Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...

This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...

Students watch westerns and analyze them. They identify the plot, characters and the sounds in the film. They research icons of the American west and prepare a presentation. They share their presentation with the class.

Explore the murder mystery genre through film, discussion, and writing. The plan features several activities centered around a two-minute video that include collaboration, writing, and prediction. After the lesson, individuals write...

Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...

Students explore the difference between analog and digital televisions. They examine how the technology works and the impact of television through history. They also compare older television sets to ones found today.

Students design and film commercials using digital video cameras and the computer program iMovie in this exciting lesson plan provided by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology.

If your historians are watching the History Channel documentary, Foot Soldiers during their WWI unit, this plan has some simple recall questions and one referential/debate question ("What was the worst part of the war?") to ask after...

Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.