In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Ready, set, write! Every great film begins with a script, and every presentation starts with a plan. Directors use their research and experience to compose an essay explaining the rationale behind their film's musical and visual choices...

Explore women's history through films and filmmaking. An innovative research project prompts class members to create their own screenplay about a figure in women's history. After outlining their characters, settings, and plots, young...

If your class loves movies, this lesson plan is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go see a film....

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the lesson, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class, view the film,...

5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...

Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...

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 listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text lesson students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short story.

How do directors' choices emphasize different elements of a drama? Scholars participate in a discussion about the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth and Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Finally, they write an analysis of...

Ads here, ads there, ads everywhere—but what do they communicate? Pupils discuss this topic and develop a list of personal values. They then work as creative directors at an advertising firm to create billboards that reflect community...

Launch a discussion of the creative process with a short video that features the daily ritual of Slobodan Dan Paich, a San Francisco artist. Slobodan models his approach to tea painting and shares his reflections on the...

Students define the characteristics of a hero by creating their own fictional superhero.  For this film making lesson, students write the background of a superhero character and storyboard scenes from a movie they would like to...

Students discuss what they know about famous actors. In groups, they work together to match new vocabulary words to their definitions. They read an article about the Cannes Film Festival and answer questions.

Students identify and participate in this activity to identify and learn about the early history of the film industry, and consider the impact of movies on society ever since. Then they use the websites listed to study various aspects of...

Being a clown is hard work — no joke! Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's Laugh Clown Laugh, a short film about German clown Reinhard "Filou" Harstkotte, asks viewers to consider the various roles played by clowns and to consider the...

Students study what influenced and inspired Billy Wilder while determining the plot, characters, and historical context of the film Double Indemnity. They investigate the stereotypes of Film Noir and how it shows the media messages of...

Pupils view the film "Dogs: The Early Years" from PBS then participate in different activities revolving around dogs. After researching different breeds, students select a dog that best fits their personality and living situation as...

Fifth graders create a video. In this historical presentation, 5th graders watch a video clip of a dramatization of a historical event in American History. Students discuss how this video was put together. Students divide into small...

Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify...

Identify their feelings about Shakespeare's plays, addressing their readability and relevance to their lives. 2. Explore the effects of remaking Shakespeare plays in a modern context, as well as differences that emerge when a play is...

Identifying an author’s choice, especially choices that concern craft and literary devices, is a difficult skill to teach. Here's an activity that will make your job easier. The resource breaks down how to teach the skill to novice,...

Students research soldier's lives in the American Civil War. They create a video about a soldier's life

Students are directed by the teacher on how to practice safety in a lab setting.