Filmmaking Teacher Resources

New ventures and new technologies require new ways of referring to things. In stepped Edwin S. Porter, whose films Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery used parallel action and cross-cutting to develop his narratives....

The job of the editor is surely one of the most demanding in film production. Viewers of an episode from a film production playlist are introduced to the editor's many responsibilities, the history of editing, and the various types of...

Some of the boldest films in history have been documentaries or experimental films. Explore non-narrative cinema and its avant-garde techniques with a short video about a creative faction in film history. Additionally, the video...

Stanley Nelson's acclaimed film, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution uses interviews, archival footage, and images to document the story of the radical political party established in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. A...

Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem. 

Beasts of No Nation, a gripping tale of child soldiers, is the focus of an analysis that examines the techniques director Cary Joji Fukunaga uses to create his horrifying yet deeply compassionate film.

Learners view images of Warhol/Basquiat collaboration and discuss them using the questions listed in the lesson. They work in groups to choose a theme or topic relating to American culture and discuss ideas about symbols that could be...

Students research the life of an artist to make a comprehensive analysis of works and how they were formed through personal beliefs of the artist. The influence upon culture is the focus of the investigation to be conducted.

Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...

In this volume and surface area worksheet, students find the volume and surface area of different solid figures. Students complete 8 problems.

Students examine how a scene in a movie or in literature is constructed. In this film and literature lesson students answer questions based on film clips then create storyboards depicting a scene from their life.

These passages don't look right! It's your grammarians to the rescue as they correct capitalization and punctuation issues in two informational paragraphs. They must circle all words missing a capital letter and fill in blanks where end...

Continue with creating documentaries with the fourth lesson in a series. After explaining the concept of preproduction, send groups off to make some decisions about their films. Groups can use the handout and the four provided questions...

Storyboarding is an essential part of planning a film. Introduce your class to storyboarding and allow groups time to plan out their documentaries in this sixth lesson in a series about creating documentaries. Class members review an...

Students view a film about elections in Iraq. They examine the story of a doctor and his decisions to vote. They work together to complete a worksheet about voter turnout.

Students examine the reasons behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Exploring multiple perspectives, they discuss the concepts of peoples' rights and justice in the area. They practice applying conflict resolution principles as well.

Students research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...

Students read and analyze Jessie Benton Fremont's travelogue of her trip out west in 1849 to identify the gender roles, social attitudes and class distinctions of the time. They then adapt the the travelogue into a film script.

In this Of Mice and Men viewing guide worksheet, students study movie terminology as they read brief descriptions and respond to 26 short answer questions as the watch the film based on Steinbeck's novel.

Students list the five best films of the year, in their opinion; brainstorm a list of criteria for a "good" film. They compare their own lists with the nominees in this year's Academy Awards; consider patterns in Academy Award winners of...

Young scholars 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.

Students watch the documentary AIDS: A Pop Culture History and discuss the issues the documentary raises. Students discuss the different facts and myths about AIDS, discuss stereotypes in relation to the disease and discuss common fears...

Students view the film Fog of War and discuss the most striking elements of the film. They focus on chosen lessons from robert McNamara's life such as: empathy, rationality and proportionality.

Students analyze current and emerging techniques used to select specific characteristics in offspring. They examine specific case studies and make ethical decisions based upon the Ethical Decision-Making Model.