It's a tale of life, retold by a genius, full of sound and fury. Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood takes center stage in a resource that spotlights how the director adapted the characters and themes in Shakespeare's Macbeth to Japanese...

Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth graders...

Places everyone! Action! Imagine an entire cinematography course, already designed, that includes everything you need to launch your own film studio, in one tidy 66-page packet.

Film imitates life; that's what they say. Using performance theory to tie the lesson together, learners attempt to understand memory and daily rituals as seen in art, film, and life. They read two chapters from the book, watch the...

Barbie gets a makeover, but not the type you may be thinking of. Critical thinkers explore social norms, storytelling, sexual and racial identity through art. They view the short animated film, Big Gurl, discuss how Barbie was altered...

There is a wonderful magic that happens when artists collaborate. Kids examine storytelling through collaborative art. Inspired by Rodin's sculpture Minotaur, Daria Martin and Anna Halprin create a filmed dance sequence. Kids analyze the...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the New York Times provides links to five short documentary films depicting Hispanic themes and culture. Learners can click on each embedded link to view the films, then answer each set of related...

Film analysis takes critical thinking, connections, and context. Upper graders look at the film installation, Crystal Palace in terms of the film makers choices, presentation, and perspective of truth. After an analytical discussion of...

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

A ten-day lesson is described in a short outline. It may be short but the idea is wonderful. Learners engage in textual analysis as they analyze and research various accounts of historical events common to the Civil Rights or Vietnam...

Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary sources, learners...

Awesome, that is all I have to say! This set of lessons provides learners with an understanding of ancient Egyptian laws, lifestyle, religion, and culture. It engages them in a critical analysis activity regarding the film, "The Prince...

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...

Facilitate film analysis of The Joy Luck Club with these questions. As viewers watch the 1993 version by Wayne Wang of Amy Tan's classic novel, they explore key concepts specific to the film. Questions include description and...

New ReviewEverybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...

Will the advancement of technology doom interpersonal relationships? Like the score for Jaws, the music for the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's 2001- A Space Odyssey stirs the imagination of viewers. Cinema lovers and film newbies...

Rhetoric is the key to character. Scholars work through four activities using documentary films to complete rhetoric analysis. Learners participate in writing a note to a friend and then analyze their own writing. They also view clips...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences awarded its 2017 Best Picture award to Moonlight, which was written and directed by Barry Jenkins. The tender exploration of expectations for black men, contrasted with the reality of...

Money talks ... especially in the media world! How do finances influence the media we see? Answer that, and many other questions using a video in a media literacy series. The narrator discusses how economic reasons influence media...

How did radio and television impact media literacy? Explore the rise of protectionism using a video, part of a Crash Course media literacy series. Scholars discover the social, moral, and political sides of media analysis and criticism.

The seventh episode in the a film history playlist takes a close look at the rise and fall of German cinema of the post-World War I period. The narrator uses The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and its expressionistic use of mise-en-scene to...

Steven Soderbergh's The Limey may seem like a strange choice for one of the top ten films in a playlist on film criticism. The narrator makes clear that the story is a simple tale of revenge, but it is Soderbergh's filmmaking techniques...

A heart attack, threats of suicide, drug-fueled parties, typhoons, over 250 hours of film footage, two years of editing, Academy, Palme d'Or, and Golden Globe awards. It's time to discuss Apocalypse Now! The narrator of this episode in...

The narrator of a film criticism episode on Sofia Coppola's bittersweet Lost In Translation asks viewers to consider the many aspects of relationships that Coppola suggests are lost in translation.