Global Oneness Project
Protecting Wilderness
Would you live in a tree for three years to protect a redwood forest? Viewers of Rainhouse Cinema's Among Giants documentary consider the actions of Earth First! environmental activists who moved into the treetops of a grove of giant...
Curated OER
Our Town
Students read and discuss an online article as they consider what makes a center of activity in a city or town. They produce a documentary film of the hub of activity in their school.
Curated OER
Growing up in Las Vegas; Memories of Childhood in the Neon City
Students investigate the history of Las Vegas through conducting interviews. In this oral history activity, students locate and speak with older residents of Las Vegas in order to gain a better understanding of the city....
Curated OER
Ballou High School Marching Band Documentary Lesson Plans
Students examine the journey of the Ballou Marching Band. In this America's Promise lesson, students read about Colin Powell and examine the history of America's Promise. Students explore the Five Points of the program and then watch a...
Curated OER
Las Vegas: We Are Just Like You
High schoolers practice making multimedia documentary films by investigating cities of America. In this U.S. geography lesson, students examine Las Vegas and compare the state of Nevada to 15 other states and discuss their main...
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Hollywood and Higher Learning
Students watch a varietry of films showing college life. In groups, they take different scenerios from the films and determine how they would have reacted. As a class, they discuss more in depth the issues they might face in college. ...
Curated OER
Making Movie Storyboards
Students explore the importance of images in telling a story in film, analyze movie clips and identify some visual cues that help them explain the story; students work collaboratively to storyboard a passage from a book and present them...
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This is America
Learners explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. For this national parks lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of the parks...
Curated OER
Arson
Students watch a documentary film about arson and why children sometimes commit arson. They role play a scenario in which the school was deliberately set on fire. They develop a news report in which they interview three people regarding...
Curated OER
What Make Good Reality Television?
Students brainstorm what they believe makes a good reality TV show. Students compile a set of attributes that they feel distinguishes the best of the reality TV shows from the others. Using the attributes that the class agrees determine...
Curated OER
What Difference Does A Name Make?
Pupils view the film The Persuaders that discuss the perspective and spin of language use for a variety of issues. They discuss the career of Frank Luntz, a man that runs focus groups to determine how to advantageously phrase issues in...
Curated OER
Facing Reality
Students explore social issues that are meaningful to them and create documentaries in which they share their information, thoughts and impressions.
Global Oneness Project
Our Shared Humanity
Ann Shin's award-winning documentary, My Enemy, My Brother introduces viewers to Zahed Haftlang and Najah Aboud, two child soldiers on opposite sides during the Iran-Iraq war. After viewing the film, class members are asked to...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 3
How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...
Curated OER
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Day 3: HIV/AIDS - Its Impact on People
High schoolers watch a video in which sixteen young people talk about how their lives have been changed by having HIV. So many people have the attitude that it will never happen to them, but no one is immune to this disease. Hopefully...
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The Candid Camera
Students examine the influence of photographer Jerome Liebling on documentary films. They read and discuss an article, take photographs, and create an original photo essay and artist statement.
Curated OER
Assessing and Making Maps
Students evaluate maps using the TODALSIGs basic map analysis system, explained on the worksheet. They create a map of Alaska using TODALSIGs. Students brainstorm the elements of maps.
Curated OER
Ancestors in the Americas: Lesson One
Students are introduced to the characteristics of documentaries and making films. Individually, they write their own proposal for an idea of a documentary making sure to identify the point of view of which it is going to be filmed. ...
Curated OER
The Millennium Promise in Africa
Students compete activities related to the viewing of a documentary film. After viewing the documentary, The Dairy of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, students participate in a discussion of the leading factors leading to...
PBS
U.S. Agricultural Subsidies and Nutrition
Most young people don't spend a lot of time thinking about why some foods cost less than others. This resource uses clips from the documentary, Food, Inc. to explore the impact of agricultural subsidies on nutrition, health, and the...
Curated OER
Structure of Natural Narratives
Class pairs select a prompt from a provided list and tell (and record) their story to their partner. They then examine linguist William Labov's model for natural narratives, and apply his model to their tale. Next, class members watch...
Curated OER
The Persuaders
Have your upper graders watch the documentary, "The Persuaders" as they explore how advertisers try to gain potential customers. The video is followed by a discussion and close examination of new marketing trends and strategies.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Skin Color: Evidence for Selection
Skin color is controlled by at least six genes. Young scientists learn about skin colors through a documentary. They discuss the topics of pigment, natural selection, and vitamin D absorption. They apply their knowledge to higher order...
Frontline
Obama's Deal
Government classes benefit from examining how a bill passes through Congress, while they focus on the compromises made by Obama's administration regarding health care reform. This includes an online video and a couple of handouts. The...