Teaching Tolerance
Film Festival
Everybody'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...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon A Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 1
As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.
Curated OER
Scripting the Past: Exploring Women's History Through Film
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...
American Documentary
Religion in Culture & Politics: Women’s empowerment in Syria
What defines a woman as empowered, and how does this definition compare to the ideas and actions of a group of Muslim women in Syria? After watching a series of video clips from a documentary film about a school for girls in Damascus,...
PBS
“He Named Me Malala”: Understanding Student Activism Through Film
Malala Yousafzai has become the face of social activism. After watching He Named Me Malala and short student-made films about what young people can do to become instruments of change, class members reflect on what it means to be an...
D-Day Normandy 1944
D-Day Normandy 1944
No study of World War II would be complete without an in-depth examination of the events of June 6, 1944. Pascal Vuong's D-Day Normandy:1944, is the perfect vehicle to convey the sheer magnitude of the events that have been called the...
Global Oneness Project
Communities on the Threshold of Change
Viewers of the short documentary Santa Cruz Del Islote consider how changes in climate and overfishing impact the life style of the 1,200 residents of a small island off the coast of Cartagena, Columbia.
Curated OER
WWI Through the Film, Foot Soldiers
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...
Respect for All Project
Let's Get Real Curriculum Guide
"Let's Get Real," a documentary about cyberbullying, is the cornerstone of a curriculum guide intended to help instructors design an anti-bullying unit for middle school classes. Packet with suggestions for how plan the unit, for...
Curated OER
Films About World War II
Ninth graders focus on how filmmakers have changed their view of the Second World War. They create portfolios or their own documentary to investigate the various screen interpretations of the wartime era and explain different points of...
Curated OER
Into the Fifties: Understanding the Context of Film Genres in the Fifties
Learners discuss prior knowledge of American culture during the 1950's. They complete KWL charts, participate in class discussions and view the documentary film Atomic Café. They record their observations from the film.
PBS
The Black Panthers
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...
Global Oneness Project
Resurrecting a Home
Davina Pardo's documentary Minka asks viewers to consider that value of preserving traditional dwellings and traditional building techniques by examining how American journalist John Roderick and Japanese architect Yoshihiro Takishita...
Gobal Oneness Project
Building a Community of Trust
Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects societal values.
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part II
Track the transformation of Malcolm Little into Malcolm X and then into El Jajj Malik El-Shabazz with the second part of Make it Plain, a documentary on the famous civil rights activist. Viewers consider not only how events shaped and...
Curated OER
War Story Documentary
Middle schoolers review research skills and determine an aspect of war to research. They research an aspect of a war experience and bring history to life through iMovie.
Curated OER
American Families
Learners research psychology by participating in a role-play activity. In this human relationship lesson, students define the term "family" and read assigned text which discusses how family relationships work. Learners answer study...
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
Channel Islands Film
Sa Hi Pa Ca (Once Upon a Time): Lesson Plan 2
What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a history of the...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Battle of Britain
Had Britain not emerged as the victors of the 1940 Battle of Britain, World War II would have ended much differently—and the world as we know it would be catastrophically altered. Learn more about this pivotal moment that kept the Nazis...
PBS
The Sixties: Notes from the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Young historians research the rationales for fighting the Vietnam War, and the controversies surrounding it. They watch film clips, examine photographs, and read Lyndon B. Johnson's message to Congress to gather information for a...
Curated OER
Case Study: Manzanar
Eleventh graders investigate Japanese-American internment. For this World War II lesson, 11th graders conduct research from the Manzanar National Historic Sites and then write essays based on their findings.
Curated OER
The Ethics of Outsourcing to China
After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...
Curated OER
Exploring US Foreign Policy after WWII--The Cold War
Scholars explore U.S. Foreign Policy and Cold War ideologies adopted after WWII. They conduct Internet research on a topic or issue related to the Cold War Era, watch two films, and compose a time line and a multimedia presentation to...