teaching with movies | History Tech

Dec 28

Teaching with Movies: 20 tools for integration

Four times a year, I get the opportunity to work with 25-30 classroom teachers as part of an ongoing professional learning community. We chat about all sorts of things. Video games. Primary sources. Technology integration. Literacy standards.

Today, we spent the morning chatting with Don Gifford, KSDE social studies guru, about the upcoming state assessment and sharing strategies for encouraging discipline-specific writing skills. Evidence-based terms. Writing prompts. Good stuff.

The afternoon?

Movies. Read more

Dec 23

8 Comments

Holiday Goodie Rerun II: 10 movies every social studies teacher should see

I’m sure most of you are doing the same thing I’m doing right now. Spending time with family and friends, watching football, catching up on that book you’ve been dying to read, eating too much, and enjoying the occasional nap.

Between now and the first week in January, you’ll get a chance to re-read some of the top posts of 2014. I may decide to jump in with something current but if I don’t, enjoy this Holiday Goodie rerun.

————-

Okay, I lied.

I started off with the idea that I could create a short little list of my ten favorite social studies related movies. But I was wrong. As I started thinking about great history movies and talking with others, the list grew quickly. And I couldn’t narrow it down to just ten. Then it got worse. This month’s Social Education journal showed up in my mailbox with their movie list.

So.

Things have changed. I created a list of my ten favorite history movies, a list of other history movies, and another list of great feel-good teacher movies. The criteria for inclusion on the list is pretty simple – if the movie appears while channel surfing, it takes control of the remote and must be watched through the credits.

Enjoy.

My favorites in no particular order: Read more

Feb 25

3 Comments

Tip of the Week – Teaching with movies

I posted my favorite movies the other day.

And, yes, I’m probably encouraging the stereotype of social studies teachers / coaches showing movies every week so that they can read the newspaper, break down game film, or drink coffee. But I will always argue that appropriate use of video clips and movies is great for kids.

So some resources to help break the stereotype:

Teaching History has some great articles and suggestions for using movies in your instruction. What Do Students Learn from Historical Feature Films provides information about how you can help kids analyze historical videos as historians. Teaching with Historical Film Clips provides a useful list for creating a lesson plan that integrates movie clips.

The people at Truly Moving Pictures also have a couple of handy tools. The first is a nice PDF guide for parents and educators that provides suggestions for activating positive emotions during viewing. They also have extensive curriculum guides for a variety of feel-good movies. Not all would work in a social studies classroom but there several such as The Express and Glory Road that could be used.

A great book is Teaching History with Film: Strategies for Secondary Social Studies. Great Films and How to Teach Them is another one.

There are lots of other useful tools out there. Check out these resources for more ideas and suggestions:

Have fun!

Feb 23

61 Comments

10 movies every social studies teacher should see

Okay, I lied.

I started off with the idea that I could create a short little list of my ten favorite social studies related movies. But I was wrong. As I started thinking about great history movies and talking with others, the list grew quickly. And I couldn’t narrow it down to just ten. Then it got worse. This month’s Social Education journal showed up in my mailbox with their movie list.

So.

Things have changed. I created a list of my ten favorite history movies, a list of other history movies, and another list of great feel-good teacher movies. The criteria for inclusion on the list is pretty simple – if the movie appears while channel surfing, it takes control of the remote and must be watched through the credits.

Enjoy.

My favorites in no particular order:

Band of Brothers
Yes, technically a mini-series. But I love the story of Dick Winters and the others who were a part of Easy Company.
Glory
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
Gettysburg
Based on the book The Killer Angels, this is a long movie but it does a good job of depicting weapons, tactics, and beliefs during the Civil War.
Schindler’s List
Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. A testament for the good in all of us.
The Help
Unlikely friendships, empowerment, and the 1960s segregated South. What else do you need for a great story?
All the President’s Men
Not as detailed as the book but easier to follow, this is basically a documentary about the Bill of Rights.
1776
Yes. It’s a musical. But a funny, fairly historically accurate musical.
The Mission
Perhaps the best I’ve ever seen for depicting European colonization and expansion.
Hotel Rwanda
Danger. Bravery. Evil. Courage. This story of genocide exposes both the good and bad in people.
Gandhi
An awesome story depicting human courage fighting for human rights against the machine of British colonialism.

Other great history movies

Saving Private Ryan
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Last of the Mohicans
Dances with Wolves
Mississippi Burning
The Boy in Striped Pajamas
Gladiator
Braveheart
Letters from Iwo Jima
To Kill A Mocking Bird
Memphis Belle
Dr. Strangelove
Amistad

Feel-Good Teacher Movies

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
As social studies teachers, this is about the best non-example I can think of. Plus, well . . . it’s hilarious.
The Freedom Writers
Teaching tolerance and grading tons of papers is not easy.
Dead Poet’s Society
Captain, my captain. Emotional connections to content make all the difference.
October Sky
Perseverance and supportive teachers can change lives.
Stand and Deliver
This is a great movie about reaching students who feel like they have no hope of success in their life.
Teachers
“Half of these kids aren’t coming back.” “Yeah. But the other half is.” Best line ever.
School of Rock
Differentiated instruction and Jack Black. Enough said.
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Pushy parents and pushy teachers are not always the best thing for bright kids.
The Emperor’s Club
I like the interaction between teacher and students. And the teacher’s concern for quality.
Akeelah and the Bee
There are all sorts of ways to learn and to make friends.