Lesson Plan

Movie-Ed Guides provide numerous learning opportunities for students. The following guidelines and lesson plan will help you with curriculum development when teaching with a Movie-Ed Guide. If you need additional assistance, please contact us.

Overall Guidelines for Teachers

Keep it fun!
Align student responses to an appropriate level, considering age and experience.
Build writing, speaking, and presentation skills whenever possible.
Be aware of the movie's content.
- Movie rating — We make every effort to avoid inappropriate language in Movie-Ed Guides. However, we cannot say the same for the movies. As a teacher or parent, you are the best person to evaluate a movie's suitability for your student(s).
- Subject matter — Each child develops at a different pace. Even if the movie is otherwise suitable for your student, it may be beyond his or her current level of understanding.
- Adult learners — Students participating in adult education opportunities may benefit from using Movie-Ed Guides, individually or in groups. For this reason, a very broad range of movies have been included.
Use the Internet wisely; include books and magazines whenever you can. Guide description pages include book references as well as links to Internet resources.

Recommended 10-day Lesson Plan

Set aside 2-hour lesson blocks, depending on your student's attention span. Look ahead at the Extras & Activities topic — do advance planning as needed.

Day 1: Watch the movie.

Keep a list of words and expressions that are new to your student(s).

Day 2: Work the Language Arts topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Encourage independent exploration in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or on the Web. In the "Increase Vocabulary" subtopic, be sure to have your student read, write, and use the words many times to be sure that the word is now part of your student's vocabulary.
Explore any words or expressions that were listed as new.
Discuss the "Expressions" subtopic. Include as much information as possible related to how the expression was generated and the various ways that it might currently be used.
Visit any other subtopics in this section.
Set expectations for the "Think, Talk, Try" subtopic at the level that your student(s) can fulfill. These options often work better in groups — encourage students to work in teams, invite friends to participate, or assign as homework when the student may use family time to share the exercise.

Day 3: Work the Geography topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Include a map, atlas, or globe as often as possible.
Incorporate student experience if you can.
Geography may include both natural and artificial environments of the Earth.

Day 4: Work the History topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Focus on the subtopics of interest.
Go into as much depth with each subtopic as your student's attention will allow. Take full advantage of opportunities to explore tangential topics.
Bring your student's personal or family history into play as often as you can.
Utilize the "Think, Talk, Try" subtopic to make history more fun.

Day 5: Work the Science & Math topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Pull science and math into all topics, whenever possible.
When calculations are needed, be sure that your student follows a clear thought process. When using a calculator, be sure that your student has written down each step that will be followed. For example, when asked to calculate 30% of 120, you'd want to see something like 120x0.30 on paper first.
When doing experiments, safety comes first. Avoid caustic or toxic substances and provide close supervision.
Encourage written or spoken presentations and group activities.

Day 6: Work the Art & Music topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Boost the creative and expressive talents of your student(s).
Many subtopics require dedicated time to think and may lend themselves to written essay-like responses.
Feelings are just as important as thoughts here. Encourage your student(s) to express feelings using verbal or artistic skills.
Building self-esteem is a natural side-effect of working this topic and should be encouraged whenever possible.

Day 7: Work the Culture topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Enjoy an exploration of your own culture along with other cultures.
Encourage acceptance and respect; allow each student to agree to disagree.
Some traditions and behaviors may be expanded or reinforced while working this topic.
Look for commonalities and differences between people. Help your student(s) identify with others, even when the differences outweigh the similarities.

Day 8: Work the Values topic in your Movie-Ed Guide.

Watch for opportunities to clarify both your values and your student's values in an open dialog. Some tough questions focus on what your student(s) believes and why.
Follow up vague decisions with probing questions to help your student crystalize his/her thinking.
Allow your student to express and support any belief, as long as he/she can provide a carefully thought-out understanding of that belief.
This is a good time to challenge values and beliefs, in a safe setting, to prepare your student(s) for more difficult challenges later in life.

Day 9: Reward your student's hard work with Extras & Activities.

Plan a field trip or excursion to further explore an earlier topic.
Dig deeper into a subtopic that was a particular favorite.
Use this time for a group activity.
A "Read Aloud" subtopic is always included. This is a chance to develop reading skills by asking each student to read aloud.
Be alert for opportunities to test progress, share knowledge, and bond with your student(s).

Day 10: Watch the movie.

Talk about the best and worst of the last 10 days. Your student's appreciation and enjoyment of the movie will be increased and things will be noticed that were overlooked on Day 1.
Look for opportunities to discuss topics beyond those that were included in the Movie-Ed Guide.

(Please forward any relevant feedback to movie-ed.com by using the contact us link.)