I'm interested to learn how many movies you show each year or semester? And how many you think are acceptable? I teach an elective (Spanish) and it seems the norm (in my dept) to show about 3 movies a semester. Does that seem about right to you? Or does that seem high or low? Thanks
Three feature-length films? How many class periods does it take to show each film? I show one movie per year. I also teach foreign language.
I agree it depends on what you mean by movies. I show quite a few episodes of science shows like Cosmos, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Through the Wormhole, Wonders of the Universe/Solar System, and NOVA. These are directly tied to my curriculum though and help students understand class standards. That's simply the nature of my subject. It's hard to provide good visual conceptualization of many of the concepts I teach without the high-quality digital visualizations present in these videos. (with the exception of Bill Nye, though I am moving away from showing these videos, and simply doing the demos he shows in class myself this year) Frequently I will only show clips of these episodes (if I am there), or have these for subs to show fully (if I am out). As for actual full-on movies, I show two per year. October Sky and Contact. These are two of my favorite and I also believe they help incite an excitement about my subject area in my students.
I show 2-3. I could show more, but I wouldn't go past 4, that means 1 / quarter. For foreign language it makes sense to show videos, but 3 movies / semester seems excessive. during movies the students are passive, yes, they're hearing the language, but are not producing any output.
I think science and history are the 2 subjects for which it makes sense to show videos. They're explaining the content in a way a teacher couldn't, showing actual footage, visuals, simulations, etc.
I wonder if she could turn off the subtitles, and stop the movie every 20 minutes or so and have them summarize what's going on for credit. That might get them more active in listening.
Zero movies. But I incorporate documentary clips (under 5 minutes) into my direct instruction at least twice a week.
I show one movie and one full-length documentary. Lots of smaller clips throughout - probably one or two a week that last 2-8 minutes each. The full length videos are tied to our curriculum and are shown on exam days and exam make-up days. We have some teachers that show 1-2 full length movies per week.
I'm talking about full length films that can usually be finished in 1 block period or 2 regular periods. The reason I ask is that I have a lot of students who complain that I don't show as many films as other teachers. Last year they watched Frozen in Spanish and other "fun" films. If I show a film it tends to be more educational. I'm always hurt when they equate fun to watching films, because I try hard to make my lessons interesting and engaging.
They're kids. They'll say that you're a horrible teacher because you don't hold weekly parties, and give out free food. Their judgment of you as a teacher based on anything else other than how much they learned is worth basically nil. Don't let it bother you. Still try to be fun and engaging, but don't cater to their wishes and desires unless you think it will benefit their learning. By the way, last year, I heard horror stories of students having watched Frozen in 3 different classes. Many of them having absolutely NOTHING to do with their subject area. Previous years were Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda. I'd stay away from the whole Disney/Pixar bandwagon if I were you.
I save my movies for right before Winter Break or the last week of school, when grades are already turned in. Those films are all the filmed version of a story we did in class. I save the fun movies that have nothing to do with anything for testing week, when we get stuck with the same class for hours on end while another grade is testing.
Molly's Pilgrim in November (about 30 minutes) and one short MLK video in January. No full length movies...I use SHORT (2-4 minute) brain pop and GoMath videos in addition to 'real world' video clips about once a week or less to complement instruction.
I show Hurricane on the Bayou with my weather unit and Magnificent Desolation with space. Both are IMAX movies and amazing!!
As many as are appropriate for the curriculum. Movies in the classroom get a bad rap because of the way many teachers use them (the Frozen epidemic as described above.) They are just as valid of a media source (and I'd argue moreso today) than textbooks if they are used properly and academically. I have no problem with the fact that Roots will take up 3 class periods. It took 5 for me in 8th grade and is the thing that I remember most by far. I think, however, you were asking more about as a "free" thing in which case my answer would be zero unless I have 7th graders on the last day during promotion.
For every video I show 15 minutes or more, I have a quiz or required assignment except for the last day of school. Most videos are about 15-30 minutes in length. Feature length videos, I show 3 a year. I am far more concerned by the quality than the quantity of videos. There are some outstanding videos that teach a lot, and I believe the students get a lot out of them. I try not to show any videos that are feature length films that they have already seen before, not even on the last day of school.
I show shorter videos about once every 2 weeks. I'm a science teacher and these videos help students visualize key concepts.
I'm a first year teacher and I'm thinking one full length feature film to meet the CCSS requirement of comparing the same story through two different mediums. I've already showed The 13th Warrior to my 12th grade a Honors students so they won't be watching Hamlet this year. My 9th graders will watch a Divergent after we read it. My 11th grade Honors students will compare so' Brother Where Art Thou to the Odyssey. If The Giver had come out in time, my 8th graders would have got to watch that after reading it.
I'm not big into movies-while I love the mental break it gives me, I always feel super guilty. I do show Bill Nye videos and Nova's Hunting the Elements for Chemistry. The kids always put 'explosions' as something they want to learn about, but there is no way I can do that in real life. Hunting the Elements is perfect for explosions. I do like to show the Polar Express for our holiday party-they get a pajama day and I give them bells and chocolate. We also have a lot of academic activities we do with it as well. This past Friday I spontaneously showed The Road to El Derado. We're learning about explorers in social studies right now, I was feeling sick, it was the day before Fall Break and we all just needed some quiet time. While I wish there wasn't the romance story line, it really helped them see how powerful the European explorers were when they came to these 'new lands'.
I worked with a teacher that would show a movie every six weeks that tied into what the students were learning about, and there were always activities to go with these movies.
I show movies somewhat frequently. In US History I use "American The Story of US" to follow along with what I'm teaching. Each episode is about 45 minutes so we finish it in a class period. I've played 3 so far I think. With each episode there are questions that go with the movie that I give the students. These are awesome and are directly tied with what I'm teaching. Usually it works out where during each unit we watch an episode.
I usually show a couple--always with some curriculum links and follow-up activities. Sometime next week, we'll be watching The Outsiders; we are finishing the novel this week. The students will be comparing the book and the movie and be creating posters advertising a remake of the movie (all part of our Media Literacy expectations).
I love The Outsiders! It was my first "big kid" book. I fell in love with it and all the characters. I still read it from time to time. I hope some of your kids find that same love!
It depends on the course, and the movie. When I taught a film elective, we watched 6-8 films a year, plus assorted short films and clips of films, documentaries, etc. Right now, I'm teaching English, and we will watch maybe two films a semester, depending on our units and how the standards fall. Common Core puts a big focus on non-print texts. In my speech class we have watched two documentaries and an episode of something on the Discovery Channel. They all relate to our standards, and provide real-life examples of the skills we learn. My friend who teaches AP French shows several films in French because it helps students with translation skills, and the culture elements required in that course. They later discuss those films and do activities related to them. I guess it all depends on the film, the course, and how it is being used. Sometimes it really is the best way to teach the information.
I teach American lit, and we show two full length movies every year, The Crucible and A Raisin in the Sun. Both are based on plays, both scripts were written by the playwrights. Sometimes, depending on the year and the kids, we also will watch Their Eyes Were Watching God. Some teachers in our district have begun to show the new Great Gatsby film, too, but I don't make the time for it. We don't treat movies as an evil in secondary ELA in our district. It's a valid method of communication--arguably the most influential method to convey a story in the last few generations.Why shouldn't we teach kids to analyze film and all of its aspects (plot development, character development, etc...)? There are some great films out there that are worthy of study, and you can address many state standards in the viewing of these films.
I showed 3 movies last year in my 8th grade history class and each one matched curriculum and expanded on our lesson (To Kill a Mockingbird, for example). There were writing assignments for each movie and the kids really enjoyed the movies and the class discussion that went along with them. I had one complaint...from a parent who tried to say her problem was that I was ruining the ending of books the kids may read later in high school. That was a new complaint for me. I thanked her for her concern...and then made plans to show the movies again the next year because they worked so well!
The Outsiders is the first book I really remember reading and loving. I read it in 6th grade. I taught it in 8th grade and many of my kids had the same reaction
When I taught Planning, I showed more movies, which always tied in with my curriculum. Now that I am teaching only English, I watch fewer. We will watch "Romeo and Juliet" next week, after reading the play. If there is a good movie of the novel we read, I will watch that. Otherwise, I don't show movies.
Hamlet, which my seniors watch a scene at a time before reading, and some parts of a decent version of Frankenstein. The Kite Runner if we have time at the end of the year, which they like less than the book, as they should. Nicholas Nickleby, which is 200 minutes long and which I usually show in 20 minute chunks. Today they got to watch for the whole period, because I have to get college essays graded!
We complete a novel study for Because of Winn Dixie, and watch the movie after we've finished the book. We do the same for Charlotte's Web. We'll also watch a movie the day of our Holiday party.
Winn Dixie Charlotte's Web (older version) March of the Penguins Fun Christmas one as a school I show the Charlie Brown videos for each holiday Little House on the Prairie
