Here's some info on my class and the school at which it is taught.


School: Pine Castle Christian Academy
Grade: K-12
Affiliation: Methodist
Certification: SACS and ACSI

Class: Exploring Films
Requisite: 10th grade or above
Length: Semester Class


Procedure: The first day of classes a list is given to all students with the films we will watch. They must bring it back in signed the next day or theycannot watch the film, and must go to a study hall. Parents are told that if they have a problem with ONE film, they may have their student leave the class during its viewing. If they have a problem with more than one, they are encouraged to take another class.

Films I showed this year: Citizen Kane, Harvey, Rear Window, Life is Beautiful, Yi-Yi, Spirited Away, Quiz Show, The Truman Show, On Golden Pond, Hell House, Gattaca, The Straight Story, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Glory, Hudsucker Proxy, The Professional.

It was not necessarily in that order. The early films were very successful. I may change Rear Window out for Vertigo this year. Yi-Yi was not well received, and had more profanity than I generally like these movies to be. I may replace that one with The Man Without a Past to keep up the number of foreigns. I liked showing Straight Story and Elephant Man so the kids could see two films by the same director, although if I showed ANY of his other films, it could truly confuse things. Hell House inspired some great discussion, especially considering the christian subculture these kids are so familiar with. I'll probably add another documentary, probably Spellbound. Students loved The Hudsucker Proxy and it's a great primer for symolic imagery. The circles are everywhere and the theme of the film is karma and the cyclical nature of success and failure.

Texts: I created my own text book by getting copies of a chapter from this book, an article from this website, etc. I used, Reel Spirituality (Robert Johnston), Hollywood Worldviews(Brian Godowa), Understanding the Film (Bone, Johnson), portions from SDG's FAQ page, and a few of my own articles.

Projects:

Meaningful films: A list of five films that have affected them in some way and 150 words on each. Not plot summary, but personal reflection.

Approaches to Film: While studying Johnston's five approaches to film (Avoidance, Caution, Dialogue, Appropriation and Divine Encounter) I give students a long list of Christian Film Websites (most of which are represented by people from this board). I have them read two reviews and the purpose statement of at least three of the sites. Then they must tell write what categorie(s) they believe each website falls into.

Film Analysis: Students must write at least 600 words on some aspect of a film we've watched. It's really a literary analysis of a film. They must have a thesis statement, arguments, and supporting evidence (quotations, plot elements, or cinematic devices - editing, lighting, music, whatever).

Film Reviews: They must write a full film review for which I have an outline.


Tips:
Notes: I have a notes sheet that students must fill in while they are watching each movie. On one side they must fill in filmic details (important lines, interesting shots, etc) that will help them reflect on the film. On the other side, they analyze what they liked and didn't like about casting, acting, writing, directing, editing, lighting, cinematography, score, etc. I collect these and the completeness of their notes is graded.

Viewing: We generally were able to do a film a week allowing for discussion, assignments and quizzes. Be sure you've got a rule about attendance counting for points. late or absent students really screw things up and they'll never get the full value of the film. Also, be aware that the bigger the screen, the easier it will be to hold their attention. Most schools will have a projector you can use, I recommend it, especially for subtitled films! And lastly, the attention span wains as the semester goes on. Students will be thrilled just to be wathcing these great films at the beginning, so front load your course with the less accessible films. The slow-moving, subtitled, and black and white ones are the easiest for them to zone out on, so do those early. I showed The Straight Story toward the end of the year and it didn't connect with them like it should have.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck. oh yeah, one more thing...

Administrative Support: I would encourage you to make absolutely sure your principal is behind you 100%. Make sure he approves your film list and ask him to sign the letter with the list of films. You will almost certainly get some upset parents (although I have many parents singing my praises because of this class as well) you want to be sure you wont be left out to dry.

Dan

Oh and for the record, I believe 95% of middle school students are physically incapable of critical thinking. I think that switch isn't flipped until 9th or 10th grade, and not in all of them.

this is marvelous. i'm not sure i'll ever be a high school teacher, but this sure makes me want to! i'm printing your curriculum out for future reference, if you don't mind...

kate

Dan, it' so nice to return to this forum and discover that you're still so enthusiastic about teaching film. Last time I was here you were looking for text and film recommendations and just beginning to hammer out your first syllabus.

I've never taught a film class, specifically, but have been using films in my literature courses for some time. I can't second this suggestion highly enough:

Dan that is just terrific -- what a great course. Coupla questions:

-Do students take notes during the class viewing or later at home? Both? (I notice you're looking for analysis of shots, dialogue, score, etc. and I find it tough to write it all down the way I want unless I can pause the DVD from time to time.)

-How many students enrolled? Did any students drop out? Are you expecting higher attendance this year?

-One more... did the school need a license to show these?

Dan,

Thinks for the great info. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go with this and your notes helped shed some light to where I was otherwise creeping along in the dark.

You've confirmed my fears about Junior High kids not being ready for critical thinking yet. At least not most kids. If the school's teaching method was Classical Education then I'm sure that they would be spot on by Junior High and ready to tackle the subject. Ah well.

My plan is to have a general survey primer course in Junior High, the main purpose being to spark interest and enrollment through the high school years. Film criticism will be a part of it (sugared up, of course), as will basic film/video production.

High school level is where it all happens.

Interesting that you mentioned showing Hell House. I'm not sure that I'd be able to have a candid discussion about that film at this particular school.

Take a guess.

NO!! You're not at THAT school are you?

Uh... no comment.

Except to say I feel a bit like Esther

A question that springs to mind from this discussion:

What has been the ratio of boys to girls in the class? Do you think the film choice has affected that ratio?

Dan, you seem to have this well in hand, but I'll share this anyway. A couple years ago I took a class in film at the local JC. One assignment was to report on a film of our choice (preferably a good film) It also was a fairly formulaic report but I think it had some good things that I don't always pay attention to.

1. Film: title, director, writers, genre, date, rating.

2. Plot synosis

3. Theme

4. Describe violence content

5. Crimes. Are they punished or unpunished.

6. Morals/Ethics/Values

7. Substances

8. Sexuality and gender issues

9. Technical: the editing, cinematography, sets, etc.

10. Comments

11. Ratings on a 0-5 scale for Nudity, Sex, Physical violence, Emotional stress, Blood, Profane language, Immorality, Need for parental guidance, watchability for adults, and overall

12. Age guide: how appropriate for ages 7 & younger, 8-12, 13-16, 16+

I'm sure they'll love you for finding even more for them to do watching a film.

I've noticed that film and film studies in genral is a boys' club. I'm a filmmaking/new media major at a state university, and in both the filmmaking and film studies majors, males vastly outnumber females (though I believe the numbers are a bit closer to even in film studies than filmmaking). My adviser (female) is always trying to get us few girls to recruit more girls to the program.

Great Work Dan ~

I am starting this next school year as a jr. high Bible teacher and assistant chaplin at a local christian school in Massachusetts. Of course I'm not trying to rock the boat too much in order to possibly get my foot in the door at the local Christian High School the following year to possibly do something to this extent.

In regards my discussions with the administrators they are very, very open to using art and other areas of culture in my classes. However, their view seems to be that they support it because of issues of "relevancy" and ability to speak with culture.

So. . . the first day of class I will be using a Switchfoot song to talk about upcoming expectations of the year however, I am wanting to somehow get it from using movies/music etc. for relevancy but to actual expression of Christian thought.

Any ideas of how to do this at a jr. high level?

My

I didn't find www.teachingwithmovies.org, but I did find www.teachwithmovies.org. Is this the one you were referring to?

If so, do you recommend subscribing to the site?

It seems, due to a school merger, that my school will be bringing in more students and thus more funding for the next school year. So I'm putting things back together for the classes that I'd like to teach in case the funds come available this time around.

Also...

Would you be willing to share that outline and what you're looking for them to accomplish with this project?

And do you put together a final exam for each semester?

Thanks for letting me rely heavily on you with this. I have never been a film critic, but this kind of class is sorely needed in an era where movies trump books (and sometimes teachers and parents) when it comes to entertaining and informing the masses. I want the students to get something from watching films just like I have been able to. I want to help them to stop coat-checking their brains at the door of the theater.

Yes. I'll post it. It's rigid, but results in very nice reviews from young writers.


No.

No prob.

I'll get to it later today.

here's what i had on my school computer:

Pillage as necessary

Thank you! Thank you!

I could really use this stuff at my school

This is good stuff. . .Great set up. . .Would you be willing to share anymore of the resources like the Alfred Hitchcock page? Could totally use things like that.

I would be willing to speak to our headmaster and principal to see if we could compensate you if you are ready to begin marketing it! Seriously, I am implementing various cultural awareness assignments but have not done anything like this because of time. It would be great if you could help me out some!

Currently, I'm in the process of developing a consistent k-12 Bible curriculum that is from a Reformed perspective rather than a dispensational. Having a blast with teaching catechisms, creeds, the patristics, Calvin, Barth, Lewis, Packer etc. . . It is great stuff and loving it. Just takes a ton of time and my music and movie component to the curriculum is getting the shaft.

Noticed you did an ACSI workshop. Good for you. How was your information received?

Gald to help. no compensation necessary. The workshop is actually an outline for next year's conference in orlando. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also doing one on God and the Arts, Improv, and Theatre departments at Christian Schools.

Barth? Is his a "Reformed perspective"?

some more:

Wow!

Thanks much for sharing the wealth. This will help immensely.

Wow!

Dan you could serisouly make a killing on this stuff. Thanks again!

As for the Barth question. . .start a new thread on Barth and I'll be posting like a mad (wo)man!

My

Thanks for posting those Dan

Matt

I passed this thread along to one of my old high school teachers who works at a Christian school. He was very appreciative. Great resources Dan! Thank you!

Dan, I'm so thrilled you're sharing this info. I've raised ALL members' attachment limits as a result...thanks!

When I started teaching this course I felt some pressure to make it a sort of "Christian worldview within the context of film" course, with some basic film literacy tossed in.

Well, I realize that I've got some clout now, and a little more autonomy than I realized regarding the content of the course. So... I'd pretty much like to make it strictly a Film History/Appreciation course.

I think the purpose would be something like: To empower students to reap the aesthetic and thematic benefits of film by exposing them to great works and the artistic merits thereof.

So here's where you come in... What should be the course's units? Keeping in mind, I don't have to have ONE text book, it is perfectly legal to borrow up to two chapters from a text for educaional purposes. And I can of course distill long chapters into hand-outs where necessary. So are there subject areas? Directors? Movements? That would work.

This is a half year course that meets everyday for 50 minutes. We generally squeeze in a film a week plus instruction, discussion and examination time. You can see above what the course has been. And I'm looking to change about 1/3 of the films to reflect a more even dispersal of the cinematic experience.

I can tell you in advane the foreigns will get slighted. I probably can't do more than a unit or two on foreign cinema.

Here are some ideas. Add to them, expound upon these, whatever:

[list]The Silent Era - Background on the time period. The eventual popularity of cinema and some of the stars of the day. (I don't want to spend a ton of time here)

The Early Greats - A Who's who in pioneer cinema - Welles, Hitch, Bergman, Wilder, Goodwyn?

Film Noir - I need film ideas here (in this genre) that are appropriate for this age group.

70's Cinema - I have an earlier thread on film ideas here. The Conversation, Jaws.

The Blockbuster Film - The early ones, and what its done to the industry as a whole.

Asian Cinema - I've gotta get some Kurosowa into these kids. Probably The Seven Samurai, and then I can lead them to Yi-Yi, Osama, In this World, Spirited Away. Lots of possilities.

Modern European Cinema - Life is Beautiful, The Man Without a Past.


Others?

I also need source materials - Texts, articles, outlines, films about film especially.

I guess I want this to be a Films for Idiots course, where students can walk out of this class and talk knowledgably about films.

Interesting that you put Jaws under "The 1970s" and not "Blockbusters", Dan -- I'm borrowing a friend's copy of the 30th-anniversary DVD right now, and someone there asserts that this was the first film that grossed over $100 million (doubtful, I think, given The Exorcist's success the year before ... or was that one more of a slow burner?), but at any rate, it has long been considered the film that kicked off the "summer blockbuster" trend, two years before Star Wars came along.

Another possibility for the 1970s might be American Graffiti, come to think of it -- I believe that film was what sparked the nostalgia-for-the-recent-pop-culture-past craze that gave us Happy Days and so on, plus its use of music (I believe each scene was actually written AROUND a particular pop song, but I could be wrong) played a significant part in the evolution of the modern soundtrack or songtrack album. (At the time, the studios couldn't believe that anyone would really want to pay good money to buy a brand new collection of songs that had been out for years already, simply because the collection had a movie title on it -- but the soundtrack album was such a hit that the label churned out a couple more oldies albums under the American Graffiti name, if I'm not mistaken.) Anyway, this film kind of laid the groundwork for more recent films like Dazed and Confused, and of course the success of this film is what made George Lucas's next film, Star Wars, possible.

(It's kind of interesting, actually, how Lucas hired Richard Dreyfuss for American Graffiti, and then Spielberg took Dreyfuss and cast him in Jaws; meanwhile, Spielberg hired a composer named John Williams for Jaws, and liked him so much that he recommended him to Lucas for Star Wars; so there was some give-and-take between these two blockbuster titans very early on!)

Just wondering, re: film noir -- what do you mean by "appropriate for this age group"? If we limit ourselves to 1940s and 1950s films, we presumably wouldn't have to worry about overt sex or nudity or profanity -- or was there something else you had in mind?

re: Jaws - yes, it was as I was listing Jaws in the 70's that I remembered SDG's comments that were very similar to yours.

Re: American Gr. Interesting. I'll have to revisit this film. I was bored when I was younger viewing it, but it certainly impacted American cinema.

Re: Noir. I've seen some nudity in the 40's and 50's. But that's the only thing I'm avoiding. Although, we watched The Station Agent, and while the kids loved it, it took a very favorable satnce on pot-smoking, so I probably won't show it again. And doesn Noir have to be limited to 40's and 50's? Casablanca certainly seems a likely candidate. I guess I should... um.. see it.

for shaaaaaaaame!

I smell an Uncle Ken thread coming on... Admissions of important films you've never seen.

How can you teach on film and not have seen it?

Get yourself to a video shop / store / library and buy / rent / borrow one today and sit down and see it.

No arguments.

Matt

I recognize the importance of seeing a film first. I wouldn't teach it unless I saw it. Casablanca is in the mail from me local library.

<----- this face will change once you've posted that you've watched Casablanca. Plus I expect a detailed review, 500 words at least. Typed, double spaced, 1" margins.

Thanks for your info on your film class. I also went to your blog. I am greatly encouraged by what you are doing with your school.

I am the theatre department at a Christian school. Currently our school is K-8, but next year we will add a 9th grade and grow up to K-12 in the following years. I am proposing theatre courses I would like to add to the high school curriculum. I currently teach a theatre class to 6th, 7th , and 8th and direct a show for 3rd-5th graders in the fall, and a show for 6th-8th graders in the spring. I have good support for what I do. I am currently getting the middle school play pre-production design and planning in process. I can't tell what I'm going to do . . . it's a deep, dark secret from my students until they work out the clues and guess it. . . that will start when we return to school on Tuesday. It's a great way to generate enthusiasm from more than just those who will be auditioning. I choose some goal for their questioning (like, name the TV show the play is similar to, or what classic novel is it based on), and when they get that, I tell them the play and the details about it. The questions are one a day per class (6th, 7th, 8th) and they get to benefit from each others clues. This year I will do it during lunchtime when they are all together. One student is the questioner for each class. I'll figure out some prize for the class that gets it first.

Wow, barbp, good luck with all of that and keep us updated!

I'm still hoping for funding next year for the film classes that I want to do. Prayer in that area would be great. So many things are up in the air right now and how or where they fall is anybody's guess.


Dan: Where's my 500 word review?

Barb!

You sound like a great teacher. And a real vision-caster! That's exciting, and its exactly what a Department-Founding theatre director needs to be. BLessings to you and your kids as you go forward. What shows have you done in the past (and what were the clues) ?

Rockport is beautiful, weather permitting. I imagine you don't get a ton of flack for "questionable content" in MA. Although, it IS middle school. Some of those parents are still breast-feeding (or so it seems).

I did theatre for a year in Salem, Beverly, Ipswich and at Gordon College. We'd often take day trips to Rockport to get away!

BTW - I did Cyrano de Bergerac at Ipswich Middle School and it was an enorous success. Especially thematically. It's exactly what jr highers need to hear - right on the nose!

Peace and happy new year,

Dan

Sam,

I think I posted my Casablanca reactions in its thread. I always have trouble reviewing a classic. Everything I say seems either redudant or naive in light of the deluge of critical thought that has come before me on the piece.

Ooookay. I'll accept that.

Dan-
Thanks for the encouragement.

Shows I've done. . . .

For middle school (in the past five years): Last year I did "Hollywood Hillbillies," a take-off on the concept of the Beverly Hillbillies. It was a hilarious romp. Not a serious moral in sight! It was refreshing after a few years of "classics."

Before that we did "Becoming Arthur," an excellent script retelling the early Arthur story, similar to "The Sword in the Stone." The kids loved the medieval costumes and the sword fighting!

We did "The Wind in the Willows." This was one of my favorites, because of the blending of some amazing talent among the kids, an amazing set, a great script, and the opportunity for some fun staging -- including audience members wielding wacky noodle clubs as the posse chasing Mr. Toad when he escapes from jail, and having a hub cap come rolling across the stage after the sound effects of the car crash offstage.

The first at this school was "The Hobbit." I cannot recommend the script we used, but once we got over the differences between the book and this script, we had a fun show.

My choices have had to be influenced by the generally unartsy Christian subculture that our school parents are a part of. I have needed to gain their confidence and support, without compromising on good theatre. I also have needed to cater to the younger kids in the school, as they and their parents make up the majority of our audiences after the parents of the middle school actors.

Before teaching at this middle school, I had a year with a Christian high school drama program. That year I did a wonderful script called "BookMark," the story of Mark as he figured out his faith by getting the eyewitness accounts of the people who we read about in his gospel. It is full of vignettes of interesting, sometimes hilarious, characters, as well as the drama of the persecution of the early church just before Peter is executed.

That year I also took on "A Midsummer Night's Dream." That was great challenge for us all, but proved to be a delightful and growing experience.

As for the questions for the student's guessing games, I don't remember them from previous years, but if you like, I'll give you the run-down as they develop in the next few days!

I'd love to hear more shows you would recommend. I'll have to check up on Cyrano. What script (author/publisher) did you use?

Barb