Thanks for this Brandon, I think you (and Egan) are right here. School needs more movies! I've gotten a lot of value out of showing films to my middle schoolers. But as a person who doesn't watch a lot of movies myself, I have in the past leaned towards documentaries or 'educational' type films. I would love to see a longer list put together by people who know about movies and understand how they could be used in this way. I have bookmarked the film 'Wonder' that you mentioned to show to my 6th graders!
Delighted! And you make me realize that it's not right of me to diss educational-type films — or at least to diss them so flatly. (And a well-made documentary is its own special kind of magic.) Would you mind sharing some of the ones you've most enjoyed sharing with the kids?
This year we've watched some of 'Our Planet' with David Attenborough when talking about ecology, 'Seaspiracy' when looking at human interaction with ecosystems, and a PBS Frontline documentary on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster when looking at disasters and human responses. My repertoire of films is quite limited, so these are just things I found or were suggested by colleagues. But in my limited experience, I do agree that films could be much more central in education, especially for middle school/romantic phase.
My husband and I have been recently watching beloved 80s movies with our kids, in part because we love those movies but also because it leads to all sorts of interesting conversations about what things were like "way back in the olden days" when my husband and I were kids (or at least that's how our kids think of it!)
Thanks for this Brandon, I think you (and Egan) are right here. School needs more movies! I've gotten a lot of value out of showing films to my middle schoolers. But as a person who doesn't watch a lot of movies myself, I have in the past leaned towards documentaries or 'educational' type films. I would love to see a longer list put together by people who know about movies and understand how they could be used in this way. I have bookmarked the film 'Wonder' that you mentioned to show to my 6th graders!
Delighted! And you make me realize that it's not right of me to diss educational-type films — or at least to diss them so flatly. (And a well-made documentary is its own special kind of magic.) Would you mind sharing some of the ones you've most enjoyed sharing with the kids?
This year we've watched some of 'Our Planet' with David Attenborough when talking about ecology, 'Seaspiracy' when looking at human interaction with ecosystems, and a PBS Frontline documentary on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster when looking at disasters and human responses. My repertoire of films is quite limited, so these are just things I found or were suggested by colleagues. But in my limited experience, I do agree that films could be much more central in education, especially for middle school/romantic phase.
My husband and I have been recently watching beloved 80s movies with our kids, in part because we love those movies but also because it leads to all sorts of interesting conversations about what things were like "way back in the olden days" when my husband and I were kids (or at least that's how our kids think of it!)
I like the cobbler and the thief. But the story behind it is in some ways better than the film
Brandon - any chance you can give us a list of movies to get started?