QUESTION: Non-fiction Film in the Eng classroom

[Lindsay Lombardi]

Hello,

I'm looking to develop a semester course for high school students that centers on Non-Fiction.

So far I've decided to utilize the NY times Learning Network, the
graphic text Palestine, and some excerpts from Nickel and Dimed.

Any films or documentaries you think would work for high schoolers. I  work with learning disabled and emotionally
disabled teens.

I'd love some new documentaries that are captivating and relevant.

Any ideas are welcome and appreciated.

-Lindsay

[Lisa Fink]

I work at NCTE for ReadWriteThink.org. We have several resources that may be of help:

- First, if you haven't yet, check out ReadWriteThink.org. I would be happy to help you find specific resources.

- NCTE has a book by John Golden on nonfiction films in the classroom. You can find it here: http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/professional....

- We also have a teaching kit that we put together around documentaries in the classroom: http://www1.ncte.org/store/kits/125762.htm.

Let me know if I can help more!

[Frank W. Baker]

See my website Using Documentaries In The Classroom
http://www.frankwbaker.com/using_docs_in_the_classroom.htm

Frank Baker

[Alan Teasley]

Lindsay: Nathan Phillips and I made a presentation on using nonfiction films at the 2007 NCTE/ALAN workshop in New York. The handouts for that session are located at this web site. At the welcome page, click on "Presentations and Handouts." This will link you to the page with some handouts and a 32-film annotated list of possible films. You (and all teachers) have our permission to use the handouts. An updated article based on this presentation will appear in an upcoming issue of the ALAN Review. When that appears I will post a notice to MCP.

And I second the recommendation for John Golden's NCTE book on teaching documentaries. It's terrific and formed the basis for our "viewing guides."

Alan

[Alan Teasley]

The web address didn't come through on the post above. It's:

http://web.me.com/alanteasley/FilmTeach/Welcome.html

Allow me to make a plug for "Heart of the Game"--a great film about six years in the life of a girls' high school basketball team. The coach and one of the girls (whom we follow from ninth grade on) are really compelling characters. The group of standard-level seniors I taught it to really got into it.

There's also a new film out, which I haven't seen, about Go-Karting (called "Racing Dreams"). I've heard good things about it. That should be available on DVD by the end of the year.

Alan

[John Golden]

Hey Lindsay:
I used to teach a film and lit course and my favorite unit of all was a Documentary film unit, which was about 8 weeks (though it was in the spring with seniors, so every day seemed like a month). I've attached a unit sheet for it, which lists some of the films I used.
Others I love with high school students are:
Music stuff: Tupac Resurrection, Air Guitar Nation, Shut up and Sing (Dixie Chicks and freedom of speech), Hoop Dreams
Sports: More than a Game (about Lebron James in high school), Touching the Void (rock climbing), Man on Wire (kind of a sport?), Fistfull of Quarters (video game competition!!)
Others: Girlhood (follows two girls in and out of the criminal justice system), Grizzly Man, Incident at Loch Ness (not a documentary, but it pretends to be one).
Maybe by next year these will be available: Babies (like the best America's Funniest Home Videos), Exit through the Gift Shop (the best prank documentary ever -- about street art and commerce), and Waiting for Superman (looking forward to this one about the educational system).

[Megan Manogue]

How about the HBO movie of Temple Grandin's autobiography, Thinking in Pictures. I loved it and have been looking for a way to incorporate it. I think the kids you are tying to reach would appreciate it.

[Ryan Goble]

Hi Lindsay - I also wanted to throw in there the Media That Matters Film Festival as they have great doc shorts!

See this post from last year's Teach, Think, Play (they presented)

This new post about this year's fest (NYC screening you should go!)

and this page collects all their films - I use it so much it is in my top 10 bookmarks!

[Anne Gaspers]

I did this with my AP Spanish class last year and used the BBC website in Spanish to find current articles that were relevant to what we were studying. They also post videos that have great content and provide critical topics for journaling. The Glass Castle is also a great memoir about homelessness with humorous twists and The Devil's Miner is a shorter film about children who work in the silver mines in Bolivia. High school students can really relate to that since it causes them to reflect on their own lives and compare it to those of the children in the film.

[patsy everett]

The BBC Life series that came out is interesting. Try to find the David Attenborough narration as it's more poetic than Oprah's. We do a comparison of the Creatures of the Deep with people we know.

Also, if you can find an edited version, Grizzly Man always engages students.

[Annie Vickery]

Frontline has some interesting pop culture and its effect on people type documentaries. One warning - view them in full first and choose the segments that are relevant AND school appropriate. They sometimes contain clips you might not want to show in school. One I've used sections of is called The Hidden Persuaders (about marketing).

[Sean]

I LOVED Young at Heart, where a choir director gets together a group of elderly people and has them sing songs....Glee style in a pre-Glee time. It's emotional, hilarious, fun, engaging, and it makes you think about the power of music and that the elderly should demand respect and they CAN do things if they set their minds to it, despite what many people think in a culture that throws away their elders like trash.