The Hunger Games The Official Illustrated Movie Companion

[Frank W. Baker]

Scholastic has just published "The Hunger Games The Official Illustrated Movie Companion". It is a 160 page softbound book.  This book, and others like it, are good resources for helping students appreciate all that goes into making a movie. This book follows a similar pattern: you meet the key people behind the film; creating the look of the film; set design; scouting locations; costumes and more. I include critical viewing and film literacy  as part of all of  my media literacy workshops.

You might be asking: where does "film" fit into teaching standards.  It certainly fits in ELA, where educators teach "non-print texts."  Some arts educators who teach about artistic technique also include film in their classrooms.  With the popularity and ease of small camcorders, I know more students are making videos, but they don't always learn the steps to film-making (i.e. scriptwriting, storyboarding, production, etc.) 
 
(NOTE: for more about the "language of film" be sure to check out  my new web page)

With the recent broadcast of the Academy Awards, your students may be interested in film-making, and the process that goes into making a movie.