Movies – A Fun Homeschooling Resource

April 20, 2013
Written by:
Guest Author

film

Literature is great—and so are movies. Combine them and you have a double whammy as far as educational/homeschooling resources go.  There are several Internet sites that deal exclusively with the literature/movie combination.

The F.I.L.M. Project (Finding Inspiration in Literature & Movies) provides free activity and discussion guides around selected books and movies. “The curricula is designed in conjunction with movie studios and youth educators to get youth reading and watching quality content, provoke thought and exploration of pertinent themes and issues, and inspire participation in theme-based activities and service.”

You can browse through the movie options and check out which F.I.L.M. curriculum and discussion guides interest you.  You can browse by movie rating (G–PG13), by genre (fantasy, history, musical, etc.), or you can just scroll through the three pages of offered films. Specific movie titles include, The Help, Charlotte’s Web, Ratatouille, Happy Feet, The Freedom Writers, and more.

You can also peruse their downloadable  Guide for Parents and Educators as well their downloadable Service Learning Supplement.  The parental guide provides “an understanding of how youth can learn positive values, behavior and decision-making abilities from movies”. The Service Learning guide helps youth who engage in a volunteer activity learn about the needs in their communities.

ALL are of great interest—perfect homeschooling tools!

The F.I.L.M. website suggests (and I totally agree), “To improve literacy skills and reading enjoyment among youth, it is recommended that you try to select a movie that was based on a book. This gives incentive not only to watch, but also to read.”  I think having kids read a book, watch the movie, and compare the two is a GREAT educational activity!  Kids think they’re going to prefer the movie, but really, it’s more likely they’re going to like the book more (when your kids realize this, it’s an epiphany!)

Below are several websites where you can find movies associated with literature:

Another website that deals with the integration of education and movies is the site, Teach With Movies, http://www.teachwithmovies.org/.  TWM is an ideal resource for supplemental homeschool curriculum materials. Each of their recommended movies have strong ethical and life lessons.

You can search Teach With Movies by category—

TWM provides Learning Guides and Lesson Plans that supplement the homeschool curriculum in history, civics, science, health . . . . and more. You can view their Sample Learning Guides & Lesson Plans here.

Teach With Movies http://www.teachwithmovies.org/ is a subscription site—with 350+ movies to choose from, and a subscription price of just $11.99/year, it’s a GREAT deal.

I hope the above information will be of help to you….and will add a little fun to your homeschooling routine.  Because as we all know, fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson