The History Teacher's Movie Guide: Choosing and Using the Right Films for Your Classroom

By Richard Di Giacomo

Finding, funding, and using the right films and video equipment can be challenging for history teachers. Did you know that... The movie Prince of Egypt was banned in Egypt? In the movie Troy, ancient Trojans are shown using llamas that could only be found in the New World at that time? Oliver Stone s movie JFK was so controversial that he wrote a whole book defending it? The movie 300 is based on a comic book and not meant to show historical reality at all? No one in the West has ever made a major motion picture featuring the life of Vladimir Lenin? Showing movies in the dark can damage your eyesight? Showing the wrong movie could get you fired or slapped with a heavy fine? There are ways to obtain free educational films? There are some great books and websites that allow you to learn about the objectionable content and historical accuracy of a film before you show it to your students? This book helps you get good films that are free from bias, anachronisms, or objectionable content. There are many great tips on how to use films more effectively in your classroom and interesting assignments to go with them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Di Giacomo
• Release date: Sep 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9780985300616

Richard Di Giacomo

Richard Di Giacomo graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Ancient and Medieval history, a B.A. in Social Science and an M.A. in American History. He has been a teacher for over 20 years and has taught in a variety of schools from private and continuation schools to public high schools. He has taught everything from at risk and limited English students to honors and college preparatory classes. The subjects he has taught include U.S. and World History, Government, Economics, Bible and Ethics, History of the Cold War, and Contemporary World History.He has been a reviewer and contributor to textbooks, and a frequent presenter at social studies conferences on the use of simulations, videos, and computers in education. Rich's love for role-playing and strategy games led him to develop his role-playing simulations. He has also written books on renaissance explorers, California Indians, history movies, humor, and ELL instruction. Teachers enjoy his books because they are written by a teacher for other teachers. Students like the activities contained in them because they are interesting, challenging, fun, and very different from traditional instructional methods.

Book preview

The History Teacher’s Movie Guide

By Richard Di Giacomo

Smashwords edition © 2015

Print editions:

1st Edition © 2008

2nd Edition © 2013

ISBN 09706237-7-1 17.50

ISBN-13: 978-0970623775

Introduction: The right and the wrong way to use movies in the classroom.

The wrong way:

We have all known teachers that have misused movies in their classroom. Here are a couple of examples of how not to use them. The following accounts are fictionalized. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Scenario 1: The teacher who doesn’t feel like teaching today

You know the familiar scene. You enter the classroom and it is pitch dark. The movie is being shown on a small, old TV with poor sound. Half of the students are asleep, one or two are engaged in the movie, the rest are writing graffiti on their desks, talking, listening to their personal stereos or getting into some kind of trouble. The movie being shown is only marginally related to the subject of the class, and no one is really learning a thing. The teacher is oblivious to whether the students are paying attention, and is trying to correct papers or read memos in the dark. At first it seems like a nice break from real work, but after 3 days of this the students are dying to get back to their regular routine.

Scenario 2: The frantic substitute teacher

The substitute did not check for lesson plans in advance even though the teacher left them. After a couple of frustrating periods of equipment malfunctions and showing the wrong film to the wrong class, the students scream at her, We have seen this part already! or Skip that part! or No, show it again! In desperation, the substitute leaves on her lunch hour and goes to the local video store. Have you got anything related to history? She says to the clerk. She returns with a new release video that she has not previewed. It is R-rated and contains many inaccuracies and several inappropriate scenes for young viewers. You return from your absence to a host of parent complaints.

Scenario 3: The popular teacher

Mr. Popular. Everybody loves him because his class is so easy. The students call his class skate time or an easy A. He shows movies every week. Many of them don’t even have anything to do with history. The language in the films would make a sailor blush and the themes are very adult. Some students are too embarrassed to confront the teacher about the fact that a lot of what they are seeing goes against their moral and religious standards. They are ashamed to tell their parents what is going on in their class. They do not want to be teased by other students for seeming too old-fashioned. The teacher believes that the films are making an important social commentary. The problem is, since he spends so much time showing movies, important parts of the content area of the class are being skipped. He never finishes at the chronological point where he is supposed to by the end of the year. The students transfer into your class the next year behind everyone else because they missed so much important material the prior year.

Scenario 4: The mean teacher

Mr. Mean says, Nobody has fun in my class! What if the principal walked in and saw me showing a movie? In my class, the students are always working. He has a policy that no film will be shown without taking notes. Notes! Notes! Notes! Get busy and write down everything they say! Of course he never collects these notes, nor does anything with them, but he says, You never know when I might give a pop quiz!

Scenario 5: Miss Nostalgia

I loved this movie when I was a little girl she emotes. She has shown the same black and white classic for 30 years. She narrates over every scene, Don’t you just love this part? Gary Cooper was supposed to play this role, but he turned it down. Ooh, this part is really important. Did you hear what she said? Let me rewind that. Meanwhile, a chorus of snores can be heard all over the room. The deaf student in the back row has no idea what is going on because the film is not closed captioned. The student with attention deficit disorders is bouncing off of the walls. The foreign student can’t keep up with the archaic idioms used in the dialogue. Miss Nostalgia gushes on, Oh, I just get the warmest feeling when I show this movie! Isn’t it great?!

Scenario 6: The teacher who is baffled by new technology

The PTA bought him a new DVD player. The media center has an expensive video projector available for checkout that he has never used. Heck, he hardly touches the overhead projector. He has been to countless in-services and trainings and never applies any of the techniques he was taught. He shows only one or two videos a year. He doesn’t know how to use any of his equipment. I get confused by all of those remotes, he says. After a few minutes of bumbling around unable to find the appropriate scene, he gives up and says. Can one of you kids help me run this thing? Meanwhile, the mischievous pupil in the back of the room giggles to his friends that he has changed the channel for the umpteenth time with an app on his smart phone. The class can’t stop laughing and the movie is never finished.

Scenario 7: The Inept Censor

The teacher says, Okay kids, we are going to skip this next part of the movie because it is nasty. The previously inattentive class now zeroes in their attention on the television trying to see what they are supposed to miss as the nervous teacher slowly advances the recording to the end of the scene. The teacher clumsily tries to cover up the objectionable parts of the scene with his hands and says, Cover your ears so you don’t hear the bad language. Catcalls and bawdy comments emanate from the back of the room. After a while, the film returns to a milder scene and the students once again lose interest.

Do these scenarios sound familiar? Do you know anyone like that? Would you confess to having done some of those things on a bad day? Now let’s look at some scenarios where movies are being used correctly:

The group discussion leader

So, Johnny, how would you say that the theme of your Vietnam film compares to the one that Suzy discussed earlier? Later, Juan says, The Vietnam veteran that I interviewed said that the film I reviewed was nothing like the real war. What about you, Minh? Still later, Now that we have heard from everyone, Michelle, do you think that your film would be made with the same bias if it were remade today? Finally, That was a great discussion, class. I’d like to continue because I know a lot of you still had further comments, but I am afraid that we are out of time. Perhaps we can continue this tomorrow.

The producer

Okay, class, now that we have seen three brief clips of how Hollywood has depicted this event in different eras, your task is to reshoot a brief scene with your camcorders. Of course, I don’t expect you to have their special effects budget, but have fun with it and be as historically accurate as possible. Now for the signups, please choose from the following group roles: researcher, writer, makeup artist, costumer, scenery designer, camera operator, editor…"

The historical commentator

All right, we are going to stop the film right there. Now, in the actual battle they would not have worn armor like that. The real armor looked more like what you see on this image Maurice, can you think of another movie where they did a better job of recreating the armor more accurately? Why do you suppose they purposely depicted the armor incorrectly when they knew better, Shantel? Please write this word in your vocabulary list: anachronism… Can anyone tell me what an anachronism is?"

The film critic

To review the requirements of the assignment once again, you will pick a film to view at home from the attached list. Fill out the form as you watch it. Please answer in complete sentences. Please avoid overly simplistic answers and answer each part of the question thoughtfully. For example, when the question asks, What is the filmmaker’s motivation for making this film? Don’t just put, ‘…to make money’. Think of the film critics we watched in class. How would they answer this question? Mika, where might a person go on the internet to find out some possible resources about this film?

Which one of these teachers would you rather be? Are the films that you show in class just a waste of time? Are they putting everyone to sleep or are they getting students to seriously think about how films choose to depict history? Do your students just swallow everything Hollywood sends them whole, or do they examine the role that cinema plays in shaping the perception of reality in our culture?

Chapter One: The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Films in Your Classroom

The following will help you avoid mistakes teachers sometimes make when they show a film in class.

The ambience

Do you have proper lighting? Putting lights in front of the television will cause too much glare or reflections. However, eye doctors say that watching television in the dark is very hard on your eyes. It may actually cause the eyes to age prematurely. They recommend always having a light on behind or near the television. This was confirmed in a scientific study by Science Daily. (See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060425015643.htm).

Think about it. Turning off all of the lights sends all the wrong signals to the brain, which psychologists confirm. It is like kindergarten nappy time. Pass out the milk and cookies, and everyone is quickly asleep. You wouldn’t tolerate your students putting their heads down during a lecture, so why is it acceptable during a film? You need to actively monitor the students and assure that they are paying attention and not talking or sleeping during a film. The best way to do that is to leave the lights on. Students may argue that they show movies in the dark at a movie theater, but no harm is done there because a person’s eyes do not have to focus so intently on such a large screen.

Also, make sure the temperature in your room is not too warm and that you have good air circulation. A stuffy room will put students to sleep, too. If possible, avoid distracting noises from outside as well. Shut the door and draw the curtains or blinds on your windows if you can, to avoid outside distractions.

The sound

Make sure that the sound on your TV is at the right level. It should not be too loud. This will distort the sound. It may also be painful to those with sensitive hearing. It also may disturb nearby classrooms. On the other hand, the sound should not be too quiet. Students will struggle to hear it for a while, but then will lose interest and stop listening. Be aware that the sound level that you recorded a program at home may not play as well on your classroom equipment. Always test out the recording before using it with a class. Invest in an extra pair of speakers if possible. Also, try to get a stereo TV, VCR and DVD player if possible. If these are not available in your school, write a grant to buy one, or ask for a group of parents or a local merchant to donate one.

If you have deaf students, the state or federal law may require that you provide closed captioning or preferential seating in order for them to have equal access to instructional resources. Contact your special education department or federal compensatory education coordinator at your district or school site. They may be able to help you secure funding for these items. The same is true for blind students.

If you gain a better piece of equipment, like a larger, more modern TV, all of your students will benefit. Be sure to adjust the sound settings on your television to get the right tone, bass and treble settings, stereo effects, etc. Video projectors are great if you can get one, but they typically have poor speakers. When using a video projector, use a cable to patch the sound back into your TV or speakers. The TV speakers are usually much more powerful and have better sound quality.

Get to know your equipment

Read the manual for your equipment. Set it up yourself so you know how to change the arrangement of things if you need to. You will need different configurations for various uses of the equipment. You should become familiar with how to connect your equipment to cable hookups, external speakers, camcorders, computers, and projectors as the need arises.

If you need help with your equipment, seek out someone else on campus to assist you. Most schools have some kind or AV or technology person on campus at least on a temporary basis. Make an appointment with them. If that is not possible, make friends with another teacher or find a student that is handy with setting up AV equipment. Don’t wait until something goes wrong during your class to call for someone to bail you out. This is a waste of precious instructional time.

Most importantly, learn how to use all of the features on your remotes. If your TV and VCR/DVD are of different makes, they may not be compatible with each other. You may not be able use some or all of the features. You need to know how to program your remote. You may need to get a universal remote that can be programmed to run all of your equipment. Spend time practicing how to use all of the features of your equipment, so that you know what to do if something goes wrong. Learn how to troubleshoot the equipment, so that you are not dependent upon someone else to fix it. If the power goes out, you need to know how to reset all of the settings and reprogram the equipment and/or the remotes. Keep up with the changes in new equipment by going to teacher in-services or visiting an electronics store and asking for help. Also, call the tech support line or visit the website mentioned in the manuals that came with your equipment.

Get the picture

Adjust the settings on your equipment so that you get the best picture possible. You may need to adjust the brightness, color tone, or focus separately for the TV, VCR/DVD or projector. You will need different settings for connections to cable hookups, external speakers, camcorders, computers, and projectors. You may also need to use a language or caption setting for students with special needs. After adjusting the settings, walk around the room and see how the picture and sound are at different locations. Then make changes as necessary. Lastly, a projector is only as good as the projection surface you are using. Make sure that you have a good quality screen or a clean, even, white surface upon which to project.

Showing the right amount of film

Do not feel like you need to show the entire movie every time you use one