Against the backdrop of the century-long stigma associated with film in America's English classroom, which persists despite its codification in the English Language Arts (ELA) standards, this study investigated the question: How do American high-school English teachers make sense of and instruct with film? Employing semi-structured interviews with…

Framing through the concept of precarity, we share our arts-based research on the experiences of creating a collaborative performance-making project focused on connecting students from different education levels, to create a film-dance integrated performance to advocate for social justice issues in education. We, as instructors and researchers,…

Implementation of digital literacies in secondary literature study can result in increased textual engagement and explorations of identity. The author describes the results of practitioner research at a Midwestern U.S. high school in which senior AP students created short films as a way to analyze literature circle texts. The purpose of the study…

The authors provide a rationale for the critical study of film texts in the English language arts. For struggling or reluctant students, film offers an accessibility that the printed text may not. Students who are intimidated by, or impeded from, accessing print text are able to discuss film with acuity and insight. The study of visual texts can…

In 2008 the New South Wales Board of Studies included Hayao Miyazaki's film "Spirited Away" as the prescribed text for the Higher School Certificate Japanese Extension course. A study of the film in this context requires students to engage with the text in three distinct ways: through language, cultural symbolism and relevance, and…

In a world where students and the general public are likely to access historical information from a television program, film, or even video game, it is important to equip students with the ability to view historical representation critically. In this essay we present arguments for using film to engage students in rigorous and authentic social…

Storyboards deliver a narrative through discrete visual representations. The purpose of the storyboards was always to "scaffold" the final product and students were free to add, delete, or adapt those images that were most helpful to their project. The storyboards served as a brainstorming activity, much like a prewriting exercise for a written…

As more school administrators learn ways of promoting their schools to the public, the push for developing television production courses will likely increase. This article introduces the reader to the curricular and pedagogical foundations of television production technology. The authors discuss how to make informed decisions when creating…

High school teacher John Golden provides a variety of literature, film scenes, and classroom activities to introduce literary, cinematic, and theatrical elements. He shows students how to move beyond basic comparisons as students learn to analyze the techniques and changes film directors choose when translating literature to the screen. (Contains…

Drawing on the expertise of colleagues in technology and filmmaking, high school teacher Joe Bucolo helps students demonstrate the critical comprehension, mastery, and creative insight that transpire from close study of Shakespeare's plays. Production Teams examine the context and language of Shakespeare's scenes, interview an expert, and address…

When Morris Dees was a young man in Alabama, the law said that black people couldn't drink from the same water fountain as white people, or sit at the same lunch counter. Back then, the government created and sanctioned divisions between human beings. The Civil Rights Movement changed all of that, of course, and ended state-mandated apartheid in…

This pre-college filmmaking class represents the writing process in a setting that acknowledges multiple forms of representation for effective communication. Students were introduced to the skills used by filmmakers and encouraged to write, script, design, edit and cast their productions for a final screening five weeks after they began their…