Notes that effective planning is essential if films and videotapes are to enhance classroom instruction. Suggests guidelines for their use, including: (1) how films and videotapes can be effective; (2) pre-lesson, presentation, post-lesson and enrichment activities; and (3) selection, preparation, and presentation techniques. (NH)

This article presents athletic activity in films as not being representative of a real world but as stereotypes and symbols. Selected films are reviewed to provide a cultural shorthand for determining American attitudes toward sport and athletic activity. Basic thematic issues are identified for discussion and analysis. (JD)

Briefly traces the history of video pricing, emphasizing the pricing disparity for home and public performance use of videos. Provides advice in dealing with vendors and in shopping for reasonably priced videos: when to wait for prices to lower on public performance video or to wait for home video versions. (JKP)

Uses the medium of descriptions of TV movies to describe how thematic teaching can be achieved in the different academic disciplines. Presents specific theme ideas. Discusses how an actual activity of TV movie summary descriptions emphasizes vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Describes specific reading skills promoted by this…

Explores several movies and children's books, both at an intermediate and primary level, to discover the roles of teachers and the kinds of classroom environments that they create. Attempts to determine how teachers are portrayed and whether traditional teaching is predominantly described. (TB)

Reviews some of the current children's literature and films that address the Latino immigration experience from the Americas and that introduce children to the issues confronting them. Each work is briefly described, including the immigration theme(s) it presents. (GR)

Discussion of how moving image documents (MID)--i.e., film, videotape, and videodisc--can be described for information retrieval highlights the Image Structure Information System (ISIS) project. This project elaborated a definition of abstract suitable for MID and constructed a microcomputer environment that selects elements useful for access and…

Examines children's responses to nine works of realistic literature and film. Finds (1) between-text differences for stance and understanding; (2) book and film differences for stance but not for understanding; (3) most responses were written from an aesthetic stance; and (4) the use of an aesthetic stance is associated with significantly higher…

Discusses the nature of motion media (i.e., film and television) and describes a theoretical model of communication, the Iconic Phenomena Communication Model. Topics discussed include types of imagery; symbolic representations; motion media and the mind; and semiotics in the study of film and television. (four references) (LRW)

Examines the English-language motif in five non-English-language films in the context of the cultural background of each film and its overall thematic concerns. In each case, the use of English is shown to be integral to the film's meaning. (28 references) (GLR)

Analyzes the portrayal of teachers in fictional television programs and films. Claims that fictional treatments of teachers in the media are distorted and stereotyped. Considers the possible effects of such distortions and proposes ways of counteracting them. (HB)

Suggests that insights from the discipline of literary theory can generate new agendas for the study of foreign literature. A detailed description is provided of a foreign language and literature program at Michigan Technological University, including its implications for intercultural studies and film. (JL)

Describes the interactive teaching model used in a university classroom. Discusses the ideas and articles the teacher and students studied, class discussions, student reactions to the initial look at gender, and the ways in which students chose to use these ideas in their writing. (MG)

Discusses films based on young adult novels and why they are often considered failures. Describes various films about young adults and their problems that have proven to be artistic successes. Gives close attention to film versions of S. E. Hinton's novels and of Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War." (HB)

Three videos for adults chronicle the life works of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget, two giants in the child development field, and three videos for children candidly and sensitively address common problems experienced by children, such as being afraid to read aloud in class, dealing with bullies, and protecting themselves from attack by strangers.…