Author: SJ Evans

Inspire Your Heart With Art
January 25, 2025

January 31 is National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day! To celebrate, we're highlighting our favorite film-based art lessons for elementary and middle school. Like Stars on Earth: Explore Indian Block Printed Textiles. Grades 5-8. Please Vote For Me: Make your own Chinese Papercuts Folk Art. Grades 5-8. The Cup: Learn about Tibetan Mandala Art and make your own! Grades 5-8. The Love Bugs: Learn how to make a bug kite! Grades...

We Are Here For You
January 23, 2025

A Message from our Executive Director For many of us and our communities, this year has begun with loss, uncertainty, and other difficult challenges. Journeys works with many educators and film professionals in Los Angeles, where the effects of multiple wildfires are devastating. Others beyond L.A. may also be affected by these events as reminders of experiences with climate disasters, relocation, or housing insecurity. Many vulnerable and...

Windows and Mirrors: Building Belonging Through Literary Perspective
January 15, 2025

When I first learned about the idea of windows and mirrors in literature, I felt a lightning bolt of recognition. As an English teacher, I appreciate when my class has a shared language around the semester’s enduring questions. Learning a concept early on and returning to it as a metaphor throughout the class discussion and textual investigations, we strengthen early knowledge until it becomes part of our natural conversation that builds community...

Teach about Syria with Film
December 12, 2024

Teach about Syria with film. Film is a powerful way to teach about global peoples and cultures. As part of our global education collection, we are pleased to offer free education resources to help you bring films to your classroom to teach about Syria. The Neighborhood Storyteller The Neighborhood Storyteller is a valuable resource for introducing students to Syria. This 59-minute documentary follows Asmaa Rashed, a young Syrian mother in...

Boost Student Engagement with Film & Book Pairings
November 25, 2024

  Get students excited about classes and boost student engagement with film-book pairings. Journeys in Film offers free lesson plans and discussion guides for films with literary connections to make film-book pairings fun and easy for teachers and students alike. Why educators love film-book pairings Films are fun! They bring joy and excitement to the classroom. Film provides an immersive educational experience that brings literature...

Can watching movies rewire your brain?
October 29, 2024

New Stanford research finds that when people lose themselves in a story, they become more empathetic: "According to findings published Oct. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, watching Just Mercy increased participants’ empathy for the recently incarcerated and decreased their enthusiasm for the death penalty." - The Hollywood Reporter, October 23, 2024 You can read the Stanford findings published Oct. 21 in the...

5 Films That Celebrate Girls
October 11, 2024

Representation matters: it’s a powerful tool for creating empathy and understanding. Diverse film representation can act as both windows and mirrors for students, providing an opportunity to see into new perspectives and experiences, while also providing mirrors that reflect back affirmation and an expanded sense of possibility. We’re pleased to offer free teaching resources for award-winning documentaries and feature films with young female...