Looking for service learning lessons and community service projects for your classroom? Film is a powerful tool to excite students about service learning: it provides an intimate and engaging look at the work of contemporary activists, many of whom are young people themselves, who are making a difference in the world. Our films show students that positive change is possible and the have the power to make an impact on the world around them in both large and small ways.

The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) defines service learning as an approach to teaching and learning in which students use academic and civic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs. We’ve rounded up some of our best service activities in our recent film guides for your classroom use. Many of these lessons combine well together! We hope you’ll find them helpful for Volunteer Week April 14-20, Volunteer Month in April, and all year round.

Seveeral of these lessons and activities have an environmental theme that makes them great choices for Earth Month. Our curriculum guides include classroom-ready lessons for common core subjects across the curriculum: you can also collaborate on project-based learning centered on a film with teachers in other departments or  coordinated across your whole school.

Foundations for Community Service

He Named Me Malala Lesson 5: Working for Change. This lesson equips students to critically evaluate people and organizations working for change; it’s a great lesson to pair with any of our service learning projects and with many social impact films. The lesson includes an extension activity where students design and host a community fair that allows nonprofit and education centers in their communities to explain and demonstrate their work. For grades 7-12.

Landfill Harmonic Lesson 3: Planting a Small Seed, Watching it Grow. This powerful 3-part lesson introduces students to the world of community service organizations, including what they are, how they operate, how to research them, and how to get involved and make a difference. The lesson also asks students how they want to change the world and supports them in taking action. This is another great foundational lesson to introduce students to community service work that pairs well with our other resources. For grades 7-12.

The Neighborhood Storyteller Discussion Guide: Grassroots Work, Life Skills, and Future Vision. This section introduces students to grassroots work and invites them to become changemakers in their communities. The broad focus of this section makes it a great foundation for service work that complements all of our service learning resources and also pairs well with our social impact films on every theme. For grades 9-12.

Education and Gender Equity Service Projects

He Named Me Malala Discussion Guide: What Can You Do? This section includes 8 suggestions for service learning and community service activities to support Malala Yousafzai’s advocacy work for girls’ education. He Named Me Malala pairs well with The Neighborhood Storyteller. For grades 7-12.

Environment and Climate Service Projects

Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops Lesson 5: Regreening. This upbeat, empowering lesson explores how students can be part of environmental change locally and globally. (It’s a great antidote to climate anxiety!) For grades 9-12.

River of Gold Lesson 11: Next Steps: What Can We Do? This lesson invites students to help save the Amazon Rainforest by creating awareness campaigns about the damage caused by illegal gold mining in the Amazon. There’s also an option to hold a fundraising campaign. This lesson is a great introduction to awareness campaigns in general and pairs well with other service projects. For grades 9-12. This guide is also available in Spanish and Portuguese.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Lesson 6: Helping the Children of Malawi. This lesson introduces students to the problems facing children in Malawi and what relief organizations are doing to help. Students will explore and evaluate the best partnership for bringing about change for children, and, optionally, get involved with an organization they have researched. For grades 7-12. This lesson pairs well with the Landfill Harmonic lesson about researching service organizations.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Discussion Guide: What about You? Getting Involved. This discussion guide section includes suggestions for 4 service learning activities. You may find some of the Foundations for Community Service Lessons at the top of this article helpful to support these activities. For grades 7-12. 

Youth v Gov Lesson 4: Climate Close to Home. This lesson supports students through writing a letter to their elected officials about climate-related policies. For grades 7-12.

Youth v Gov Discussion Guide: What Can You Do? Community Action and Engagement. This section explores community service in the context of climate justice, and asks students to consider what actions they find inspirational and what they find effective. For grades 7-12.

Social Service Learning Projects

Greener Pastures Discussion Guide Moving Beyond a Rock and a Hard Place: Community Action and Engagement. This section suggests ways to get involved and make a difference in social issues explored in the film: mental health, rural healthcare access, food scarcity, supporting farmers, and regenerative agriculture. For grades 8-12. This guide is also available in Spanish.

Unzipped: An Autopsy of American Inequality Learning Guide: Looking Ahead: Hope and Possibilities. This guide explores the driving question of how students can contribute to improving housing in their communities, on a statewide, national, or even international level. This section invites students to play a role in transforming the systemic barriers that create affordable housing, homelessness, and housing insecurity. The guide  includes powerful information on housing solutions, blueprints for moving forward, and additional resources. For grades 9-12.

Would you like us to partner with you for educational engagement or professional development about the films mentioned in this article or other resources in our library? Contact us!

Related Resources

Are you making the case for including service learning in your school or organization? Check out this Edutopia article by Amy Meuers, CEO of the National Youth Leadership Council: Developing SEL Skills With Service Learning — Service learning provides a way for students to grow their social-emotional learning skills while helping their community.

 

In honor of School Library Month in April and School Library Week April 7 to 13) we’re highlighting some of our favorite films that inspire a love of learning while they celebrate the critical importance of mentors and educators. These four films from our Global Education Series also encourage cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and knowledge of the people and environments around the world. They are great choices to fire up students and teachers alike, this month and all year long.

Like Stars on Earth

Acclaimed family film Like Stars on Earth (original title: Taare Zameen Par) explores the life and imagination of an artistically-gifted boy who struggles with dyslexia until his new art teacher helps him to thrive. It’s a heartwarming story about how a teacher can transform the life of a student and what students can achieve when they receive the support they need. We offer a Like Stars on Earth Curriculum Guide with nine classroom-ready lessons across ten subjects. For grades 4-12.

He Named Me Malala

Acclaimed documentary He Named Me Malala charts the journey of Malala Yousafzai as an 11-year-old blogger detailing her experiences in the Swat Valley of Pakistan for the BBC, the assassination attempt against her at 15, and her determined rise as an education and human rights advocate. We offer a Curriculum Guide and a Discussion Guide for this film, that both explore Malala’s inspirational story and celebrate the importance of education. Many educators pair this film with Malala’s biography I Am Malala in English Language Arts and Social Studies classes. For grades 7-12.

The Neighborhood Storyteller

In award-winning documentary The Neigbhorhood Storyteller, a young Syrian mother in Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp empowers young girls through transformative reading circles, igniting hope and change. The film celebrates the importance of reading and sharing stories to find one’s voice. Our Discussion Guide explores the topics of Girls and Education, as well as Reading, Literacy and Storytelling. The Guide also features a Literary Connection with Muzoon: A Syrian Refugee Speaks Out by Muzoon Almellehan with Wendy Pearlman, and includes discussion questions about the connections between the book and the film. For grades 9-12 and higher education.

Queen of Katwe

Hit Disney Movie Queen of Katwe is based on the inspiring true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl selling corn on the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she meets Robert Katende who introduces her to the game of chess. With the support of her family, her community and Katende as her coach and mentor, she is determined to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion. Our free Discussion Guide helps students learn more about Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende, and explores the power and potential of mentoring young people. The film is based on the book The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl’s Rise from an African Slum by Tim Crothers, for a powerful film and book pairing. For grades 9-12.

April is Stress Awareness Month. Films can be powerful tools for alleviating stress and also for teaching about stress awareness, resilience, emotional regulation and coping strategies! We recommend the following lessons in our film guides to help you teach about stress and mental wellness with film.

For Grades 4-12

The Cup, a feature film about a young Tibetan Buddhist monk living as a refugee in India who develops a passion for the World Cup, includes a Visual Arts lesson on Mandala Art as Contemplative Practice. Pair it with our handout on Mandalas from The Story of God Curriculum Guide.

For Grades 7-12 + Higher Education

Big Sonia, bout Holocaust survivor and Holocaust educator Sonia Warshawski, has a lesson on PTSD and Intergenerational Trauma.

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble follows more than 50 artists as they explore the ways art can both preserve traditions and shape cultural evolution. Lesson 4 about The Ongoing Syrian Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis is a great way to teach about using art to respond to crisis. It includes a handout on Art as Self-Reflection. This lesson and handout pair well with Defiant Requiem.

The Neighborhood Storyteller, about girls’ education activist Asmaa Rashed, includes “Work, Life Skills, and Visions for the Future,” a section that explores the intersection of identity, purpose, and happiness.

Award-winning documentary Happy explores The Psychology of Happiness. The Happy Curriculum Guide is a great tool to bolster social emotional learning (SEL).

The Discussion Guide for Youth v Gov, about the young people suing the US government for the right to a safe climate, includes a great section for launching discussions about Climate Anxiety and coping strategies, as well as empowering sections on Climate Justice and Climate Activism.

For Grades 8-12 + Higher Education

Our Learning Guide for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, about gunshot survivor turned gun violence activist Gabby Giffords, includes a section on the impact of gun violence on Mental Health which features prompts for personal reflection and for discussion, as well as extension activities.

For Grades 9-12 + Higher Education

Greener Pastures follows four midwestern farming families in an underdog story of perseverance and determination. The Greener Pastures Discussion Guide is a great springboard for discussing stress, mental health, and resilience.

For Grades 10-12 + Higher Education

Defiant Requiem, about how prisoners at Therienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp used art and music as tools of survival and resistance, features a lesson on Art and Resilience.

The Dhamma Brothers, about a meditation program in an Alabama prison, includes an experiential lesson, Introduction to Meditation, which pairs well with the mediation section in The Story of God. The Dhamma Brother curriculum guide also features lessons on the mental and physical effects of meditation.

April 7 is World Health Day. The World Health Day theme for 2024 is ‘My health, my right’, to champion the importance of healthcare for all, as well as safe and healthy living conditions including safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions, and freedom from discrimination. 

We recommend the following films plus our free teaching guides for teaching about the intersection of individual health, public health, and human rights:

• Our Environmental Studies Lesson Collection, about environmental conditions;
• From the Ashes, about coal and public health;
• Greener Pastures, about the impact of soil and food quality on nutrition and health;
• Landfill Harmonic, about waste, recycling and water;
• The Invisible Shield, about the public health system that makes modern life possible;
• Unzipped, about homelessness and the affordable housing crisis.

We are also pleased to offer free teaching resources for films about human rights and freedom from discrimination:

• Our Black History Lesson Collection, about Black history and racial equity;
• Crip Camp, about disability rights;
• Finding Pride, about LGBTQ identities;
• He Named Me Malala and The Neighborhood Storyteller, about gender equity in education;
• Hidden Figures and Jane, about gender equity in STEM fields;
• Wadjda and Whale Rider, about gender equity in contemporary society.

These teaching materials are available for free to help you teach about the complex social issues that affect individual health and public health — today and all year round.

Pair these 10 Powerful Films for Community Events with our free Film Discussion Guides to For Successful Screenings and Rousing Conversations

We recommend these ten powerful films to screen at community events, after school settings, and library groups. These award-winning documentaries and feature films speak to contemporary issues while they educate and uplift. We offer free discussion guides designed for community viewings for these films to facilitate rousing conversations that leave your participants inspired.

Thinking of starting a film club of your own? Check out this community learning article by our National Advisory Council member Piper Hendricks: Why Book Club When You Can Doc Club?

Crip Camp

shares with insight, humor, and joy the experiences of a group of disabled teenagers and their journey to adulthood and activism, and delves into the rich and powerful history of disability activism and culture. The Discussion Guide deepens the knowledge and understanding of disability and of disabled people offered in the film. Get the free Crip Camp Discussion Guide.

Gabby Gifford Won’t Back Down

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords: her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt, and her new life as one of the most effective activists in the battle against gun violence. We offer a Discussion Guide and a flexible Learning Guide for this film, which can both be useful for community film screenings. The guides explore brain injury, resilience and recovery as well as gun violence causes and solutions. Both guides are available in English and Spanish. Get free Gabby Gifford Won’t Back Down Guides.

He Named Me Malala

He Named Me Malala chronicles the events leading up to the Taliban’s attack on Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai for speaking out on girls’ education, followed by the aftermath, including her speech to the United Nations. Her survival and recovery have been little short of miraculous. Our discussion guide emphasizes the importance of education for all and explores opportunities for action. Get the free He Named Me Malala Discussion Guide.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures highlights the determination of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, the three Black women known as “human computers” in the NASA space program of the 1960s. Our Hidden Figures Discussion Guide explores the Jim Crow south and the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War and the Space Race, and the role of women in historical and contemporary STEM leadership. Get the free Hidden Figures Discussion Guide.

Jane

Jane explores the life and work of the renowned primatology scientist Dr. Jane Goodall, especially on her research about chimpanzees.  By patiently integrating herself into the chimpanzee community she was studying, Jane pioneered a methodology of observation and allowed a new understanding of what it means to be human and proved that women could be successful as scientists in a world previously dominated by men. Get the free Jane Discussion Guide.

Navalny

Enthralling and intimate, NAVALNY unfolds with the pace of a thriller as it follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in his quest to identify the men who poisoned him in August 2020. Shot in Germany as the story unfolded and offering extraordinary access to the investigation, NAVALNY is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that is also a study of Navalny the man. The Oscar-winning documentary speaks to a world transformed by Russia, its war in Ukraine, and the growing and treacherous threat of authoritarianism around the world. Get the free Navalny Discussion Guide.

Queen of Katwe

Queen of Katwe is based on the inspiring true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl selling corn on the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess. As a result of the support she receives from her family and community, she is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion. Get the free Queen of Katwe Discussion Guide.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is based on the incredible true story of a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi who finds an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. Our free Discussion Guide explores desertification and points at opportunities for action. Get the free The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Discussion Guide.

UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality

UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality explores gentrification, homelessness, poverty, and the affordable housing crisis. This intimate feature documentary explodes stereotypes and humanizes the lived experiences of people caught in the cross-fire of America’s growing housing divide. Our UNZIPPED Learning Guide includes pre-viewing questions and points at housing crisis solutions and avenues for action. Get the free UNZIPPED Learning Guide.

Youth v Gov

YOUTH v GOV tells the story of America’s youth taking on the world’s most powerful government. Armed with a wealth of evidence, twenty-one courageous leaders file a ground-breaking lawsuit against the U.S. government, asserting it has willfully acted over six decades to create the climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. If these young people are successful, they will not only make history, they will change the future. Get the free Youth v Gov Discussion Guide.

BONUS: Discussion Facilitation Guidelines

This short guide suggestions for leading productive group conversations that broaden perspectives and encourage empathy. Get free Facilitation Guidelines.

UPDATE: New Additions

We added award-winning documentary Greener Pastures to our library in 2024. Following four Midwest family farms over several years, Greener Pastures is a story of perseverance within the farming industry in the heartland. Start with family farming, then add in climate change, a worldwide pandemic, and the increasing economic uncertainty brought on by megafarms: being an independent farmer in America is a profession of survival. This is also a superb film choice for public screenings. Get the free Greener Pastures Discussion Guide.

As educators and communities seek to highlight Black history during the month of February, we want to highlight our free curriculum guides and discussion guides for powerful films for your classroom. These films  tell important stories of Black joy, Black history, Black resilience, Black achievement and much more. Teaching with film for Black History Month, or at any time of the year, engages students and brings important stories that shape our world to light.

Among our most popular resources are our curriculum guides for Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, and Summer of Soul. All three of these films, and the free core-based lesson plans we’ve created to accompany them, are award-winning films that tell important true stories of Black History in the U.S. Our Hidden Figures curriculum guide features 8 lesson plans with lessons about U.S. History and Civil Rights as well as STEM lessons to engage students with math and science learning.

Further, for Just Mercy, in addition to four lessons, which highlight U.S. History, Civil Rights, U.S. Government and Civics, we offer an independent student learning packet that can be used in hybrid learning settings. Additionally, many educators pair this film and our resources with their teaching of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Finally, for Summer of Soul, which tells the powerful story of the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, we created a six lesson core-based curriculum guide. Lesson 3 in that guide, entitled 1969: A Unique Year was named Share My Lesson’s #1 partner resource of 2022.

All of these resources are completely free to download. Simply visit our library, click on the film and follow instructions to add these free resources to your cart. You click here to browse our library of free resources: https://journeysinfilm.org/library/.

Black History Lessons

???? Update February 2024! Looking for individual lessons for teaching Black history? Check out our brand new Black History Lessons collection, with classroom-ready individual lessons for teaching US Black History and Global Black History.

Expanding the Canon with Film for Black History Month

???? Update October 2023! We’ve added a new Disney feature film to our Black History collection: Chevalier, based on the true life story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a renowned fencer, violinist, and the first Black classical music composer in France who took the court of Marie Anoinette by storm. Our Chevalier Discussion Guide provides a springboard for engaging discussions about Race and Identity, Women and Patriarchy, and also Bologne’s legacy and the French Revolution. You can also check out this blog post on Share My Lesson, Teaching about Joseph Bologne and Amplifying Hidden Histories.

We also encourage you to explore the discussion guides we created for LA92 and American Inside Out with Katie Couric. LA92 is a National Geographic documentary about the uprising that took place in Los Angeles in 1992 after footage of police brutality against Rodney King rocked the nation. American Inside Out with Katie Couric is National Geographic’s documentary companion piece to their magazine’s race issue.

Furthermore, we encourage educators to include resources and stories during Black History Month that highlight Black experiences from around the world. Thus, in our library, we have a free curriculum guide for Beat the Drum. This narrative film (appropriate for high school students) is about a young South African boy who is orphaned because of AIDS. He journeys from his rural village to the city to find his uncle. It becomes a journey of self-discovery. Our curriculum guide for this film features important lessons about South African, Epidemics/Pandemics and more.

Additionally, Disney’s narrative film Queen of Katwe, featuring Lupito Nyong’o, tells the true life story of Phiona Mutesi, a 9 year-old chess prodigy from Kampala, Nigeria. Our discussion guide for this film helps students dive into Phiona’s story and connect with her inspiring life journey.

Finally, another of our most popular educational resources is our free curriculum guide for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. This is a powerful narrative film that tells the true life story of William Kamkwambe. William saw a need in his village in Malawi and used education and innovation to meet that need. Our rich six lesson curriculum guide for this film features powerful STEM lessons with hands-on activities, Environmental Science lessons, ELA lessons, World History and much more.

Thus, no matter what subject area you teach, our library has something for you and all of our resources are free!

Free Webinars for Teaching with Film for Black History Month

Through Share My Lesson, you can watch, on demand, our webinars for many of the curriculum guides we’ve featured in this blog. Here is a list, with links to all of the relevant free webinars available through Share My Lesson.

• Summer of Soul: Celebrating Black History Through Music and Film.
• Inequity in Criminal Justice: Teaching the Film Just Mercy.
• Engineering and Activism: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind with William Kamkwambe.
• Hidden Figures: Using Film to Teach Across the Curriculum.

Written by Jennifer Fischer
Updates by SJ Evans

Here are guides and other suggestions for educators, homeschooling individuals, community groups, and others for what to teach in April!

Celebrate Earth & The Environment

April is Earth Month! Plus April 21 – 27 is Earth Week, April 22 is Earth Day and April 26 is Arbor Day. We have collections of teaching resources that can help you celebrate the environment all month long across the curriculum: Teach With Film for Earth Month.

April Teaching Highlights

For Arab American Heritage Month, Wadjda is a film that students love.

For Genocide Awareness Month, we recommend our Holocaust Education films: Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem, and Schindler’s List, and our Facilitation Guidelines for leading sensitive group discussions of difficult topics.

Summer of Soul is a fantastic film to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month.

For Mathematics & Stats Month, enjoy the math lessons in our film guides for Children of Heaven, Hidden Figures, Like Stars On Earth, Please Vote For Me, The Cup, The Way Home, Walden, and Whale Rider.

For Poetry Appreciation Month, check out Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, the animated feature film about a poet based on the poetic writing of Kahlil Gibran.

Teach April Holidays With Film

Passover takes place April 22 – 30, 2024: introduce your students to Judaism with the lesson plan on Judaisim in The Story of God, and share Steven Spielberg’s moving Passover Story from the making of Schindler’s List.

In 2024, Ramadan takes place March 10 – April 8 followed by Eid al-Fitr “The Feast of Breaking the Fast” April 9-10. Celebrate Islam with Film: Children of Heaven, He Named Me Malala, The Neighborhood Storyteller, Wadjda, and The Story of God.

More April Teaching Ideas

Teach about public health in April:

• National Interprofessional Healthcare Month
• World Minority Health Month
• National Public Health Week April 1-7
• Black Maternal Health Week April 11-17;
• National Infant Immunization Week April 22-29
• World Immunization Week April 24-30

The Invisible Shield is a powerful teaching tool for exploring the importance of public health and public health workers, the critical role of immunizations in public health, and the urgency of addressing public health inequities to make healthcare available for all.

For School Library Month, National Library Week (April 7 to 13, 2024), National School Librarian Day (April 4), and World Book and Copyright Day (April 23), check out these tips to Bring Books and Films Together to Inspire and Engage Students. Plus also check out our article on Educational Film Distribution: What Librarians and Teachers Need to Know.

Celebrate Stress Awareness Month + National Psychology Week (April 14-20, 2024) with films about stress and mental wellness: Big Sonia, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, Happy, and The Dhamma Brothers.

Volunteering Month is a great time to teach with our film guides featuring Service Learning & Community Service Lessons: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, He Named Me Malala, and Landfill Harmonic.

Week of the Young Child (April 6-12, 2024) is a great time to screen Children of Heaven.

Discover the magic of forests for National Parks Week (April 20-28, 2024): Learn about Forests.

April 3: Pioneering primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall was born on this day in 1934. Celebrate with her biographical documentary Jane. Learn more about teaching with this film with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

April 5 is International Day of Conscience. We have a large selection of human rights-themed films that are perfect to teach on this day. Among our favorites, we recommend: Crip Camp, He Named Me Malala, Rebel Hearts, and Summer of Soul.

April 7 is World Health Day. Teach about Coal and Public Health with From the Ashes. Explore the intersection of soil health, food quality and individual health with Greener Pastures. Celebrate the heroic public health system with The Invisible Shield.

International Day of Pink on April 10 (2024) is a great day to teach with Finding Pride.

Celebrate International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 with Hidden Figures and One Strange Rock.

April 20 is Chinese Language Day. Students will enjoy our Chinese-language film Please Vote For Me with cross-curriculum lessons for grades 4-12.

April 21 is World Creativity and Innovation Day. Celebrate innovation with The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

April 23 is English Language Day. We are pleased to offer over two dozen film guides with English Language Arts lessons. A great place to start is the oral history assignment for Big Sonia (grades 7-12), the Crip Camp lesson on language power and ableism (high school) , the lesson based on Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech at age 17 for He Named Me Malala (grades 7-12), and rich, engaging lessons combining language arts, music, and social studies for The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (grades 7-12).

April 23 is Spanish Language Day. We offer film guides in Spanish for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, River of Gold, and The Love Bugs. The lessons for The Love Bugs are appropriate for Grades 3-5.

Celebrate Syria Independence Day on April 27 with The Music of Strangers.

April 25 is International Girls in ICT Day (Information and Communication Technology) inspires your students of all genders about ICT careers with Hidden Figures.

April 28: Oskar Schindler of Schindler’s List was born on this day in 1908. Introduce your students to this remarkable and complex man with Who was Oskar Schindler.

April 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work: Explore the impact of the coal industry on coal miners with From the Ashes.

April 30 is International Jazz Day. Wrap up April with the joyful sounds of Summer of Soul.

Here are guides and other suggestions for educators, homeschooling individuals and others who plan ahead and want to teach with film in March!

March Teaching Highlights

Women’s History Month: Free Resources for Women’s History Month

Music in Our Schools Month: Chevalier, Defiant Requiem, Landfill Harmonic, Summer of Soul, The Music of Strangers

March 10-April 8 Ramadan: Children of Heaven, He Named Me Malala, The Neighborhood Storyteller, Wadjda, The Story of God

March 14 Pi Day: Children of Heaven, Genius, Hidden Figures, Like Stars On Earth, Please Vote For Me, The Cup, The Way Home, Walden, Whale Rider

March 20 International Day of Happiness: Happy

March Monthly Teaching Events

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month: Crip Camp 

Gender Equality Month + Equal Pay Day falls in March (the date changes each year): Films with Gender Equity-themed lessons – He Named Me Malala, Hidden Figures, Jane, Rebel Hearts, The Neighborhood Storyteller.

• Learn more about teaching with Jane with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

National Reading Month: Bringing Books and Films Together

March Weekly Teaching Events

March 11-17 Brain Awareness Week: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down – Aphasia, Happy – The Psychology of Happiness, Like Stars on Earth – How the Brain Works, The Dhamma Brothers – Meditation and the Brain

March 20-24 LGBTQ Health Awareness Week: Finding Pride, The Invisible Shield

March 21-27 Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination  +  March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Chevalier, Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, LA92, Summer of Soul, The Dhamma Brothers, Unzipped, Youth v Gov
*History teachers may also find our Black History Lesson collection helpful.

Special Teaching Days in March

March 1 Zero Discrimination Day: What Are Prejudice, Stereotyping And Discrimination? (Video), The Invisible Shield (about social inequities and public health)

March 1 Read Across America Day: Bringing Books and Films Together to Inspire and Engage Students

March 3 World Wildlife Day: Jane, River of Gold — or check out our Celebration of Nature Collection which introduces students to Bugs, Chimpanzees and the Natural World of the Amazon, with resources for grades 3 to 7.

• Learn more about teaching with Jane with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

March 4 World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development: The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

March 8 International Women’s Day: Big Sonia, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, He Named Me Malala, Hidden Figures, Jane, Queen of Katwe, Rebel Hearts.

March 12 (2024)* Equal Pay Day: Hidden Figures, Jane.

• Learn more about teaching with Jane with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

*This date changes each year.

March 15 International Day to Combat Islamophobia: Countering Islamophobia Through Film, 10 Documentary Films That Celebrate Women of Faith (includes great films about women in Islam).

March 15 World Consumer Rights Day: River of Gold (about consumer rights to ethically sourced gold)

March 15 International Long Covid Awareness Day: The Invisible Shield

March 19 National Agriculture Day: Greener Pastures

March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Chevalier, Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, LA92, Summer of Soul, The Dhamma Brothers, Unzipped
*History teachers may also find our Black History Lesson collection helpful.

March 21 World Poetry Day: The Prophet

March 21 International Day of Forests: Learn about Forests for Earth Day and Every Day

March 22 World Water Day: River of Gold

March 23 World Meteorological Day: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops

March 25 Hindu Festival of Holi (2024): The Story of God 

March 30 International Day of Zero Waste: Landfill Harmonic

March 31 International Day of Transgender Visibility: Finding Pride

Here are teaching ideas paired with free teaching resources for educators, homeschooling individuals to teach with film in February! 

February Monthly Themes

Black History Month

• Article: Teaching With Film for Black History Month
• Article: Family Movies for Black History Month | Multicultural Kids Blog
• Our newest Black History Film: Chevalier

???? Looking for individual lessons for teaching Black history? Check out our brand new Black History Lessons collection, with classroom-ready individual lessons for teaching US Black History and Global Black History. Plus free, on-demand professional development webinars to support teaching Black History.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

• Partner Lesson: Teen Relationship Violence Lesson | Share My Lesson

CTE Month (Career & Technical Education)

• Film Lesson: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down > Career Paths
• Film Lesson: Hidden Figures > STEM Career Readiness
• Docuseries & Learning Guide: The Invisible Shield > Public Health Careers

National Gun Violence Survivor Week Feb.1-7

• Resource: Facilitation Guidelines for Group Discussions
• Films: Gabby Gifford Won’t Back Down, He Named Me Malala

World Interfaith Harmony Week Feb.1-7

• World Religions Lessons: The Story of God with Morgan Freeman
• Buddhism: The Dhamma Brothers, The Cup. The Story of God
• Christianity: Rebel Hearts, The Story of God
• Confucianism: The Way Home
• Hinduism: Like Stars on Earth, The Story of God
• Islam: Children of Heaven, The Story of God, Wadjda
• Judaism: Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem, Schindler’s List, The Story of God
• Traditional Māori Religion: Whale Rider
• Article: Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages | Religion Matters

African Heritage & Health Week February 7-13

• Teach about the impact of healthcare inequities on public health and the urgency of healthcare for all with The Invisible Shield (and yes, it talks talks about the Tuskegee Institute, as it should).

February Daily Themes

Feb 1 National Freedom Day (signing of 13th amendment – USA)

• Film: Ava Duvernay’s 13th

Feb 7 World Read Aloud Day

• Article: Bringing Books and Films Together

Feb 10 Lunar New Year 2024

• Film: The Way Home

Feb 11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science

• Films: Hidden Figures, Jane, The Love Bugs
• Article: 10 Films That Celebrate Women in Science | Video Librarian
• Article: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

Feb 11 National Inventors Day

• Films: The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Feb 14 Valentine’s Day

• Films: Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, The Love Bugs
• Article: Love Bugs: Exploring Nature, Love, Curiosity and Friendship

Feb 20 World Day of Social Justice

• Check out our films on gender equity, racial equity, LGBTQ equity, human rights & more in the Journeys in Film library.

Finally, while thematic weeks and months are fun and helpful, we know that media literacy, civics, Black history, and many of the other themes we have highlighted can be integrated into your curriculum any time of year, so we hope these resources inspire you no matter when you find them!

Written by SJ Evans

 

Here are guides and other suggestions for educators, homeschooling individuals, community groups, and others for what to teach in January! 

January Teaching Highlights

January is National Mentoring Month. Queen of Katwe is the perfect film to inspire a new generation of mentors.

January 15-19, 2024 is GLSEN No Name-Calling Week. Like Stars on Earth is a powerful film to start conversations about bullying.

January 1 is the anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and January 20 (2025) is Martin Luther King Day. They make January a great month to share films about the civil rights movement and the struggle for racial equity: Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, and Summer of Soul. Plus check out our Black History Lesson collection.

January 8: On This Day in 2011, Arizona Senator Gabriel Giffords was shot but survived the attempt on her life. Teach her incredible story of resilience, recovery and hope with Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.

January 24 is International Education Day. Celebrate with films about educators + education: He Named Me Malala, Like Stars on Earth, Please Vote for Me, Queen of Katwe and The Neighborhood Storyteller.

January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Educate your students about the Holocaust with these resources, including our guides for Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem, and Schindler’s List; the cultural preservation lesson in The Music of Strangers, and our standalone lesson on Antisemitism Today (available from Share My Lesson and from our Schindler’s List page.) Learn more in our article on Holocaust Education: 7 Essential Teaching Tools.

More January Teaching Ideas 

January 5 is National Bird Day. Discover the fauna of the Amazon with River of Gold

January 6 is National Technology Day. Celebrate with two of our favorite STEM-themed films: Hidden Figures and The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

January 16 is National Religious Freedom Day. Explore films from our religions literacy collection spanning religions from across the globe including: The Story of God, Big Sonia, Children of Heaven, Defiant Requiem, Like Stars on Earth, Rebel Hearts, Schindler’s List, The Cup, The Dhamma Brothers, The Way Home, Wadjda and Whale Rider. 

 We also recommend this article from Religion Matters: Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages.

January 19 is National Popcorn Day, a great day to bring film into your classroom!

January 22-26, 2024 is National Gun Violence Survivors Week. Hold productive conversations about gun violence with Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down + our Facilitation Guidelines for Group Discussions.

January 24 is World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture. Celebrate with global films about Black Excellence, like Chevalier, Queen of Katwe, Summer of Soul, and The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. Our Black History Lesson collection also includes lesson on US Black History and Global Black History.

Jan 26 is International Day of Clean Energy. Check out the section on Energy Alternatives in our From the Ashes Discussion Guide. Pair it with Youth v Gov!

January 29 is Canadian National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia. We have five films to help you teach about Islam and counter Islamophobia.

January 31 is National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day. Many of our teaching guides include hands-on art activities to inspire and engage your students. Some of our favorites include Please Vote For Me: Chinese Papercuts, Rebel Hearts: Corita Kent’s Pop Art, The Cup: The Art of the Mandala,  The Love Bugs: Make a Bug Kite (great for grades 3-5!), and The Way Home: Korean Fighter Shield Kites.

 

We’re excited to share our top ten teaching articles of 2023 published across various educational outlets this past year.

Our Most Popular Articles About Effective Approaches to Teaching With Film

Prepare for the new year with our TOP articles of 2023!  Get ready to dive deeper into teaching with film — by theme, by activity, and by teaching challenge.

1. Creating Safe Spaces for Student Engagement with Difficult Topics — A Share My Lesson Top 10 Resource of 2023!
2. Celebrate Black History Month With Film — This article can help you prep for powerful lessons in February
3. Teach With Film for Women’s History Month — Check out some great resources for teaching in March. 
4. Celebrate Earth Month by Highlighting Youth Activism — These resources would be fabulous for Earth Day or Earth Month in April! 
5. Announcing our new Schindler’s List 30th Anniversary Guide — Including our brand new lesson on antisemitism, a powerful resource. 

6. Countering Islamophobia Through Film
7. Freedom of the Press in a Changing Media Landscape: Teaching Journalism Ethics with Navalny and The Post
8. Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages
9. Educational Documentaries for Middle School Students
10. Around the Web: Educational Resources

Are any of your favorite articles of the year missing from this list? Let us know which ones you liked best in the comments.

 

Our educational resources and content are often shared by other premium educational organizations like Share My Lesson, Edutopia, Video Librarian and others. On these sites, and others, you’ll find free lesson plans, articles of relevance for educators, film reviews and filmmaker interviews and much more. Here are just a few examples of where you’ll find Journeys in Film around the web!

Share My Lesson

This free, award-winning community-based site brings together educators, parents and caregivers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, specialized instructional support personnel, union and nonunion members, educational partners, and higher education professionals who have the common goal of finding and sharing the best educational resources available.
➡ Summer of Soul: 1969, A Unique Year was the #1 Partner Content in 2022!
➡ Check out our lesson on Teaching the Math of Space Travel with Disney’s Hidden Figures.
➡ Read our latest article on Teaching About Misinformation & Freedom of the Press!
➡ Webinars and additional resources available through Share My Lesson: Journeys in Film Share My Lesson Partner Page.

 

Edutopia

This site features free articles and information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education.
➡ Environmental Education: Teaching Climate Change in Social Studies
➡ 3 Great Films for Teaching About Globalization and Modernization
➡ All articles at Edutopia by Executive Director Jen Fisher and Curriculum Development Consultant Eileen Mattingly.

Video Librarian

This trusted resource for librarians and faculty supports individuals seeking to develop film collections for their campuses, institutions, and communities for over 30 years. Our resources at Video Librarian include articles, interviews, recommendations/film lists, and film reviews.
➡ Article: Educational Film Distribution: What Librarians and Teachers Need to Know
➡ Interview: Interview with Crip Camp Documentary Filmmaker Jim LeBrecht
➡ Recommendations: Bringing Books and Films Together to Inspire and Engage Students
➡ All articles at Video Librarian by our Executive Director Jen Fischer.

Multicultural Kid Blogs

➡  Global Learning through Film
➡  More Multicultural Kids Resources

Religion Matters

➡  Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages
➡  Teaching Religious Literacy with Films

iCivics

➡  Bringing Civics to Life for Students Through Film

We’d love to hear from you about your favorite educational resource sites: What are your go-to sites for educational resources? What additional educational sites would you like to see us on? How can we support your teaching initiatives? Get in touch and let us know!

 

Different Learning: Journeys in Film Resources

Different Learning: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down and Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops

The independent learning guide for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is extremely flexible and was created specifically with adaptability in mind. As such, each section features a driving question. Also, there are personal reflection questions for students who thrive on independent learning and quiet work on their own, discussion questions for group engagement, and extension activities created with a wide range of student learning levels and comfort levels in mind. Therefore, you should check out this new guide here: https://journeysinfilm.org/product/gabby-giffords-wont-back-down/. It features sections relevant for civics classrooms, advisories, classroom discussions around career pathways, media literacy, psychology appropriate components and much more.

Pick up any of our guides that work with your curriculum and you will find flexible lessons that can easily be adapted to the needs of your students. Additionally, our Extension Activities often offer more complex activities for advanced students. For example, you can see this on page 77 of our curriculum guide for Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops. You can download that guide here: https://journeysinfilm.org/product/climate-emergency-feedback-loops/.

Different Learning: Additional Resources and Tips

Written by Jennifer Fischer and Eileen Mattingly

Teaching with primary sources and educating students about primary and secondary sources is an important part of classroom learning. Similarly, teaching with film is a proven way to engage and excite students. However, did you know that films can be powerful tools for engagement around primary source learning for students?

We’re highlighting our free CORE-based curriculum guides that incorporate primary source learning activities. We’re here to help you in teaching with primary sources through film.

These six film curriculum guides offer opportunities for teaching with primary sources through film: Just Mercy, He Named Me Malala, Schindler’s List, Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, River of Gold, andBig Sonia.

High School Classroom Resources

For the high school classroom, we recommend Just Mercy. This film tells the true life story of Bryan Stevenson, played by Michael B. Jordan. Specifically, the film focuses on Stevenson’s early work with the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson sought to provide quality legal assistance to individuals who have been unfairly sentenced, often because of their race.

Our curriculum guide for Just Mercy features four lessons. The primary source materials integrated into these lesson plans include political cartoons and the Bill of Rights.

The documentary River of Gold (for high school students) chronicles the clandestine journey of two war journalists and their guide into Peru’s Amazon rain forest. They hope to uncover the savage destruction of pristine jungle in pursuit of illegally mined gold. The film makes clear the consequences of this devastation on a global scale. Magnificent photography of plants, animals, and people inspires audiences to engage in solutions to protect the Amazon. Our eleven-lesson curriculum guide is particularly rich in STEM lessons.

This guide offers a creative approach to primary source learning, particularly Lesson 6 in which Landsat images become the primary source for student engagement.

Teaching the Holocaust

Another resource for high school students is Schindler’s List. This Academy Award Winning Film, directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the true life story of Oskar Schindler. Schindler joined the Nazi party. He took over a confiscated enamelware plant in occupied Krakow.

Initially, Schindler was eager to make a quick fortune on the labor of unpaid Jewish prisoners. Eventually, he risked everything to protect and rescue more than 1,100 Jews sheltered in his factory. Our comprehensive guide features eight lessons. It also includes survivor testimonials and stories, key primary source materials.

Similarly, Big Soniatells another important story from the Holocaust. Teenage Sonia Warshawski was living in Poland when the German army invaded. Her father and brother were shot. Her sister disappeared. Sonia and her mother became slave laborers and were deported to a death camp.

Now in her nineties, Sonia is a vibrant woman who shares her story of unimaginable suffering. Her story is also a story of hope, resilience, and of a refusal to hate.

Like Schindler’s List, the curriculum guide for the documentary Big Sonia includes Holocaust survivor testimonials and stories as primary source materials. Additionally, the documentary itself is a rich primary source. Integrating documentary and narrative films about the Holocaust into classroom instruction, alongside Holocaust testimonials, is a powerful way of teaching with primary sources through film.

Global Learning

Malala Yousafzai was a teenage girl, like Sonia, when terror struck her small community. She was shot in the head by representatives of the Taliban for insisting on girls’  right to an education.

He Named Me Malala is a documentary that tells Malala’s inspiring true life story. One of our most comprehensive CORE-based curriculum guides, this guide includes 10 lessons. Notably, Lesson 7 centers on Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize Address. This speech is a powerful primary source for students to explore.

Finally, Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet is a stunning animated film that brings to life Gibran’s book by the same name. With a corresponding lesson for each book chapter, our curriculum guide engages students with the rich primary source material that is Gibran’s poetry and art.

Our resources for He Named Me Malala, especially Lessons 1-5 and Lesson 7, and Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet are both adaptable for middle school classrooms.

The six guides featured here offer creative ways for educators to focus on teaching with primary sources through film. We’d love to hear how you utilize our resources in your classroom and what other primary source instruction you offer!

Update November 2023: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Schindler’s List, we have launched a special edition Schindler’s List curriculum guide. Our new guide features an updated antisemitism lesson: Antisemitism Today. You can also use the new lesson on its own or pair it with our Navalny lesson on propaganda, or with Holocaust education films like Big Sonia.

Article Author: Jennifer Fischer, Executive Director for Journeys In Film. You can follow her on Twitter at @IndieJenFischer where she shares other educational articles, promotes cool film projects, celebrates her family and her creative writing, highlights various social justice initiative and more. She also has her own Medium page. Recently she highlighted the conflict in Ethiopia. Educators might enjoy her post about the Pueblo Revolt, America’s First Revolt.