Global Education

Our Middle School Program for Global Understanding 

To be prepared to participate in tomorrow’s global arena, students need an understanding of the world beyond their own borders. Journeys in Film offers innovative and engaging tools to explore other cultures and social issues, beyond the often negative images seen in print, television, and film media. For today’s media centric youth, film is an appropriate and effective teaching tool .Journeys in Film has carefully selected quality films that tell the stories of young people living in locations that may otherwise never be experienced by your students.

• In a world history class where unbiased materials for teaching about the Middle East are already in short supply, the Iranian film Children of Heaven offers young characters that American middle school students can relate to, across the cultural differences. 
• Teachers of English and language arts will find the films invaluable for teaching the traditional concepts of plot structure, characterization, setting, theme, and symbolism. 
• Social studies teachers will find introductions to the physical and human geography of countries such as Tibet and of our largest trading partners such as South Korea, India, and China. 
• Math lessons include keeping secrets, graphing, and the counting the uncountable. 
• Young scientists will be eager to learn about the forces behind earthquakes, the echolocation abilities of whales, the mechanics of the human voice, and many other topics. 
• There are art lessons that give students a chance to try making traditional Korean kites or to learn about the symbolism behind Māori tattoos or sacred Buddhist mandala art. 

Many lessons help students understand their own world as they explore the concepts of family, coming of age, taking responsibility, learning differences, gender roles, and intergenerational conflict and cooperation.

Discover free lesson plans for these films and more in the Journeys in Film Library.

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