Prepare for the new year with our TOP resources of 2023, Discover which ones made the list and get ready to level up your teaching game. Check out the top ten downloads of 2023!

Dark blue background. Text reads: Top 10 Downloads of 2023.

10. A three-way tie for Crip Camp, The Post, and Whale Rider

Teach about Camp Jened and Disability Justice with our Crip Camp Curriculum Guide and Discussion Guide (for high school). Explore Freedom of the Press with The Post Curriculum Guide (for high school). Discover Māori culture with 10 cross-curriculum lessons in our Whale Rider Curriculum Guide (grades 6-12). All three of these films were Oscar nominees.

Movie posters for Crip Camp, The Post and Whale Rider

9. Just Mercy

Based on the true story of Harvard Law School graduate Bryan Stevenson’s move to Alabama where he recognizes an urgent need to provide free legal assistance to minorities who have been unfairly sentenced. Our Just Mercy Curriculum Guide & Student Learning Guide (for high school) is a powerful tool for exploring racial inequity in the US criminal justice system. Just Mercy won multiple awards, including the BET Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, and the African American Film Critics Association Awards.

Promotional image featuring Michael B. Jordan for the film Just Mercy

8. Schindler’s List

In 2023 we launched a new improved Schindler’s List Curriculum Guide with a brand new antisemitism lesson (for high school) to teach with this powerful & inspiring Academy Award-winner.

Schindler's List promotional image

7. Happy

Happy takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Our Happy Curriculum Guide presents an opportunity to explore the psychology of happiness with your students, bolster social emotional learning (SEL) and so much more! (For grades 7-12.)

Happy film poster. Bright blue sky is the background with white clouds at the edges. The word Happy is large across the center in white fluffy letters, all capitalized. Below that, white text reads: A Documentary by Roko Belic. In the upper left-hand corner is a gold circle with the 7 inside.

6. Glossary of Film Terms

Our Glossary of Film Terms is useful for Film Literacy and Film Studies classes. It pairs well with our curriculum guides for Big Sonia, He Named Me Malala, Hidden Figures, Schindler’s List, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, The Music of Strangers, and The Post.

Bright yellow background. White text: Glossary of Film Terms. Slate board to the left of text. Gold circle with 6 inside it, bottom right.

5. Queen of Katwe

Based on the real life story of Phiona Mutei’s rise from the largest slum in Kampala, Uganda to become an international chess star on the world stage. Our Queen of Katwe Discussion Guide (for high school) inspires the next generation of chess players, high achievers and mentors. This hit Disney film directed by Mira Nair won four NAACP Image Awards.

Queen of Katwe movie poster

4. He Named Me Malala

This critically-acclaimed documentary explores the rise of Malala Yousafzai from a young BBC blogger in Pakistan to become the youngest Nobel Prize winner at age 17 for her human rights advocacy for gender equity in education for girls in Pakistan and around the world. Educators often pair our He Named Me Malala Curriculum Guide and Discussion Guide with her autobiography I Am Malala in ELA classes and Social Studies classes. Speech educators also use Lesson 7 as a fabulous stand alone lesson for examining Malala’s iconic Nobel Prize acceptance speech. (For grades 7-12.)

He Named Me Malala film poster: abstract art behind Malala that emulates a sunrise, a hot pink circle with a yellow circle band behind it and orange and pink shadings behind it. A large book splays open behind her as well, with pages spread out and a few pages lifting off like birds. Malala is a Pakistani young woman wearing a deep pink head scarf. She has brown hair and eyes. Text reads: He Named Me Malala.

3. Summer of Soul

Summer of Soul is a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record—about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. The film features concert footage of iconic 1960s Black musicians including Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, and The 5th Dimension. Our Summer of Soul Curriculum Guide (for grades 7-12) provides an engaging introduction to major events in Black history. This critically-acclaimed film won the 2022 Best Documentary Oscar.

Summer of Soul movie poster

2. The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Based on the inspirational true story of William Kamkwamba. Against all the odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. We offer a Curriculum Guide and a Discussion Guide for The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind (for grades 7 to 12) that’s sure to inspire students about engineering, STEM careers, and high achievement. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s feature film directing debut won multiple awards including the Sundance Film Festival Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize.

Image with wheat stalks and text overlay that reads: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Upper right: gold circle with number 2 in it.

1. Hidden Figures

Based on the triumphant true story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, three Black women mathematicians who worked in the 1960s NASA space program. Our Hidden Figures Curriculum Guide (for grades 7 to 12) explores the civil rights movement, the Cold War, and the space race. It’s a powerful tool to address gender equity in STEM fields while teaching across subjects. This hit Disney movie was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Cloud background. Text reads: Hidden Figures. Gold circle with a black 1 inside.