Defiant Requiem Product Description
Film rating: Not rated. Common Sense Media rates The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind as appropriate for ages 12+.
Film runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Grade levels: We recommend the film for Grades 6 and up.
Where to watch: Stream it on Netflix.
Literary connection: For a film-book pairing, teach the film with the book it was based on: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, also available in Young Readers and Picture Book editions.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Curriculum Guide
Lesson 1: The Environmental Crisis (Environmental Science)
Lesson 2: Wind Power: History and Engineering (Engineering, World History)
Lesson 3: Generating Electricity: Dollar Store Physics (Physics)
Lesson 4: The Character of William Kamkwamba (English Language Arts)
Lesson 5: Film as Literature: Understanding Tone (English Language Arts, Film Studies) – The Glossary of Film Terms linked below is valuable for this lesson.
Lesson 6: Helping the Children of Malawi (Economics, Social Studies, Service Learning)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Discussion Guide
- About the Film
- Meeting William
- What about You? Getting Involved
Glossary of Film Terms
The Glossary of Film Terms is useful for the Film Literacy lessons that are part of this curriculum guide.
Preview Glossary of Film Terms
How to download your free resources
Related Resources
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is part of our global education collection of award-winning films from around the world for introducing students to global cultures and customs. We also recommend: Children of Heaven (Iran), Like Stars on Earth (India), Please Vote for Me (China), The Cup (Tibet), The Way Home (South Korea), Wadjda (Saudi Arabia), and Whale Rider (Aotearoa / New Zealand).
Teaching about Africa? Check out our discussion guide for Queen of Katwe, about Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi.
Teaching Black History? This film is featured in our Black History Lesson Collection.
Teaching about the Environment? The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is part of our Environmental Studies Lessons Collection.
Teaching about Farmers and Farming? We also recommend Greener Pastures.
Webinar: Learn more about teaching with this film with our free, on-demand, PD-credit webinar at Share My Lesson: Engineering and Activism: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind with William Kamkwamba.
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Sustainable Development Goals
Journeys in Film supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more about teaching with UN SDGs. This resource connects to the following SDGs.
