Monday, March 2, 2009
Movies aren't just a cop-out
Sometimes I feel that when I use a film within my class that it's, in some way, a cop-out for actually doing some real teaching. Strangely (or not so strangely) I have found that students actually get more out of watching a film on certain things than listening to me talk. Perhaps it is the constantly changing images that holds their attention while I, when talking, feel relatively successful if I can keep them from drooling on the desk. Anyway, my cooperating teacher and I were looking for a way to introduce our Black Experience unit. We needed something to catch their attention while being informational. We found a recent film on Rosa Parks that was about 50 minutes long. I was amazed at how it held the kids' attention. It basically gave a short overview of the Civil Rights Movement beginning with Rosa Parks' protest. After the film we had a discussion where they were all participants and interested in the subject. We used this as a springboard to launch our reading and deliver our work packet. It was an incredibly successful tool for catching students' attention. It also gives me images and video clips which I can refer back to to help kids better understand a concept or assignment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I know that film and was deeply moved by it! The images and presentation moved the story along to our culture today. I also loved the music. No offense, Chris, but sometimes movies are better than us prattering away. Not that you do that!
ReplyDeleteFilms are a great supplemental learning tool if used correctly. Students should already have some background information on the content, and then movies can be used to reinforce concepts and ideas. I agree with both you and sporter- sometimes it's better when we don't talk talk talk.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge advocate of using film (by film I mean video clips, movies, television shows, etc). It offers students an alternative to your voice. It gives them visual cues. Usually the people speaking are experts and know far more than we do about any particular subject. Count me in without any remorse.
ReplyDelete