Curriculum

Web Site Offers Lessons Drawn From the Movies

By Sean Cavanagh — October 17, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

For years, James A. Frieden was fond of watching the movies he most admired—“Gandhi” and “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb,” to name just two—with his three sons, now grown, not just as entertainment, but for the lessons they offered about civil rights, the Cold War, and other topics.

Teachers can use the Web site to expand their lessons. —Courtesy of teachwithmovies .com

Teachers can use the Web site to expand their lessons.

Mr. Frieden and his wife, Deborah W. Elliott, eventually came to believe there was a demand among parents, as well as school officials, for more structured lessons, and character development, through film. About a decade ago, the couple created “Teach With Movies,” an Internet-based service that offers ideas for lessons in history, science, health, ethics, and other subjects to teachers and other subscribers. Teachers have used movies in classes for years to reinforce lessons; the Web site, Mr. Frieden says, is designed to help them organize and expand on those discussions.

Subscribers pay $11.99 a year. They receive links to 270 movies, from such classics as “To Kill a Mockingbird” to contemporary works like “October Sky.” Links are provided to articles on historical and other relevant topics covered in the films, to Web sites, and to analyses of the movies. The movies are screened for content, and warnings are included on the site about sex and violence.

The site has about 7,000 subscribers, 80 percent of them teachers, Mr. Frieden said. He and Ms. Elliott gather suggestions for films from subscribers.

Mr. Frieden, a lawyer, has no direct connection to K-12 schools, except for occasional volunteer stints. He hardly considers himself a movie junkie. “I know more about the stars that my mother loved,” he confessed, “Greta Garbo, Clark Gable—than I do about movie stars today.”

The Web site is www.teachwithmovies.org.

A version of this article appeared in the October 18, 2006 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
How To Tackle The Biggest Hurdles To Effective Tutoring
Learn how districts overcome the three biggest challenges to implementing high-impact tutoring with fidelity: time, talent, and funding.
Content provided by Saga Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Reframing Behavior: Neuroscience-Based Practices for Positive Support
Reframing Behavior helps teachers see the “why” of behavior through a neuroscience lens and provides practices that fit into a school day.
Content provided by Crisis Prevention Institute
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Math for All: Strategies for Inclusive Instruction and Student Success
Looking for ways to make math matter for all your students? Gain strategies that help them make the connection as well as the grade.
Content provided by NMSI

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum How an International Baccalaureate Education Cuts Through the ‘Noise’ on Banned Topics
IB programs offer students college credit in high school and advanced learning environments.
9 min read
James Minor teaches his IB Language and Literature class at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 23, 2024.
James Minor teaches his IB Language and Literature class at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 23, 2024.
Zack Wittman for Education Week
Curriculum Explainer Social Studies and Science Get Short Shrift in Elementary Schools. Why That Matters
Learn why the subjects play a key role in elementary classrooms—and how new policy debates may shift the status quo.
10 min read
Science teacher assists elementary school student in the classroom
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Letter to the Editor Finance Education in Schools Must Be More Than Personal
Schools need to teach students to see how their spending impacts others, writes the executive director of the Institute for Humane Education.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Curriculum Q&A Why One District Hired Its Students to Review Curricula
Virginia's Hampton City school district pays a cadre of student interns to give feedback on curriculum.
3 min read
Kate Maxlow, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Hampton City Schools, who helped give students a voice in curriculum redesign, works in her office on January 12, 2024.
Kate Maxlow is the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Virginia's Hampton City school district. She worked with students to give them a voice in shaping curriculum.
Sam Mallon/Education Week