This video is designed as a short online CPD module, offering an overview of the resource with suggestions for classroom use and links to curriculum and specifications.
The detailed Teachers’ Notes that accompany the resource can be downloaded below. In addition we have provided a brief guide on copyright and how this relates to the use of film in the classroom.
Download Teachers' Notes Download copyright information PDFWelcome to this Thinking Film online training module for English teachers. Thinking Film, Thinking English: story and genre is a teaching and learning resource pack for students aged eleven to fourteen. This guide gives an overview of the resource and the ideas that underpin it. The pack comprises a DVD of carefully chosen film extracts and a disc of curriculum-focused learning materials. It offers purposeful and relevant activities for improving engagement and attainment in English. The activities will help exercise skills of descriptive, evaluative, persuasive, analytical and imaginative response. The materials also offer a clear and accessible introduction to work on moving image in English.
Whether or not you've used film in your teaching before, these materials are designed to support teachers and learners throughout. The pack is intended to be flexible. You can use it start to finish as a unit of work, or focus on certain activities to fit your teaching of a particular text or topic. The introductory activities and supplementary resources on the disc give a general grounding in moving image and are helpful when working towards GCSE, and equivalent, in English, Media, and Film Studies. The basic principle behind the pack is close reading of the moving image. This means close watching and listening, and repeat viewing with focus questions to help learners uncover and interpret a range of detail. Exploring the effects of technique in film, as with a written text, helps learners consider the film maker's intentions and the success with which these are achieved. Creative responses are suggested throughout the pack. These could be used in lessons or set as homework extension or group learning tasks. You will find word versions of the activity sheets on the Thinking Film website, so you can adapt tasks and differentiate for your students where required. You will also find updates and other supporting resources available through the site.
One way to think about film is as a medium for story telling. This means any feature film can be explored in terms of story and genre. The clips in the pack are taken from films adapted from written works, from a literary classic such as Great Expectations to a graphic novel such as Thor. This choice both reflects the focus on written texts in English and offers a means of bridging the study of print texts and film. But film tells stories with its own unique grammar and language. The way the camera moves, where it is placed in relation to the action, the lighting and sound in a scene and the way a sequence is edited together are some of the main ways by which a film maker may convey meaning. Now that is before we even consider script and an actor's performance. Anyone can learn to notice and respond to these details. They just need to learn a few basics of film language.
Just as we teach learners how to read written texts for detail and meaning, we can also teach them to explore how meaning is conveyed on film. Without being off-putting or overly complex, the Thinking Film approach gives students a precise vocabulary to help them formulate and express their responses. In the supplementary resources section on the disc you will find a basic shot types worksheet and a film language glossary. It is a good idea to give students a copy of each of these early on. A knowledge of basic shot types, such as the difference between a long shot and a close up, or the way a high angle shot can give a different effect to a low angle, is a really useful starting point. This conceptual understanding and the words to express it help students think carefully about a film sequence and convey their ideas more clearly.
The clips in the pack are taken from ten feature films released between 1946 and 2011. Each one has been carefully chosen and together they represent a range of film genres, time periods and production contexts. There are fifteen clips in total. These are listed alphabetically on the disc but there is no set order in which they have to be viewed. It's important to watch all of the clips through carefully before using them with students. Being familiar with the sequence and accompanying activity should give you confidence in using each clip with your class. If you look at the resource overview in the teacher's notes you'll also notice that some clips are used in more than one place and that for certain activities alternative films are also suggested. Whatever the focus of the activity, a few simple principles can be applied when using the resource. One key thing is to ensure students can both see and hear the sequences properly. It sounds simple but controlling the light in the room, and checking the volume levels before you start can help things run more smoothly. A simple solution such as sugar paper over the window on a sunny day can make all the difference. In general it's a good idea to play each sequence through at least twice. The first time students see the sequence, even if they know the whole film, they should be watching to make sense of what they see and hear. You might want to get them to summarise what they've watched, or comment on it before you move on. The second time you play the clip, students might be looking for particular details, for example, the sound, the shot types used, or details in the background. For some activities, repeat viewing or playing and pausing a clip for example to count the shots can be really helpful.
The materials on the CD-ROM are presented in seven sections. Introductory activities are spread across two worksheets offering a purposeful starting point. The setting and atmosphere section can be used to explore the sequence from Great Expectations and Sherlock Holmes. The detailed section on character has a range of activities across six worksheets, focusing on Sherlock Holmes, Whale Rider and Beowulf. The three activity sheets on plot explore the clips from Thor and Beowulf, whilst the viewpoint section considers the sequences from Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist and Rabbit-Proof Fence. Tasks on genre revisit Thor and introduce sequences from Jurassic Park and To Kill a Mockingbird. Finally, the supplementary resources section comprises a storyboard template, the film language glossary and a guide to camera shots and camera movement. You'll also find full teacher's notes on the disc. Film Education's main site offers additional resources on several of the films featured here. The teacher's notes on the CD-ROM show where you can find these. All are accessible free of charge.
This resource is designed to improve students' engagement and attainment in English by exploring concepts that are central to both literature and film. Through the resource we aim to help teachers and learners think about the complex relationship between film and literature, and pique their curiosity to find out more. We hope that you and your students find the pack interesting and useful. Once you've had a chance to use the materials, please take a moment to give us your feedback on the content through this website.
