Art History Movies

I taught an Art History elective to both Middle School and High School students, and it was not AP.  So I had to water the content down a bit and add lots more projects and movies.  Here are the movies that are related to Art History that I have shown both grade levels before.

Mona Lisa Smile.  I love this movie.  It talks about modern art often enough to justify the movie for me! haha.  And there is plenty of content with the expectation of women in the 1950's which I love as well.  And students love this movie and there are so many classroom discussion options for after the movie is done.

Da Vinci Code.  This is perfect when showing Renaissance art or after you've taught about Leonardo da Vinci.  Plus it is full of adventure and mystery, so students are always engaged!

Angels and Demons.  This movie is great when discussing Renaissance art as well.  Or any art from the Vatican Museums.  During the Renaissance I teach more about the Catholic Church, since majority of that art is Catholic art.  So this movie shows a little bit about the Catholic religion which is interesting for students to see as well.  Again, adventure and mystery- good times!

Inferno.  Again, perfect when showing Renaissance art.  This features more of the art in Florence, Italy and shows so many historical landmarks from that city.  Again, full of adventure and mystery, so students enjoy it.

There is a bundle with all 3 Da Vinci Code movies if you plan on watching all 3. 

Fun Historical Movies for testing or end of the year

Earlier this week I got an email from my principal about the state testing schedule coming up!  Yikes!  Not that I don't mind the testing, but kids are drained after they take the test and I am not blind- they don't want to do anything after a state testing morning.  So here is a list of movies that I play that are historical (so I can justify it to anyone who may come in) but fun, so students enjoy it.

1.  Any and all of the Night at the Museum movies.  Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.  All students love these and I can justify this for any grade level.  Fun, full of adventure, and funny.

2.  Any and all of the Da Vinci Code Movies.  Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Inferno.  All are great movies, full of adventure, and students enjoy them.

3.  National Treasure.  Again, a perfect movie for any age group.  Funny, adventurous, and action.

4.  The Blind Side.  Ok, so this one may not be so historical like the other ones are.  But it is an awesome inspirational movie.  And I feel great conversations can take place afterwards about the people in poverty vs the people of wealth.  

5.  Remember the Titans.  Students of any age love this movie.  What is not to love?  Inspiring football team who over comes all the odds to win state championships.  But the biggest challenge they face is overcoming the desegregation of their school district and being forced to play with different races for the first time.  Great movie!

6. Catch Me if You Can.  Love this movie.  It is full of adventure.  But it takes place in the 1960's, so it is interesting for students to see how technology has evolved since then.  It is based off of a true story and that is history!

OJ Simpson Mini Series- perfect for teaching criminal law

How many of us loved the OJ Simpson American Crime story mini series? I loved that series- I thought it was done so well and I am not ashamed to admit I became obsessed.  I teach a criminal law class and I always used to show documentaries on OJ Simpson criminal trial because it is the most famous criminal case and students are always interested in this case.  Plus, it is a great case to show the difference between criminal vs civil law.  So when the OJ mini series became available on Netflix, I knew I had to show it to my Criminal Law class.  I created questions for students to answer for every single episode.  Then afterwards there is a quiz, an opening statement for students to participate in, and an essay prompt, which I also make into a debate.  And for each episode, I am able to discuss with my students numerous aspects of criminal law, between the crime scene, investigation, leads, tips, criminal proceedings, district attorney jobs, jury selection...I could go on and on.  And my students love the show- they love OJ Mini Series.  All I can say is, I recommend this!

Great Depression Movie- Cinderella Man

The Great Depression is such a fun unit, but the typical movie that students watch is Grapes of Wrath. And lets get real- that is not what they want to see.  As great as it is, historically speaking and content wise- the students see it as an old movie.  Or teachers show a documentary, which again, students see as old and boring.  So when I teach the Great Depression, at the end of the unit I show the students Cinderella Man!  This movie is so perfect for the Great Depression.  What I love about the movie is that is talks about everything that I spoke about during this unit!!  SCORE!!

• It shows how the main character had all the money and then losing it all in the stock market crash.  
• It talks about bread lines and people going hungry
• it shows people struggling for work
• it constantly refers to the New Deal and FDR
• it shows the dangers of the Hoovervilles

And it really shows the struggle that everyone faced.  I can talk about the struggle, I play games to show how people have no money and how are they going to pay for their bills, but this movie does such a great job demonstrating it.  When my students see the mom deciding to send her kids with someone else because they couldn't afford heat- it just tied everything together.  It clicked- they got it.  Cinderella Man really is a great movie to show at the end of the Great Depression unit.  And as always, I use movie guide questions for students to answer throughout the movie to keep them engaged and have discussions with after the movie.

Teaching the Civil Rights with Movies- top 5 plus 1 extra!!

The Civil Rights is my absolute favorite unit to teach.  And there are so many great movies to enhance lessons and really convey the hardships African Americans had to face and endure for so many years.  I always have students answer movie guide questions while they watch the movies to make sure students are actually paying attention and not sleeping or texting or doing snapchat or whatever students tend to get distracted with!  Here is my list of movies I like to use when teaching the Civil Rights unit:

1. Selma  I mean, need I say more?  This movie is PERFECTION when teaching about the Jim Crow Laws and the hardships African Americans had to face when just trying to register to vote.  When Oprah registers to vote for what seemed to be the million time and is still rejected...this movie is just great!

2.  Loving  I love the movie Loving (cheesy, I know!)  But the movie is so great.  This movie shows the hardships the Loving family faced as an inter-racial married couple, being exiled from their state and take their case all the way to the Supreme Court, changing our nation's law! And this movie shows how unfair everything was for African Americans during Jim Crow.

3.  42  This movie is great.  Both boys and girls love it.  And it does such a great job demonstrating what a hard time Jackie Robinson had entering the MLB as the only African American player.  Does a great job showing how places were segregated at the time, again showing how unfair life was for African Americans.

4.  Hidden Figures  This is probably one of my all time favorite movies to show, but I think I say that about every movie on this list.  When she has to run 1/2 mile to use the restroom because restrooms at NASA are segregated- I just think that demonstrated segregation so well to my students.  Along with the coffee machine, the constant suspicion of the cheating, how she wasn't given the proper numbers/figures.






5.  The Help   I find many of my students have seen this movie before, but that doesn't stop them from watching it again and enjoying it!  I love how it shows "the help" and the lack of respect and earnings they get, yet these ladies raise their children.







But one of the best movies to show in US History classes, especially at the end of the year when one generally teaches Civil Rights....


  The Butler  This movie is so great for history.  It shows everything I teach, especially when I teach AP US History.  This movie shows the life of an African American butler and the hardships all African Americans endured throughout history, as told through his story.  It starts out with sharecropping, which is what I teach with Reconstruction.  Then it goes through many of the presidents, JFK, Nixon, Reagan, Johnson.  And it ends with Obama being elected and him going to meet him.  Just a great movie for teaching Civil Rights, but also many other historical events: Vietnam, JFK being shot, Cold War. Obama being 1st African American president.

Teaching the Holocaust with Anne Frank

When I teach anything History related, I always try to appeal to the students with emotion.  And with the Holocaust, there is plenty of emotion.  However, teaching the Holocaust can be so challenging!  It is hard to convey to students how stressful life was for Jews in Europe during World War II.  Lucky for them, they have not experienced such unthinkable things in life.  When I teach the Holocaust, I like to show the Anne Frank movie, The Masterpiece Classic: The Diary of Anne Frank.  (This movie is available on Netflix, so it is perfect to stream.  It is appropriate for all ages, middle school or high school).  Luckily for History teachers, we can play movies to help us teach the unit/standard.  There are so many interesting documentaries and movies about the Holocaust, but for me, the Anne Frank one is perfect when teaching middle school or high school!  Kids relate to her young age and the diary she left behind.



What I will do before watching the movie is teach the beginning stages of World War II, how it developed, Hitler rising to power, continuing to expand German territory, League of Nations not stopping him, and how he always blamed the Jews for the bad situation they were in.  I then teach about how the laws towards Jews started to change and the Holocaust itself.  At this point, I will watch the movie and have students answer as the movie guide questions as the movie plays. The movie really conveys how scared the 9 people were in that attic and does a great job demonstrating that emotion I want students to see and understand.  I always have students answer this great webquest afterwards and my students like it.  I wish I could take them all to the Anne Frank house, but this webquest is wonderful.  It helps extend the lesson after World War II.  I have done the Diary Project as well, but after I have completely taught World War II.  I like to do this at the end of the unit so students have a full understanding of what has happened.  And the results are AMAZING!!  Students get so into this project!