TABLE OF CONTENTS

  



INTRODUCTION
FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING FILM
MEDIA LITERACY
USING TKAM
ON DVD
CORRELATION TO
TEACHING 
STANDARDS
LANGUAGE OF FILM
SYMBOLISM
LIGHTING
CAMERA SHOTS
EDITING

MUSIC
SOUND EFFECTS
SCREENWRITING
SCREENPLAY
SETTING & 
ART DIRECTION
SCENE ANALYSIS
MOVIE REVIEW
GLOSSARY
MOVIE MARKETING
OTHER RESOURCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 


 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Film Study Guide for To Kill A Mockingbird:
Seeing the Film through the Lens of Media Literacy
Written by Frank Baker  ©2006

NOTE: this entire teacher guide is now available as an Adobe Acrobat file. 
Click on each page in the TABLE OF CONTENTS (left) for instructions.



Harper Lee Receives Medal of Freedom

To Kill A Mockingbird
Voted #2 of 100 Most Inspiring Movies

Voted #25
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies

#19 of the 101 Greatest Screenplays


 TKAM airs regularly on

Click here for the next airdate and time
 

Actors Gregory Peck, left, (Atticus Finch) and Brock Peters, right, (Tom Robinson) in a publicity still from the 1962 film "To Kill A Mockingbird." The film won three Academy Awards: Best Actor, Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Art/Set Direction (B&W). Ranked 34th on American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Films. TKAM is also listed on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Other awards.
 

"Your website on To Kill a Mockingbird is truly one of the best resources I know online or in print for teaching the movie. It provides an appealing format for exploring the elements of filmmaking, adaptation, and critical analysis supported by provocative questions, clear explanations, attractive film stills, and authoritative citations. Anyone interested in learning more about the film or media literacy will find a valuable tool in this handy study guide."
  Bill Costanzo, author, 
"Great Films and How to Teach Them"

New books:
 Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee

Alan J Pakula His Life & His Films		 Remembering:
Alice Ghostley (actress)
Henry Bumstead (co-art director)
Brock Peters (actor)
Alexander Golitzen (co-art director)

For some time now, I have been enamored of the film To Kill A Mockingbird. 
I remember seeing it at the local movie theatre in Columbia South Carolina 
as a youngster. If memory serves correct, I was 8 years old when it was 
shown in 1963. And I remember being scared out of my wits during the 
"attack in the woods" scenes. 

I have been working on a teacher guide to help literature teachers better 
use the film in their classrooms. Teacher guides to the novel are abundant, 
but I was never able to locate a guide devoted solely to the film, so this is 
the first attempt to more fully explore this classic via the 'language of film.' Because I am also promoting the use of the film on DVD, a large portion of 
the guide will be devoted to helping educators become more familiar and comfortable with this new technology.

I invite educators to consider introducing students to both media literacy
and the language of film by using the resources produced here. Your 
feedback is important; let me hear from you. My email address is fbaker1346@aol.com 
  
Frank Baker, media educator