The following is from a May 2008 email newsletter to NCTE members.

Using Movies in the Classroom
George Lucas was born this month, and that makes it a great time to think about how we can use
films in the classroom, whether we analyze and explore existing videos or we ask students to step
behind the camera and take on the filmmaker's role. This week's Ideas provide some resources that
suggest new and interesting ways to explore film with students.

The Language Arts article "Let's Go to the Movies: Rethinking the Role of Film in the Elementary Classroom"
(E) argues that elementary language arts teachers should expand their definition of "text" to include film, a
valuable instructional material. The article notes that today's elementary students come to class with a great
deal of knowledge about films -- prior experiences which teachers can tap into -- and discusses the application
to film of reader-response theories.

Ask students to play the role of moviemakers with techniques from the Voices from the Middle article
"Meeting Readers: Using Visual Literacy Narratives in the Classroom" (M). The article describes a literacy
narrative project -- a short, concise, digital video in which students meld still images, motion, print text,
and soundtrack in communicating ideas/insights/discoveries about who they are as readers and writers.

The English Journal article "Literature into Film (and Back Again): Another Look at an Old Dog" (S) shows how
to help students move beyond basic comparisons as students learn to analyze the techniques and changes film
directors choose when translating literature to the screen. The article provides a variety of literature, film scenes,
and classroom activities to introduce literary, cinematic, and theatrical elements. Three related creative writing activities
are available at EJ on the Web.

Research has shown that contemporary popular films are a valuable resource in the ESL classroom, but what about older films?
The Teaching English in the Two-Year College article "Unspoken Content: Silent Film in the ESL Classroom" (C) explores how
often overlooked silent films can facilitate the development of ESL students' critical thinking and writing skills.

The English Education article "English Teacher Learning for New Times: Digital Video Composing as Multimodal Literacy Practice"
(TE) demonstrates how video composing helps provide support for the new kinds of embodied multimodal learning teachers
need in order to be prepared for teaching students in 21st century classrooms.