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Debra
Maloney
08
Project
Summary
Project Description
Debra J. Maloney
1.
General Overview of the Proposed Project:
Project is entitled “History
According to Hollywood”.
Activities include:
A.
Brief review of time period of selected movie
B.
Critical viewing of the film (see list attached), using
NARA Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet (see
attached)
C.
Within one week of viewing, production of a one-page written
critique of the film, using teacher
guidelines (see #8)
2.
Clear Purpose and Objective:
A.
To enable students to identify and analyze various historical
perspectives through the use of historical
detail
B.
To enable students to become critical consumers of mass media
products.
C.
To improve students’ ability to write critically
3.
Stakeholders: grade level, who will benefit, who will
participate in the
project.
The primary stakeholders in 2007-2008 will
be Advanced Placement
U.S. History students (generally 11th
graders): approximately 70
students will be eligible to participate.
4.
U.S. History Content Area:
Selected time periods from the settlement
of Jamestown in the early 17th
century to the Watergate Era of the 1970s.
5.
Outline Describing Content:
A.
In early October, all AP US History students will be given a
schedule
of “Movie Nights”. Since the viewing has
to occur outside the regular school day (6-8:30 P.M.), attendance
will be voluntary; participation will be counted for bonus credit.
B.
A week before the scheduled movie, a hand-out will be
distributed
providing an overview of the historical
time period the movie addresses as well as an identification of
major historical figures and/or events treated in the movie.
Students are expected to have
read the hand-out before they attend
the viewing. NOTE: If the
selected film has an R-rating, a
permission form must be taken home and signed by the parent.
C.
On each scheduled “Movie Night”, students will view the
movie, completing the NARA worksheet at the conclusion of the film.
If there is time, I will conduct a brief
Q & A session after the film.
D.
One week after the movie has been shown, students must turn
in
a one-page critique of the movie.
6.
Software to be used, internet materials, contacts, etc.
NARA Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet;
historical hand-outs from
Internet sources such as “The History
Place”, “History Now”, and “Digital History.”; selected films (see
list)
7.
Level of Student Involvement
Students will have to be involved at three
specific points: obtaining
the pre-viewing hand-out; active and
critical viewing of the film; and
preparation of the critique.
8.
Evaluation Process (include students when possible)
Students will prepare one-page critique
discussing the film’s
·
Historical accuracy
·
Historical perspective
·
Inaccuracies
·
Effectiveness and reliability as a source of
historical knowledge
9. Timeline: how you envision
the project being carried out between start up and
conclusion
October 2007: Issue
movie schedule and introduce project
October-March : 1-2
movies per month (NOTE: There will be no
movies shown in
April through mid-May, since AP US History
students are
expected to be preparing for the national examination).
Late May 2008: Last
film will be shown.
June 2008: Questionnaire
will be distributed to all AP US History students
asking for their
opinions and suggestions on:
·
Movies shown
·
Scheduling of movies
·
Preparation for and critiques of movies.
9.
Comments or Questions:
Since feature length films can only be
shown in the evenings (because
of limited class time), this is an optional
activity. Students, however,
will be highly encouraged to participate
by:
·
Making refreshments available
·
“Movie Night” raffle of prizes
Tentative
List of Movies
(Not all
movies will be shown due to time constraints)
The New
World (2006)
1776
(1972)
The Alamo
(2004)
Glory
(1989)
The Molly
Maguires (1970)
Eight Men
Out (1988)
Matewan
(1987)
Cinderella Man (2005)
Fat Man
and Little Boy (1989)
Separate
But Equal (1991)
Good
Night and Good Luck (2005)
Quiz
Show (1994)
The Right
Stuff (1983)
All the
President’s Men (1976)
Summary
and Reflections
I
have long hoped to be able to do a project like this; my students
love movies, and many of them like historical movies, but with the
increasing demands from the College Board and/or NYSED, I am
reluctant to incorporate movies into regular instructional time.
This project of viewing movies was done in the evenings (which made
it optional for students).
During the year, we watched seven movies:
“The
New World” “The Molly Maguires”
“1776” “Eight Men Out”
“The
Alamo” “Good Night and Good Luck”
“Glory”
An eighth
movie, “All the President’s Men”, is scheduled for the end of
May. The average attendance was 15; much of the attendance was
dependent on the student’s other homework or extracurricular
commitments. The movie with the largest attendance was “Glory,”
when every seat was filled and students sat on the floor!
The
project had several positive effects:
1)
Since the written critique grade could be used to replace a
low homework and/or quiz grade, weaker students could use the
project to aid in their average.
2)
The written critique required students to write concisely and
with a clear purpose; this helped several of the weaker writers to
sharpen their skills.
3)
The evenings spent with students created a positive classroom
environment that spilled over into the regular class day.
4)
The background information provided for students (for
pre-reading before viewing the film) demonstrated to students the
variety of valid historical resources available to them. For
example, the pre-reading for “The Molly Maguires” came from the book
Past Imperfect. Two of my students asked to seek the book
itself, and, in fact, cited the book in the spring Research paper
project. Another example was the pre-reading for “Eight Men Out” –
the Chicago Historical Society’s website.
5)
Critically viewing films as a group highlighted various
historical problems/errors with some of the films; students were
forced to confront those errors and discuss (in their written
critique, or as part of classroom discussions) the reasons for and
challenges of such inaccuracies.
Students
generally enjoyed the movies shown, even the bad ones
(“The New
World” and “1776” had the students groaning toward the end). I
observed several lively discussions of the merits of various films,
but several students also thanked me for “forcing” them to watch
some films they might not have watched on their own (such as
“Eight Men
Out”).
I plan to
continue this project in the future, to include U.S. History Regents
students, with some modifications to the list (i.e., substitute
“The Crucible” for “The New World”). Another approach, as well, is
to change the focus, from movies based on history to important
movies in American History (cultural history), showing films such as
“The Birth of a Nation”, “Citizen Kane”, and “Rebel without a
Cause”. Films are an important part of American citizens
understanding of American values and culture, and this project is
one method to introduce students to films as history.
Maloney Project & Reflection 07 08.doc
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