Trashopolis

Trashopolis is a great show that is currently airing on the History Channel. Trashopolis offers an alternative urban history about the history of relationships with trash and the development of sanitation departments. This would be a great video to show in a history or a social studies classroom.


http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=251059

World War II Interactive Map

http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-in-hd/interactives/inside-wwii-interactive


This is a great interactive map about the Second World War. It provides an overview of all aspects of the war in Asia, North America, and Europe. This map was made to accompany "WWII in HD", a documentary film series of colour archival footage. The series is presented through the eyes of twelve different American soldiers.

Helpful Websites

http://www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory/

An interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television – This website is great when looking for film reviews to use within the classroom. The website also includes resources and a guide to using documentary films in the classroom (including reviews of the documentaries).

http://www.documentary-film.net/

The Documentary Film Network – Allows for free streaming of user submitted films.

http://www.nfb.ca/

The National Film Board of Canada – Thousands of documentary and other films are located at this website. All films are produced by Canadians and are accessible to all through free online streaming.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Reviews on thousands of North American films.

Helpful Websites

http://www.onlinedegree.net/101-historical-moments-you-can-relive-on-youtube/ 
101 Historical Moments you can relive on youtube – Although it’s an American website generally geared towards historical moments in American history, there are dozens of relevant video clips with re-enactments, interviews, and television clips etc. that can be used in almost all of the senior history classes.


http://www.histori.ca/minutes/section.do?className=ca.histori.minutes.entity.ClassicMinute 
Canada's defining moments throughout history. These have been aired on Canadian television for years and depict important moments throughout Canadian history.  The website also includes radio minutes, and lesson plans to accompany the clips as well as student submitted clips on various historical moments.

http://www.history.com/videos

A great place for video clips from the most recently aired shows and historical documentaries from the history channel.

http://www.encyclomedia.com/

This is a great website for free short video clips (they average about 2 minutes). There are thousands of historical video clips that can be used in the classroom (perhaps as an introduction to a lesson).

Writing , Oral presentation & Group Activities

Writing , Oral presentation & Group Activities

1.) Have students compare and contrast the film to a primary or textbook source, or to another film.

2.) Have students review the film based on historical accuracy, including costume design, scenery, and dialogue.

3.) Have students evaluate a scene from the film for historical accuracy/ inaccuracy. Use other sources (primary/ textbooks) as evidence for accuracy/ inaccuracy in the film.

4.) What does the film reveal about the time or place in which it was produced during?  What evidence of the culture and ideologies of the time are present in the film? Refer to textbooks, film reviews, newsfeeds of the time in which the film was produced, biographies of the directors/ actors etc for information.

5.) Write a letter to a family member or a diary entry from the perspective of the main character in the film. Be sure to include current events of the time period as well as your feelings towards the events.

6.) Create a timeline of events that occur in the film. Why did you choose these particular events? Why are they significant?

Activities to Accompany Films with Connection to Drama

Drama

1.) In groups create a tableau of the most important or the most powerful moment of the film. Explain why you chose that moment.

2.) Recreate and film (filming is optional) a scene to present to the class. Why is this an important scene? How have you presented the scene differently then the director? Is this scene historically significant? Why?

A great way to have students begin to think about a film is to let them view the movie poster or the images on the DVD case. Have your students assess the Hollywood appeal and imagery. Why would the director/ producer choose that image?  How do you feel when you view that image? Do those feelings change after you have viewed the film? Why is this image significant?

Activities to Accompany Films with Connection to Visual Arts & Music

1.)    Create a storyboard of the most important historical moments of the film. Explain why these moments are important.

2.)    Create a diorama of the most important scene in the film and present to the class. Why did you choose this scene? What is the historical significance of the scene?

3.)    Create a replica model of a historically significant building in the film. Why did you choose it? What happened there that makes it important in history?

4.)    Recreate  an event we viewed in the film either by drawing or painting. Why is this piece significant? Who is present in the drawing or painting? What event does the piece capture?

Music & Dance

1.) In many of the films dance is included (balls, sock hops etc). What were the trends in dance at the time? Learn a dance present in the film to teach to the class.

2.) Choose a song from the film to play in class. How did the song contribute to the scene in which it was played? Why might the director have chosen that particular song to include in the film? Did the song have any significance in the era in which it was composed?

Canada's Defining Moments

History by the minute is a small peak into the history of Canada. The website hosts small clips of Canada's most exciting and important historical moments. The website includes lesson plans (generally geared towards the junior and intermediate grades). The clips are a great way to peak interest in a topic at the beginning of class. Click the link below to go to the histori website.
http://www.histori.ca/minutes/default.do?page=.index

Band of Brothers, We Stand Alone Together

The official website of the men of Easy Company as portrayed in Band of Brothers and interviewed in We Stand Alone Together.
http://www.menofeasycompany.com/nieuws/index.php

The previous two videos I have posted would be great additions to a senior classroom on Remembrance Day. A class discussion on the impact of war and the history of Remembrance day will definitely help students to make connections between years past and present day. I definitely think that Remembrance Day is an important holiday and students need to have an understanding of why that day exists.

Remembrance Day Tribute by Global Edmonton 2007

Lest We Forget

Third World Film

During my undergrad I had the opportunity to take a Third World Film History class. The textbook for that class is extremely helpful in terms of implementing film in a senior history classroom. The text is called Unthinking Eurocentrism : Multiculturalism and the Media by Ella Shohat and Robert Stam. This particular book focuses on colonial influence in third world film making, stereotypes, and multiculturalism. This will be a great guide when using films produced outside of North America.

Some Suggested Text Resources for Teacher Use

Hollywood and History: Costume Design in Film – Edward Maeder

Bio-pics: How Hollywood Constructed Public History – George F. Custen

History on Film/Film on History - R. A. Rosenstone

Image as Artifact: The Historical Analysis of Film and Television – John E. O’Connor

American History on the Screen: A Teacher’s Resource Book on Film and Video – Wendy S. Wilson

How Movies Work – Bruce Kawin

Anatomy of Film – Bernard F. Dick

Films Deliver: Teaching Creatively with Film – John M. Culkin & Anthony Schillaci

Historical Events on Film

There are many clips on various websites that can be used in the classroom. Historic newsreels, filmed speeches, and other sources from that time are valuable to a history classroom. This clip is an example of a filmed speech which documented a very important event for the Nazi party. It is one of Hitler's many charismatic speeches during his leadership. This is an excellent source to be critically viewed in the classroom, and will generate a large amount of discussion (especially around Hitler's claim to a superior race).

Television Series - War on Film - Band of Brothers

The series Band of Brothers is largely based on interviews with veterans. The series follows Easy Company of the United States Army Airbourne Paratrooper division during the Second World War. Each episode begins with clips of the interviews followed by a fairly realistic reenactment of the events.

Interviews with those who have lived it.

This is a great example of a powerful short clip that can be shown in the classroom. It is straight to the point, contains historical fact and provokes emotion towards the subject.
The following video is a selection from an interview with twin girls (now grown women) who have survived the Holocaust. The twins were six years old when they were brought to Auschwitz with their mother in 1944. The two girls were subject to Nazi experiments. Both lived to tell their story.



More information about the women can be found at: http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/2009/torchlighters_barnea_and_huber.asp (please copy & paste the link into your browser)

Finding History in a Music Video

Canadian artists sometimes include hometown images in their videos. This video includes the historic Port Arthur in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The lyrics include a lot of information about Thunder Bay culture (references to Terry Fox, and the lumber industry). The video is classroom friendly (aside from the occasional alcoholic beverage present). We used this video in my second placement class and looked for historically significant buildings in the city. We also analysed the lyrics for local history references.