Movie Jigs for American History

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Movie Jigs for American History are teacher’s guides for what we have judged to be the 30 most useful movies for teaching American history.   In designing the strategies, we selected the problem which was most relevant and central to the period presented in the film.  These values laden issues are very appealing to students since they are invariably controversial, revolving around a perceived threat to the individual or society, to a cherished belief, or to an economic interest that can encourage fruitful discussion of ethical dilemmas.

HOW TO USE MOVIE JIGS FOR AMERICAN HISTORY

HOW TO USE THE MOVIE JIGS MANUAL

MOVIE JIGS FOR AMERICAN HISTORY

 

 

 

HOW TO USE MOVIE JIGS FOR AMERICAN HISTORY

In the PAIDEIA PROPOSAL, Mortimer Adler addressed the connection between Socratic discussion, thinking skills and values clarification. The most effective materials to foster learning were what he called the products of human artistry. For Adler, these products could be pieces of literature, musical works, artwork, plays or productions in dance or film. Adler contended that the appropriate mode of instruction for these products was the Socratic mode of instruction. He wrote that the interrogative method of teaching "stimulates the imagination and intellect by awakening the creative and inquisitive powers." For this manual we have selected dramatic film presentations as the "product" for examination. The Socratic Seminar allows the teacher to smoothly move from a recall level discussion of the film to a use of the film for a more universal examination and evaluation of some of the most important and critical moments in American history.

The lesson plans included in this manual combine the educational principles of Bloom’s taxonomy with the classroom strategies of the Socratic seminar. The basic beliefs which guided us were that genuine learning is active and not passive; involves the analytical mind not just the memory; and is a discovery process in which the student rather than the teacher is the focus of attention. The key question at the center of our work was: how does a teacher move students beyond the study of history at the factual level to a comprehensive consideration of the key problems which have molded our nation. To do this we believe the teacher must invite the students into an engaging and sustaining inquiry process. The Socratic seminar, consistent with our basic educational assumptions, best achieves this end.

The key to the success of this teaching method, as with any effective classroom strategy, is adaptability and flexibility. The teacher must tailor the activities to the specific social and intellectual levels of the students and to the physical limitations of space, time and class size. Also as in preparing for any class strategy, the teacher selects the materials to be used, defines objectives and designs activities to ensure that students have the necessary background. The manual provides this for what we have judged to be the most useful films in American history. Because, unlike most general classroom discussions, in the Socratic Seminar, the sequence of questions can be critical, the manual provides a detailed list of questions that will address the central concept in an organized and purposeful fashion. However, the free nature of the seminar and the potentially high degree of student involvement often produce a fast moving and changing discussion and therefore the list of seminar questions is not intended to be exclusive or definitive. The teacher must be ever attentive to this so that at key moments, if necessary, he or she can keep students focused and moving in the right direction by modifying and fine tuning the sequence.

The role of the teacher during the discussion then is to guide students toward a deeper consideration of the ideas illustrated in the film and to maintain an environment open to varying points of view. Ultimately the students are responsible for talking with each other, not with the teacher. The teacher’s role is to facilitate, and to clarify through questioning, but never to dominate the discussion. The typical "Ping-Pong" pattern between teacher and class, where every student response is returned by a teacher volley, must be avoided. In all practicality, however, this hands-off approach may need to be adapted in specific classroom situations. When students think about open questions, their minds reach out. It is impossible to predict their responses and teachers new to this method should expect to go through a period of growth themselves as they gain experience. It is certain though that free discussions create a greater risk for off task behavior. The teacher must be vigilant and skillful in controlling, but not stifling the seminar.

We believe that the Socratic Seminar is more productive if the students are held accountable for their participation in the discussion. Students must be aware that they are expected to take part in the seminar itself and for the completion of pre-seminar and post-seminar tasks. Assessing student performance in seminars is complex and difficult, but not to grade the seminar devalues the process. The teacher should create a personal assessment tool that is both fair and reliable. The manual makes no recommendations in this regard.

Difficult as student evaluation is, teacher self evaluation and judging the seminar for effectiveness may be the most difficult job. General impressions and specific notes should be used to determine the effectiveness of both the sequence of questions and the discussion environment. The manual includes blank space for personal notes which we strongly recommend be used by the teacher to improve future applications

Using the strategy of the Socratic Seminar, we have created lesson plans based on selected feature films addressing a variety of themes and issues. The structure of each lesson follows Bloom’s taxonomy. Each lesson begins with a discovery component which corresponds to the recall and comprehension levels, and includes seminar questions which integrate the higher levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Each seminar discussion question should be assigned as a cooperative learning group project along with the suggested research topics. In this way students are made responsible for presentations which support and stimulate active seminar discussion by ensuring that the class is prepared.

With the film: GIVE ‘EM HELL HARRY, for example, students first collect information on people and events such as George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur and the Manhattan Project and begin to explore the seminar questions while watching the film. Presentations, either group or individual, are then used to share the researched material during the summative seminar discussion phase.

We recommend that only a few films be watched in their entirety. For most movies we have identified the key segments that best demonstrate the desired concept or issue. In THE BLACK ROBE, for example, which is rated R and difficult to use with younger audiences, we identified three suitable twenty minute segments as best capturing the nature of colonial life in the mid 18th Century. In this way the outstanding production values of such a film can be used while historically useless or otherwise objectionable segments can easily be avoided.

In designing the seminar questions, we selected the issue or problem which was most relevant and central to the era presented in the film. Since these concepts transcend time and place, the seminar discussions will often start in one particular arena and end in another. With the film: INHERIT THE WIND, for example, students begin by examining the Scopes trial and the First Amendment as it relates to religious freedom in the 1920’s. By the end of the seminar sequence, students relate the issue to their own lives by evaluating the notion of religious freedom in their own schools.

Each lesson provides the opportunity for a cooperative attack on a set of problems. Following our recommended sequence of first researching and then viewing the film will result in seminar discussions based on common ground and will create a forum in which the problems are pursued as deeply and completely as possible. The Socratic Seminar fosters an environment where experiences with the higher levels of thinking skill are abundant. Using the seminar sequence in this manual, the teacher will move the use of film beyond the level of reinforcement to the level of a primary catalyst for the critical consideration of fundamental issues in American history.

HOW TO USE THE MOVIE JIGS MANUAL

Each film entry begins with a short statement recording the overall usefulness of the film for United States history classes. Only films with substantial segments deemed very useful have been included in the manual.

A time log, which unless otherwise indicated, begins with the "director" credit, and a listing of significant scenes, runs down the left margin of each page. The teacher can easily scan the film’s content to plan class time. Any scenes requiring teacher discretion or preview are identified by terms such as: explicit sex, extreme violence, excessive language, nudity.

The central column of each page divides the film into meaningful segments suitable for continuous showing. A brief synopsis of the segment is followed by a series of upper level thinking questions designed to promote meaningful seminar discussion. The right column contains lists of relevant suggestions suitable for individual student research and reports or as an outline for a background lecture.

Each lesson begins with a discovery component which corresponds to the recall and comprehension levels, and includes seminar questions which integrate the higher levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Each seminar discussion question can be assigned as a cooperative learning group project along with the suggested research topics. In this way students are made responsible for presentations which support and stimulate active seminar discussion by ensuring that the class is prepared. Students first collect information and begin to explore the seminar questions while watching the film. Presentations, either group or individual, are then used to share the researched material during the summative seminar discussion phase.

 

MOVIE JIGS FOR AMERICAN HISTORY

Chronological Listing

Colonial Period

1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE

1992 Gerard Depardieu, Sigorney Weaver 122 Min. PG-13

This is a visually pleasing and educationally useful film about the discovery of America which is sufficiently complex and comprehensive to generate relevant discussion. The film is useful to stimulate discussion of the contrasting values of individualism and communalism.

THE BLACK ROBE

1991 Lothaire Bluteau, Arden Young 100 Min. R

A beautifully photographed and useful historical film, which however, contains several scenes which are not appropriate for younger viewers. Teacher preview and discretion is required.

THREE SOVEREIGNS FOR SARAH

1985 Vanessa Redgrave 152 Min. NR

This is a well acted but long and sometimes tedious film account based on actual testimony from the Salem witch trials. Production values are modest and without adequate inspiration it may not hold the interest of average high school students. The film can, however, work well to illustrate the level of intolerance which existed in early colonial New England and can be effective in introducing the theme of a gradual increase in tolerance in the colonies during the seventeenth century.

LAST OF THE MOHICANS

1992 Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, 122 Min. R

This film is beautifully photographed and useful to provide a visual image of events of the French and Indian War. Historically valuable scenes are separated by love scenes and other scenes of personal tragedies and relationships which have little educational value and make the film choppy and difficult to use. Some scenes are not appropriate for younger viewers.

DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK

1939 Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda 103 Min. NR

This film is a somewhat dated but is an effective treatment of early American frontier life in central New York and western Massachusetts at the time of the American Revolution. It is very useful to generate discussion about the role of women in early American History and to show the impact of both war and the frontier on the changing role of women.

THE HOWARD'S OF VIRGINIA

1940 Cary Grant, Martha Scott 117 Min. NR

This standard, somewhat humorous, reenactment of events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution is useful for its chronological rundown of key events, presentation of important personalities, and a depiction of the clash between the eastern establishment society and the frontier spirit. The film also includes a useful reenactment of the democratic process in the House of Burgesses including Patrick Henry’s famous speech.

REVOLUTION

1985 Al Pacino, Nastassja Kinski 119 Min. PG-13

Although long segments of this film are of little or no educational value, there are some historical recreations which may be effective if used after a study of the Revolution. The first segment of the film offers an opening to discuss the political and economic divisions in the colonies at the start of the war and to lay the foundation for a better understanding of how ethical judgments reflect group identification.

 

To 1900

TEXAS

1994 Patrick Duffy, Stacey Keach 180min. PG-13

Some segments of this long and sweeping historical saga can be very useful to illustrate the revolt of Texas from Mexican rule as well as the political and economic motives for American expansion and ultimate annexation of Texas.

UNCLE TOM’S CABIN

1987 Avery Brooks, Phylicia Rashad 108Min. NR

This film is a dramatization of the famous Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, somewhat modified to suit modern tastes, but still clearly indicating the moral struggle over slavery which smoldered in antebellum America. The film, however, is more useful in the American history classroom for what it illustrates about the roles of women in the early reform movements and in the abolitionist movement in particular.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN

1939 B/W Mickey Rooney, Walter Connolly 93 Min. NR

This film is an effective rendition of the Mark Twain classic which can be useful as a background to discussion of the political climate surrounding slavery on the eve of the Civil War.

ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS

1939 B/W Raymond Massey, Ruth Gordon  110 Min.

This is a captivating portrayal of Abraham Lincoln and the political scene in the years leading to the fateful 1860 election. The first half of the film, which chronicles Lincoln’s early life in Illinois, is not particularly useful; the second half, however, can be effective as background for discussion of the critical events of the 1850’s.

GLORY

1989 Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman 122Min.. R

This is a powerful and well acted production depicting the heroic efforts of the all African-American 54th Massachusetts infantry regiment during the Civil War. The film is important for its obvious theme. It is also useful as a vehicle for exploring how changing technology altered the tactics of war as well as the nature of the plantation slave system in the antebellum American South and the value of cooperation and teamwork.

TENNESSEE JOHNSON

1943 Van Heflin, Ruth Hussey, Lionel Barrymore, 104 Min. NR

This film is a dramatization of Andrew Johnson’s life. It is particularly good for examining the early years of Reconstruction (1865-1867) and the ideological and constitutional struggle between the legislative and executive branches.

THE BALLAD OF LITTLE JOE

1993 C. Susie Amis Bo Hopkins 120 Min. R

This is a well made account of a true story about a woman who passes as a man in order to carve out a life in the frontier west. In addition to the obvious role of women theme, this film can also provide an interesting overview of the 19th Century transition in western land use from mining to cattle and sheep herding to farming.

DANCES WITH WOLVES

1990 C. Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell 181 Min. PG-13

This film offers an opportunity to consider the clash of cultures which occurred between white European and Native born Americans as it was manifested in the Plains Indian Wars of the second half of the 19th Century.

O’PIONEERS

1992 Jessica Lange, David Strathairn 99 Min. PG-13

Although confused by a complex tale of personal tragedy and triumph, this story, set in late 19th century Nebraska can be useful in the United States history classroom to provide background for consideration of two important socio-economic themes: the mechanization of agriculture and consequent transition from subsistence to commercial farming, and the growing grievances of farmers caught in a free market economy which went beyond their control.

I WILL FIGHT NO MORE FOREVER

1975 Sam Elliot, James Whitmore 100 Min. NR

This film provides an effective portrayal of the events surrounding the Nez Perces’ flight to Canada in 1877. The film illustrates the government’s attempts in the late 1800s to relocate Native Americans onto reservations and raises questions about the consequences of assimilation on cultural sub-groups within the present-day United States.

Since 1900

WILSON

1944 Geraldine Fitzgerald, Sir Cedric Hardwick 154Min. NR

This is a generally accurate, carefully made and useful reenactment of key developments in the life of Woodrow Wilson, particularly good for its reenactment of the Democratic National Convention of 1912. The ethical themes of idealism and principle are easily explored. The use of this 1944 film as a propaganda vehicle aimed at Nazi Germany is also evident and useful.

MATEWAN

1987 James Earl Jones, Mary Macdonald 130 Min PG-13

This film is a close representation of conditions and events in the West Virginia coal fields during the 1920’s and can be used to illustrate this chapter in the history of organized labor. It also, however, presents an opportunity to put a face on the general climate of intolerance which typified the 1920’s.

INHERIT THE WIND

1960, Spencer Tracey, Fredrick March 127 Min. NR

This is a fictionalized account of the famous Scopes monkey trial which took place in Dayton Tennessee in 1925. The names have been changed but the characters clearly correspond to actual people. This film is very useful to consider ethical issues surrounding the separation of church and state.

THE ROARING TWENTIES

1939 James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart 106 Min. NR

This film presents a predictable love story superimposed on a semi-documentary account of the prohibition era. Since it touches clearly on the actual chronology of events it can be useful to stimulate discussion of the 1920’s. The film also offers an opportunity to consider the relationship between government regulation and the private lives of individuals. At what point is government regulation unjustified?

ALL THE KING’S MEN

1949 Broderick Crawford Joanne drew 109 Min. NR

This a fictionalized account of the life of a populist/socialist demagogue based closely on the real life of Louisiana Governor Huey Long. It is very useful in helping to evaluate the nature of the New Deal and in making a comparative of capitalist and socialist values.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH

1940 Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell 129 Min. NR

Somewhat stylized and starkly filmed screen presentation of the classic Steinbeck novel which makes a powerful statement about the terrible plight of a large segment of America’s rural farm population during the Great Depression. This film is very useful to dramatize elements of the "farm problem" and as background for discussion of New Deal efforts to structure a farm policy to correct it.

GIVE ‘EM HELL HARRY

1975 James Whitmore 95 Min. PG-13

One man stage dramatization of the life and career of Harry Truman.. Excellent and entertaining but lacks production values and perhaps more concerned with showing Truman’s wit and humor than in illuminating the important events of his time. This film is probably best used to understand Truman’s motives in dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan and to discuss its ethical ramifications.

GUILTY BY SUSPICION

1990 Robert De Niro, Annette Bening 105Min. PG-13

This film provides an opportunity to consider the constitutional and ethical issues surrounding the Red Scare of the 1950s. Because the film assumes an extensive knowledge of the early years of the Cold War, a careful examination of this period is necessary before viewing.

A RUMOR OF WAR

1980 Brad Davis, Keith Carradine, 183 Min. NR

This two part made for TV dramatization of a true story is perhaps the best Viet Nam film for high school use since it concentrates on the idealistic early years of the war and resists the urge to sensationalize.

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN

1976 Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman 138 Min PG-13

This film is an excellent portrayal of the Washington Post’s investigation of the Watergate break-in and subsequent White House cover-up. The film also provides students an opportunity to consider the First Amendment’s protection of the press.

ROE V. WADE

1989 Holly Hunter, Amy Madigan 132 Min. NR

This is an accurate, well balanced and unemotional account of events leading up to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. It can be an excellent tool to promote study of the United States Constitution and to tie historical study to a provocative contemporary event as well as to highlight the complexity of sensitive ethical issues.

EL NORTE

1983 Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando 139 Min. R

This is a powerful yet sensitive account of two young Guatemalans, brother and sister, who leave the poverty and oppression of their mountain village to trek north in search of a new life in the United States. This film can play an important balancing role in the consideration of illegal immigration within the context of the history of immigration to America.

WALLSTREET

1987 Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen 124 Min. R

This film provides an interesting look at the widespread investment practices of the 1980’s which led to the S&L banking scandal as well as to the later and deeper crisis in Asian markets which plagued the world economy in the late 1990’s.

 

 

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