American History through Feature Films: A Middle School Unit

Stevens, Brian, Film & History

Introduction

Twentieth Century history is saturated with media, not the least of which is film. As a middle school history teacher, I take my students through a study of the last century, using feature films to guide them through the tangled stories and characters they encounter. US history through film is most often offered as an upper-level high school or college elective, but is readily accessible to, and adaptable for, middle school students as well. It requires a shift in common curricular thinking, but can be a powerful way to draw in students not engaged by traditional history classes. The purpose of this article is to display an example of how film history and "textbook" …

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Publication information: Article title: American History through Feature Films: A Middle School Unit. Contributors: Stevens, Brian - Author. Journal title: Film & History. Volume: 33. Issue: 2 Publication date: July 1, 2003. Page number: 65+. © Center for the Study of Film and History Fall 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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