Classroom Community Movie Guides

Students are eager to engage in conversation and learning around their identities! This engaging social identity unit explores the 8 Big Social Identities—gender, race, age, religion, orientation, ability, ethnicity, and class—through a blend of activities, texts, videos, music, and projects. Perfect for middle and early high school students, this unit is low prep for teachers, offering print-and-go materials that ensure a seamless teaching experience.

What’s Included:

• 19-Day Unit of 60-Minute Lessons: Each day is planned with detailed agendas and objectives.
• Engaging Slides: Visually appealing and informative slides for each lesson to enhance learning and retention.
• Texts, Videos, Movies, and Music: A variety of multimedia resources to engage students and deepen their understanding.
• Interactive Activities and Projects: Hands-on learning through discourse, writing, reading, annotating, research, data collection, data analysis, presentation building, and peer feedback.

Daily Activities Overview:

Day 1: Understanding Social Identity

• Activities: Do Now prompt, "Cross the Line" activity, discussion, reflection writing.

Day 2: The Big 8 Social Identities

• Activities: Do Now prompt, fill in the Social Wheel, group discussion, reflection writing.

Day 3: Power, Privilege, and Marginalization

• Activities: Do Now prompt, discussion on power and privilege, activity on social identity axis, Turn & Talk, reflection writing.

Day 4: Cultural Heritage and Identity

• Activities: Do Now prompt, whole group reading ("Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan), independent evidence mining, closing discussion.

Day 5: Family Traditions and Social Identity

• Activities: Do Now prompt, whole group reading ("Taco Head"), independent evidence mining, closing discussion.

Day 6: Seminar Preparation

• Activities: Do Now prompt, review evidence mined from readings, seminar setup, discuss seminar norms.

Day 7: Media Representation and Identity

• Activities: Do Now prompt, watch video and read lyrics, independent evidence mining, group discussion.

Day 8: Cultural Pride and Daily Life

• Activities: Do Now prompt, watch video and read lyrics, independent evidence mining, group discussion.

Day 9: Traditional Music and Identity

• Activities: Do Now prompt, review evidence mined from activities, student-led seminar, reflection.

Day 10: Film Connection - "Wonder"

• Activities: Do Now prompt, introduce film and its connection to social identity, film viewing (Part 1), discussion.

Day 11: Continuation of "Wonder"

• Activities: Do Now prompt, preview questions, film viewing (Part 2), discussion.

Day 12: Conclusion of "Wonder"

• Activities: Do Now prompt, preview questions, film viewing (Part 3), discussion.

Day 13: Seminar on "Wonder"

• Activities: Do Now prompt, seminar setup, student-led seminar, reflection.

Day 14: Personal Narrative Writing

• Activities: Do Now prompt, read example narratives, brainstorm, partner sharing, begin writing introduction and body paragraph.

Day 15: Continue Personal Narrative Writing

• Activities: Do Now prompt, review narrative structure, continue writing narrative essay.

Day 16: Peer Feedback on Narratives

• Activities: Do Now prompt, peer feedback, revise essays based on feedback.

Day 17: Identity Mask Project

• Activities: Do Now prompt, introduce identity mask project, sketch ideas, gather materials.

Day 18: Continue Identity Mask Project

• Activities: Do Now prompt, continue crafting masks, wrap up.

Day 19: Finalize Identity Mask Project

• Activities: Do Now prompt, finish crafting and decorating masks, present masks and share reflections.

Key Features:

• Low Prep for Teachers: Print-and-go materials make it easy to implement the unit with minimal preparation.
• Engaging Multimedia Resources: Texts, videos, movies, and music provide diverse perspectives and deepen understanding.
• Explores the 8 Big Social Identities: Gender, race, age, religion, orientation, ability, ethnicity, and class.
• Interactive and Reflective Activities: Encourages critical thinking, self-reflection, and peer collaboration.

Bring social identity to life in your classroom with this dynamic and interactive unit. Equip your students with the knowledge and skills to understand and appreciate the diverse identities that shape our world. Purchase now and make a meaningful impact on your students' understanding of social identity!

Every viewer of a teacher film can be greatly inspired. Who doesn't adore the tale of the educator who has such faith in their pupils that they change their lives? Every educator aspires to have some influence on our students' lives. Isn't this ultimately the reason we teach?

The creation of instructional videos has gained popularity, whether through the internet or motion pictures. More people are getting involved in teaching and creating engaging movies and videos, which are primarily shared on Facebook and YouTube. The sector is flourishing.

But because movies evoke strong feelings and convey stories about people who are similar to us, they have a considerably greater impact than blogs and instructional videos.
This is a thorough list of the best teacher films ever made, arranged by rating. Some of the teachers will inspire you, while others will struggle, and some will be absolutely remarkable. They are all deserving of your consideration. Rotten Tomatoes provided the audience ratings and comments, while IMDb provided the plot descriptions.

1. 18-Day Disabilities & Equity Unit Grades 6+ | Project, Essay, Assessments, Seminar

Description:
Explore the theme of equity and disabilities in schools and society with this 18-day unit designed for grades 6+. Students will engage with informational texts, videos, and case studies, leading to a STAAR-aligned extended essay and research project. This resource includes Socratic seminars, assessments, and creative projects to promote critical thinking and empathy. Perfect for SEL, humanities, and cross-curricular classrooms.

2. 18-Day Human Migration & Immigration Unit Grades 7+ | Project, Poetry, Assessments

Description:
Dive into the global topic of migration and immigration with this 18-day thematic unit for grades 7+. Through poetry, short stories, and informational texts, students will explore the historical and contemporary experiences of immigrants. Includes project-based assessments, writing tasks, and creative multimedia projects to foster understanding and empathy. A great resource for ELA, social studies, and SEL instruction.

3. 18-Day Multimedia Anti-Bullying Thematic Unit for Grades 5-8 | SEL Humanities

Description:
This 18-day multimedia unit on anti-bullying for grades 5-8 engages students with a range of media—films, political cartoons, short stories, and songs—to understand the impact of bullying in schools and society. Includes two Socratic seminars, a STAAR-aligned extended essay, and a creative capstone project. Ideal for SEL-focused classrooms and humanities teachers.

4. 19-Day Social Identity Unit | Low Prep | Grades 6-8 | Texts, Videos, and Project

Description:
Help students explore their own social identity and the factors that shape it in this 19-day unit for grades 6-8. The unit includes videos, readings, and group projects focused on themes like identity, community, and belonging. A low-prep, high-impact resource that encourages self-reflection and empathy through engaging multimedia activities and a culminating project.

5. 20-Day Social Media Mental Health Unit Grades 7+ | Project, Essay, Assessments

Description:
Explore the intersection of social media and mental health in this 20-day unit for grades 7+. Students will examine the effects of social media on well-being through informational texts, videos, and podcasts. Includes a STAAR-aligned essay, Socratic seminar, and multimedia project, making it an essential resource for teaching critical thinking and digital literacy.

6. 7-Day World Religions Research & Presentation Unit: Interdisciplinary Grades 6-8

Description:
This 7-day research and presentation unit allows students to explore major world religions through research-based learning. Perfect for grades 6-8, students will develop presentations on various religions, fostering understanding and global awareness. Includes guided research templates, presentation rubrics, and cross-curricular connections.

7. Human Rights 5-Day Research and Writing Unit | Middle School Social Essay Project

Description:
Introduce your middle school students to the concept of human rights in this 5-day research and writing unit. Students will engage with informational texts to explore human rights issues globally and locally, culminating in a social justice essay project. This unit is ideal for quick yet impactful lessons that combine research, writing, and advocacy.