Engaging Educational Cinema: A Guide to Movies for High School Students

For high school educators, movies can be powerful tools to supplement lessons, spark discussion, and bring subjects to life. From historical dramas to animated adaptations, the right film can make a lasting impact on students. This article explores a curated selection of movies suitable for high school classrooms, offering guidance on how to use them effectively.

The Power of Film in Education

Many teachers recall the excitement of movie days in their own school years. As educators, we can harness that enthusiasm by strategically incorporating films into our curriculum. When paired with effective movie guides, films become fantastic teaching tools.

Strategies for Integrating Movies into the Curriculum

Here are some strategies for making the most of movies in the classroom:

Movie Music: Analyze how the movie’s music soundtrack adds deeper meaning to the film.
Seasonal Cinema: Consider how the movie’s seasons, weather, or time of day add deeper meaning to the film.
Theme Theater: Compare and contrast movies and books with similar themes.
Book vs. Big Screen: Compare and contrast any book to film adaptation.
Animation Analysis: Analyze animated films for their storytelling techniques and thematic elements.
Historical Hollywood: Analyze or summarize historical movie adaptations or context films.
Showbiz Satire: Analyze satire in movies.

Movie Recommendations for High School Students

Literature and Language Arts

The Great Gatsby (2013): Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation, like the book, is a masterpiece. From color symbolism to music choice, there’s just so much you further analyze when you show the movie version in tandem with the book.
To Kill a Mockingbird: The film gives injustice a face, and makes this story both relevant and relatable to students. Students can analyze the different impact that point of view has in both the book and the film.
The Kite Runner: This film follows the original text closely and provides a thought-provoking look at the self-reflection, friendship, life lessons, and courage explored in the novel by Hosseini.
Forrest Gump: This film also works if your students are struggling with allusions. The various historical events and references will help students better understand the skill of including allusions in their own writing.
Romeo and Juliet (Animated Versions): This lighthearted animated version of a classic love story helps them visualize the conflicts Shakespeare presents. The use of puns in the film is a great tool to compare the play to this adaptation.
Romeo + Juliet (1996): This modern reimagining of Romeo and Juliet follows the original play and uses the language, but the style of the film is funky and puts a contemporary twist on the fated lovers’ tale with warring mafia families.
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021): This adaptation is the newest Macbeth film to be released, featuring Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. This version is gory and intense, so be sure to discuss this with students before watching as the story is bloody and contains violence.
Ophelia: This fairly new adaptation of Hamlet provides a different perspective and allows students to focus on the importance of point of view in avoiding a single-story perception of events.
The Lion King: Students may be surprised to learn that The Lion King is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but once this is pointed out to them the connections will be abundant. This animated film is the perfect lighthearted addition to any Hamlet unit and allows students to analyze Hamlet’s and Simba’s journey to leadership.
10 Things I Hate About You: This 1999 adaptation of the comedy is an accessible version for students to compare with the original play. This film modernizes the comedic tale of love and heartache.

Social Studies and History

Just Mercy: The film gives injustice a face, and makes this story both relevant and relatable to students.
Thirteenth: This is an in-depth documentary on incarceration in America. It gives great context to this subject matter to build background knowledge before reading Just Mercy.
Selma: This movie is a description of the Selma voting rights protest, the march from Selma to Montgomery, the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Suffragette: Most people don’t know that in order to get the vote American women suffered imprisonment and torture.
Lincoln: This is the best portrayal of Abraham Lincoln on film. The movie focuses on his efforts to obtain passage in the House of Representatives of the 13th Amendment banning slavery.
42: The Second World War was not just an armed conflict. It changed America in many ways, and race relations was one of them.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Inside Out: A modern animated classic about emotions, Inside Out will help kids understand the power of our feelings and why it's important to express them -- whether it's happiness, fear, or regret.
Science Fair: Following different student groups competing in an international science fair, this documentary highlights the perseverance and teamwork required to make it to the top.
Far from the Tree: This moving documentary is about parents learning how to raise kids who are unlike themselves -- whether they have a disability, identify as LGBTQ+, or have committed a crime.
RBG: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg headlines this documentary about her life and career. Politics aside, students can see how Ginsburg maintained integrity in her private trials and public fights for gender equality.
Wonder: Kids will get emotional as they watch this story of a fifth-grader born with a facial abnormality. Bullying is a strong focus in the film, and students can talk about why it's important to try to understand what their peers are going through and when to stand up for others.
Won't You Be My Neighbor: This highly acclaimed biopic of Fred Rogers' life showcases his passion for inspiring integrity and kindness.
Arrival: Communication is front and center in this sci-fi alien tale. Faced with important choices around compassion, the characters make decisions that will get students debating the consequences of how we talk to, and learn to work with, each other.
Liyana: A unique mix of live-action documentary and animation, Liyana tells the emotional story of a group of African orphans and the fictional tale they created.
Black Panther: This popular Marvel superhero movie is a great opportunity to take a film that kids already love and show them how their favorite characters handle integrity, decisiveness, and teamwork.
Eighth Grade: Discuss as a class whether the characters and issues surfaced in the film are true to real life, and talk about how students might deal (or have dealt) with these types of experiences.
Stray: The lives of three stray dogs living in Istanbul, Turkey, intertwine with young refugees from Syria who are living on the streets.
Maidentrip: A teen sailor defies all odds (and the courts) by fighting her way to her dream of sailing alone around the world.
Alaskan Nets: A local high school basketball team's success means a lot to its players and the community as a whole, as the people living there have lost so much.
Rising Phoenix: People with a variety of disabilities compete in the Paralympic Games and strive to continue to participate, despite a lack of financial support.
Whale Rider: Set in a Māori community in New Zealand, this movie features a girl who wants to help her village and people but is prevented by tradition.

Other Notable Films

Finding Nemo: Students can track the journey Marlin takes to find his son, Nemo, and make comparisons to Homer’s character, Odysseus.
Moana: You can also have students work together to justify which character is the Creator, which is the Caregiver, and which is the Explorer.
McFarland, USA: This movie is a great addition when teaching Esperanza Rising. It captures the same spirit as the novel, and kids love it!

Films About Education

October Sky: This inspiring movie is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner’s son who became a NASA scientist.
A Beautiful Mind: A Beautiful Mind is a biographical drama based on the life of mathematician John Nash.
Freedom Writers: Freedom Writers is a drama about the true story of Erin Gruwell, a teacher who inspired her students to change their lives.
Dead Poet’s Society: This classic film portrays the story of Mr. Keating, an English teacher at an all-boys preparatory school, and his students.
Hoosiers: The film follows coach Norman Dale as he leads his team to victory against all odds.
Lean on Me: Lean on Me is the true story of Joe Clark, a controversial high school principal who turns a failing school around.
Stand and Deliver: A classic Hispanic educational movie, Stand and Deliver, is based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who taught his students to excel in calculus.
Mr. Holland’s Opus: This heartwarming movie depicts the life of Glenn Holland, a musician who becomes a high school music teacher.
The Miracle Worker: The Miracle Worker is an intriguing movie about the relationship between teacher and student.
The Karate Kid: The Karate Kid is always a favorite film about a boy who learns self-defense from his karate teacher.

Considerations for Choosing Films

School Policy: It is your responsibility to know your school’s movie policy.
Maturity of Students: Consider the maturity level of your students when selecting films, as some may contain mature themes or language.
Curricular Connections: Choose films that align with your curriculum goals and provide opportunities for meaningful discussion and analysis.

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