Reading in the Reel World

Book excerpt: By tapping into students' natural attraction to film, teachers can help students understand key concepts such as theme, tone, and point of view as well as practice and improve their persuasive, narrative, and expository writing abilities. Studying documentaries helps students learn how nonfiction texts are constructed and how these texts may shape the viewer's/reader's opinion. The book includes classroom-tested activities, ready-to-copy handouts, and extensive lists of resources, such as a glossary of film terminology, an index of documentaries by category, and an annotated list of additional resources. More than thirty films are discussed, giving teachers the tools needed to effectively teach nonfiction texts using popular documentaries.