Teaching US History Using Movies

Teaching US history using movies is a creative approach to presenting history to your students. By using movies you are able to engage children in a deeper way, allowing them to become part of the action.

The Alamo, starring John Wayne is a classic.

Have you ever listened to a very young child recount the entire plot of the movie he just watched? Movies allow children to feel as if they are actually experiencing the events depicted. This creates a lasting memory and understanding of what they have seen. By using good, historic films that are age appropriate you create a bond between your child and the characters in the film. Instead of memorizing a date they will have an understanding of the culture, struggles, motivations, and daily lives of people during that time.

Another great reason to use movies to teach history to homeschoolers is that they appeal to all ages and all learning styles. Even kinesthetic learners can take in more information from a movie than other genres. If you have a child that gets restless, you can present the movie in smaller chunks, making sure to stop the DVD at a very exciting part.

It is a good idea to have your students do a project that relates to the movie. A variety of activities will allow them to make the information they have acquired their own. This is more important in elementary and junior high students than it is with high school students. Some possibilities for projects are:

• Interview the main character
• Illustrate a favorite scene
• Reenact a favorite scene
• Learn to cook a meal that was presented in the movie
• If possible take a field trip to the setting for the movie
• Write a review
• Use a notebooking technique to record what has been learned

Allowing a kinesthetic child to color a picture related to the movie they are watching as they are watching it will help them take in more information.

There are hundreds of movies to choose from. It is important that you preview any movie to make sure that it does not have content that is objectionable to your family. Generally the older versions (1965 and before) of movies are more conservative than the remakes.

• 1492 Conquest of Paradise (be sure to preview this one) - Columbus, the perspective is not traditional.
• The Crucible -Salem witch trials
• Last of the Mohicans - French and Indian war and early colonization

• Fort Apache - Life on a military outpost in the west
• High Noon - Law and order in the old west
• The Alamo - Texas’s fight for independence
• Paint Your Wagon - The California Gold Rush

• Roots -Saga of generations of a family from their capture in Africa through the early 1900s
• Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman - An African American woman looks back through the year of her long life from slavery to Civil Rights
• Amistad - Slaves take over a slave ship and make a stand for freedom
• Gettysburg - Accurate look at this important battle
• Glory - The Civil War seen through the eyes of Union enlisted men
• Andersonville - A look at the Confederate prison through the eyes of one of the Union prisoners
• Gone with the Wind - Civil War and Reconstruction from the Southern point of view

• An American Tail - A fun cartoon that presents the plight of the immigrant families that came into Ellis Island
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Diversity in the Deep South during the early 1900s
• Grapes of Wrath - The story of the Dust Bowl
• Great Gatsby - A look at the wealthy upper class of the 1920s

• All Quiet on the Western Front - World War II through the eyes of a German Soldier
• The Hiding Place - The story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family’s commitment to helping the Jewish people in World War II.
• Tora!Tora!Tora! - The events leading up to Pearl Harbor
• Saving Private Ryan - Soldiers go behind enemy lines to save one man during World War II

There are a variety of ways you can acquire movies. It is often possible to find excellent films inexpensively or even at no cost. Possibilities include:

• Your local library
• Your church library
• Join Netflix or Blockbuster
• Your local Half Price Bookstore
• Thrift shops
• Garage sales
• Homeschool curriculum stores

If your students are ready for a creative shot in the arm, teaching US history using movies may be a great way to create enthusiasm in your classroom. With a little research you can come up with movies to teach everything from ancient history to modern life.

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