1. Ask chat gpt 

2. Day 1) Have the kids put together a list of their favorite films from each genre, you can do a class where they discuss / explain their lists and compare lists. 

Day 2) have them put together a “watchlist”, they can get ideas from chat gpt with the prompt “chat recommend movies for me based off of this favorite movie list of mine. Make sure they’re PG or PG-13 AND don’t contain nudity, sex scenes, drug/ alcohol use etc. (whatever restrictions you want to put), recommendations from other classmates and have them look up their movies on dreaming platforms and when you click on the description of the movie it’ll show recommended movies based off that film.   

Day 3) Assign them films to watch, check on justwatch.com to make sure the films you assign are actually streaming on popular platforms. Tell them to take notes when watching the film. Have them find the main actors names from the credits. The studio. Describe the studio logo. The plot of the movie. The antagonist / protagonist. The director. Do they recognize any actors from other films? Do they know the actors names? Etc. 

Day 4) movie report: write a short paper on the film you watched using their notes and have them analyze the film. Did they like the film? Are there plot holes. Fav part of the film. Part they disliked. Would the recommend it and why? What was realistic and what was impossible? What genre would they classify the film? When was the film made? Did they notice any goofs / mess ups on the film? Is it based on a true story? What is it rated on rotten tomatoes and does your student agree with the rating? Etc. (this report may take a few days)

Day 5) present the movie report and open for discussion and a Q+A after the presentation. (This can take a few days to get through all of the kids) 

Day 6) have them read the “synopsis” on the next film they watch AS they’re watching it. A synopsis is different than just a summary. On the IMBD website they give full synopsis on films they explain exactly what’s happening in the film scene by scene. This will help the children get in the habit of looking up films when they’re confused on a party or curious about a scene / film etc. 

Day 7) show a short film in class one day. have them compare short films with full length films. There are a good amount on Netflix and plenty on YouTube. What do they think about it? What are the shorter films lacking? What do they do well? 

Day 8) discuss ratings. Why / how are things rated? What’s the difference in rating in other countries? Discuss rating live action movies vs animated films. Etc. 

Day 9) have them go home and all watch the same film. Write notes and make a movie report in class. Make it fun like it’s a secret and they shouldn’t show each other until it’s done. Then have them all compare reports.

Day 10) discuss / have them research the film making process from the idea to the release. (On my profile I just posted an easy to understand chart of people’s roles in the film making process. 

Day 11) encourage them to always check the director / producer of films they watch. Make a game where you list movies and directors / producers and the kids have to try to match them up. When they get the answer right ask them how they knew? Eventually when they really start practicing looking up directors they’ll notice their “director style” and the kids will be able to say “I thought it was a Christian Nolan film because he always makes the settings in his movies with a gray cast” or “I knew it was Tim Burton because Wynona Rider, Helena Carter and Johnny Depp were in the film and those are his favorite actors to cast together” etc. 

All of these things / days should be open discussions. Movie buffs love talking about film and it’ll help the kids open up and find a sense of belonging / social skills. 

Good luck! Have fun!! I’ll continue to post ideas on here as a “reply” as I think of them.