Film Project Reflection

Shantel Fitzgerald
09/30/07
LAE 4860

Film plays an integral in classrooms today. Teachers use film to help students draw meaningful connections texts they read. I believe that films improve students comprehension of content. For instance, students in my class are learning about setting. Students will analyze the physical setting and time period for this lesson. So, to help my students understand this concept, they will watch a ten minute clip from the movie Shrek 2. In this clip, Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey arrive at the palace of Far Far Away. After they watch the clip, I will ask the students to create a bubble map that describes the setting of the scene. So on pieces of paper, students will draw a circle in the middle of their paper. In the middle of that circle, they will write Far Far Away. Then, the students will draw bubbles that connect to the Far Far Away bubble. In the connecting bubbles, they will write brief descriptions of Far Far Away. For example, on student may write, "There are two Starbucks outside of the palace of Far Far Away." This activity will enhance the students' ability to examine setting in literature. For instance, students will also create a bubble map while reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. The students' bubble maps will describe Vietnam from the persepective of the narrator, Tim O'Brien. All things considered, the ability to analyze setting enhances students' ability to visualize the text and comprehend the text.