POV

City of Cranes
August 13, 2009

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film, City of Cranes. Students will explore the role that "perspective" plays in disciplines such as literature, art and politics.

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Up the Yangtze
October 6, 2008

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Up the Yangtze, which shows how China's Three Gorges Dam project is changing the Yangtze River and the lives of those who live along its path. Classrooms can use this lesson to explore the social, economic and political changes caused by technological advances. Also, students will increase their skills for analyzing visual imagery. (Note: Many sections of this film have English subtitles.)

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Belarusian Waltz | Art as a Form of Protest
August 12, 2008

Belarusian Waltz shows various ways that an artist protests the virtual dictatorship that governs his homeland of Belarus. Classrooms can use this lesson to explore the use of art as a form of protest and means of bringing about change. Note: This film has English subtitles.

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Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music | Personal Narratives Inspired by Johnny Cash
August 5, 2008

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the 1969 documentary, Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music, which shows a collection of scenes from Cash's life and a number of concert performances. Since Cash's songs frequently reflected his life experiences, classrooms can use his music to inspire personal narratives.

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The Last Conquistador
July 15, 2008

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film, The Last Conquistador, the story of a controversial public arts project that some view as a monument to culture and others as a glorification of genocide. Classrooms can use this lesson to role-play how city leaders might make a decision about spending tax dollars on art that is divisive. Students can also consider public art in their community and develop proposals for new art projects that would provide the perspectives of underrepresented communities

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Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner | Drawing Creative Inspiration from Home
December 12, 2007

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Wrestling with Angels, a film about award-winning playwright Tony Kushner. Students will see an example of how Kushner's childhood home was a source of artistic inspiration. Then, they will incorporate elements from their own homes into a creative work.

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49 Up | Create and Review Biographical Profiles
October 9, 2007

Students will have the opportunity to create written and visual profiles of their lives and reflect on issues of biography, identity and personal history.

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Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars | Music as Social Protest
June 20, 2007

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars relates the story of a band born in a West African refugee camp that chooses to fight back against their suffering and circumstances with music.

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Lomax the Songhunter | Preserving Folklife in Your Community
August 17, 2006

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) earned a singular place for himself in American culture and arts. Building on the pioneering work of his father, John, whom he accompanied on folk-song recording tours of the American South and Southwest in the 1930s and 1940s, Alan set out after World War II to do nothing less than draw the folk music map of the world. This classroom activity has students explore the role that music plays in their lives and think about the role it plays in the lives of others.

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Tintin and I | Historical Storytelling in Comics (Classroom Activity)
July 10, 2006

"The Adventures of Tintin" by Belgian creator Hergé are as recognizable in Europe and Canada as Mickey Mouse and Superman are in the United States. In this classroom activity, students will have the opportunity to learn more about the history of cartooning.

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