Introduction
In this lesson plan, students compare and contrast the Hollywood
film industry of the 30s and 40s with Hollywood today. They conduct
research, present it in a creative posterboard project, and follow
up with a discussion of the findings of the entire class. How has
the Hollywood movie industry changed since the 30s?
Grade Levels
6-8
Subject Areas
History, Language Arts, Media
Objectives
Students will:
- Research a specific film, actor, or director from the past and
present.
- Present their findings in the form of a creative posterboard project.
- Discuss overall conclusions that can be drawn from the class research.
Materials
- Materials for a creative posterboard collage. Each group needs
a posterboard, newspapers & magazines containing information
about Hollywood movies, markers, glue & other collage materials.
Students can also print out collage materials from websites.
- Optional: A videotape of American Masters: David O.
Selznick & Alfred Hitchcock
- VCR and monitor
- Internet-connected computers in the classroom for student research.
Alternatively, you can suggest these links to students for research
at home or at a library with Internet-connected computers.
Selected Websites
You can bookmark these sites for student research.
The
Hollywood Studio System (article)
The
Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture
- Alfred Hitchcock
Filmsite.org:
The Greatest Films
Movie
Genres
Learner.org
- Cinema: How are Hollywood films made?
About.com
Filmmaking Resources
Movie
Industry Jobs
Movie Genres
Classic
Film Actors & Actresses
Classic
Film Directors & Composers
Cinema
History, by Robert E. Yahnke
Internet Movie Database
More
Movie Genres
Film
Terms
Standards
Historical Understanding:
Understands
and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns
- Understands patterns of change and continuity in the historical
succession of related events
- Knows how to impose temporal structure on their historical narratives
(e.g., working backward from some issue, problem, or event to explain
its causes that arose from some beginning and developed through
subsequent transformations over time)
- Knows how to periodize events of the nation into broadly defined
eras
Language Arts:
Gathers
and uses information for research purposes
Understands
the characteristics and components of the media
- Understands aspects of media production and distribution (e.g.,
different steps and choices involved in planning and producing various
media; various professionals who produce media, such as news writers,
photographers, camera operators, film directors, graphic artists,
political cartoonists)
Lesson plan by Ann Willmott Andersson.
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