Film activities for critical thinking with film

Discover a wide range of activitiy plans all designed to save you time in preparing class content.

What are the levels of critical thinking we use to categorize our film activities?
We have divided our film activities into three levels based on the complexity of the thinking and the independence the participants have. 

Argumentation

Cliffhanger Clip

Level 1 ✱ This activity is designed to engage students in critical thinking and speculation about film scenes. By pausing the clips just before unexpected events occur, students are prompted to craft ideas and predictions about what might happen next.

Find the Fallacy

Level 1 to 2 ✱ Fallacies are mistakes made in the construction or presentation of an argument. This activity will encourage students to begin spotting fallacies in the media they consume.

Toulmin & Decisions

Level 1 ✱ We make decisions all the time, but what are the decisions based on and how can we analyze the decision made? Using film clips and the Toulmin model will help to understand this important aspect of critical thinking.

Dialogue

Centering financial inequality and Bank of Dave

A complete workshop with lesson plan, handouts and Powerpoint which will allow teachers to explore the concept of inequality in the context of the monetary system through means of The Waterworks of Money and the movie "Bank of Dave" (2023). Ideal for tertiary level students, but may also work for upper secondary.

Fishbowl

Level 2 to 3 ✱ In this dialogue, students seated inside the “fishbowl” actively participate by asking questions and sharing their opinions connected to a statement, while students standing outside listen carefully to the ideas presented.

Socratic Dialogue

A Socratic Dialogue is about thinking – in which the participants investigate together what they think and why they think this. The quest is to gain more wisdom together.

Film Techniques

Music & Sound Design

Level 2 to 3 ✱ Sound in film is added very consciously. With this activity, your students will learn to look at the use of sound and music more critically by for example asking: "What are they trying to achieve?" or "What made the filmmaker decide that a voice-over would be more effective?"

Quiz

Kahoot!

Creating and doing a Kahoot quiz: the Kahoot should be either used to activate existing knowledge before the clip or quiz the group on key points from the shown (film) clip.

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