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Presenter:  John Golden
Level: Middle, Secondary

In a culture overwhelmed with news, information, and images, our students need to be aware of the ways that nonfiction media -- newspapers, documentaries, research studies, opinion pieces – seek to influence their personal, social, and political decisions. Because students need to be able to read in the classroom and also out in the real world, this session will examine how to use documentaries actively in the classroom as a way to teach critical thinking and literacy skills, such as determining author’s purpose, tone, and perspective.

The goal of this session will be to help teachers become comfortable in using film to practice a few practical, classroom-ready reading strategies that are essential for teaching nonfiction print texts.

In this session, participants will discuss:

• why teaching nonfiction film is important
• how to "read" the elements of a documentary: visual, audio, and text tracks
• the role that editing plays in the creation of a filmmaker's point of view