Post your genre teaching activities here (this is for teaching activities; put your PP presentations on the post PP presentations page)

 

Ivy: Spoof on Reality TV shows set on the Cornell University campus

 

New York Times: rise of the occult in current television shows

 

Past and Present by Scott Spicer

Pick 3 modern and 3 historical (40 years or older) TV/Film clip examples that exemplify a genre. Compare and contrast stereotypical characterizations between the two time periods, and speak to its cultural context for the time. In other words, from what perspective did the audience perceive characters in the film?

 

Mockumentary by Nathan

In this activity students will examine their schools through the lens of Mockumentary. Students will outline the different roles and power structures embedded within their school. They will then use creative (yet respectful) ways to mock these roles. This project will allow students to examine the inner workings of their school.

 

In the true spirit of creating a Mockumentary students will create extensive backgrounds and character sketches for the characters and settings that they will create. However, they will not script anything. Students will be encouraged to learn enough about their school so that they can ad lib the actually scenes that they will preform. Final projects can be in-class performances, podcasts, or iMovies.

 

The Mystery Genre - Genevieve

One way to teach the mystery genre in the high school English classroom would be to pair appropriate episodes of television shows such as Veronica Mars or CSI with texts like Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Barry Levinson’s movie, Young Sherlock Holmes, rated PG-13, could also be used, as could Andrew Flemings’ new movie, Nancy Drew. Scaffolding for the activity might include reading very basic mystery texts like Donald J. Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown stories or an excerpt from Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew series. Students can identify the basic elements of the mystery genre in the scaffolding texts then build on those elements while viewing the suggested television shows/movies. Students should be prompted to examine whether the elements of mystery are better conveyed in texts or in visual format such as television/movies.

 

 

Film Noir - Suzanne (Fall 2007)

Film Noir is a genre that depicts moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Have students watch the Maltese Falcon and LA Confidential - compare and contrast the primary characters. Is there a female archetype in both? Identify the moral ambiguity and primary themes in both films. If your version of the Maltese Falcon is black and white, how did that affectyour viewing experience? Did you find the color of LA Confidential a distraction or an enhancement? What were the women characters like?

 

 

Satire-Sara

Satire is an important concept to "get" especially in civics/history since we spend alot of time analyzing political cartoons. For a more current example of yesterday's political cartoon, students could view a segment of the Daily Show with John Stewart. After the viewing have students respond to the following questions: Who or what is the subject? What is the message? Who is the intended audience? What is the tone? Is it amusing, funny, sarcastic, powerful, attention getting? How would changing the tone/facial expression/body language change the meaning? Why is satire important? Ask students when they think satire is inappropriate? How does it get "lost in translation" or misused?

 

The Spin by Meaghan

This assignment would be used for a film/media class where the students have already worked on creating their own films. After studying various genres and lenses, the students will split into small groups. Every group will have the same generic script written by the teacher. For example, a three-page script (equaling a roughly three-minute film) puts three people discussing how they cannot leave until they come up with the rest of the money they need. The groups would then each choose a different genre to create a film, using the same script. The class would view each film, noting the choices of lighting, camera angles, character portrayals, costumes, tone, etc. The class would then discuss the differences amongst the various genres, strengths and weaknesses, and why the students made the decisions they did.

 

Mockumentary by Chris

This could be an interesting look into the lives of students. In small groups, they will have to create a five-ten minute mockumentary about some aspect of their own lives. This could take the form of basketball practice or a Halo gaming team-whatever really. Explain to the students that what they are doing is not actually mocking the subjects, but rather illustrating the inherent humor in their eccentric lifestyles or the ernestness in which they carry themselves. Students would then show their videos in class and explain how they analyzed the subject content. The goal of the lesson would be grounded in creating humor through satire and sarcasm. I have no idea if this would truly work, but it would be a pretty awesome assignment.

 

Dislocated Character by Jessie

The class will be divided into small groups of 3-5 students. They will each be assigned to reasearch and present a short 5-10 minute report of the usual script and the prototype characters or "usual suspects" of that genre. For example, Romantic comedy would go something like: boy and girl meet cute, they are kept apart by an obstacle and the romantic tension grows because they cannot be together, they get together, there is a fight and they seperate, they get together again, the end. Each group will choose the prototype character that they can go into the most depth with and write that character up on a notecard. They should include the character's wants, drives, usual apperance, faults and anything else they can come up with. The cards will be shuffled and other genres will receive their character. They must write the character they receive into their genre. For example, femme fatales will be written into romantic comedies and flawed detectives will show up in romantic comedies. After they have finished, as a group they will tell the new story. Through this activity, the class will critically examine the stereotypes that run through film and television media, the way this serves media, and ways these characters may or may not differ from real, flawed, complex people.

 

Denise & Katie: Romantic Comedy Movie Genre

Romantic comedies are full of male/female stereotypes. This lesson would study the characterizations of male and female roles in romantic comedies and compare those characterizations with male and female roles found in different types of literature. Students can compare and contrast personality traits and physical traits of gender roles in romantic comedies and different types of literature. The goal of this lesson is to identify which genres of literature might benefit from the same gender stereotypes that are used in romantic comedy movies.

 

 

Let's Play a Game! by Angela

 

Television gameshows. We've all seen them. We had Let's Make a Deal (love that one!), Scrabble, Match Game, $10,000 Pyramid, and Classic Concentration. Now we have (and still have) Wheel of Fortune, Price is Right, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, Jeopardy, Greed, and Deal or No Deal, among the hodgepodge of reality shows, like the Amazing Race or Survivor, which have game-like qualities. Students would look at the trends in television game shows and how they run parallel or are affected by social/political changes within society. The final project would involve pairs of students developing a game show based on contemporary society. If time and circumstances allowed, the game would be played by the class. This would allow students to visually see their classmates thoughts in action as well as provide a fun opportunity for students to get a hands-on look at how the television genre reflects stereotypes and value assumptions.

 

Fall 2007 Genre Teaching Activity by Crystal Bieter

 

Students are expected to read a book from a selected genre each semester as part of our school-wide independent reading program. As a way to incorporate media in this unit, it would be fun to have them also critique a film or tv show that fits into that genre as well. It would be fun to have them present their findings in small groups and have them post these to the class wiki site. Students would be reminded that they would need to include the following criteria:

1) What are the familiar shows within this genre today? What were the favorite shows within this genre a decade ago?

2) How has the genre changed or not changed comparing the present to the past decade.

3) Have students look at the familiar roles people play in this genre.

4) What are the familiar settings in this genre?

5) What are some of the familiar problems faced with the characters in this genre?

6) What are some of the most important value assumptions made about this particular genre?

7) Are there any clear stereoypes being portrayed and if so what?

8) In comparing a book and a movie/tv show in the same genre, which one did you enjoy more and why?

 

Eve and Annie Fall 2007 Genre Teaching activity

Have students list all the romantic comedies they can remember watching. Then,

put students into groups based on which movies they've seen, so that all

members of the group has seen at least three of the same movies. Then, have

them meet and answer the following discussion questions:

1. are romantic comedies realistic?

2. why do romantic comedies appeal to more women over men?

3. what values do romantic comedies support?

4. what makes for a appealing leading actor/actress

 

Maggie Fall 2007 Genre Teaching Activity

 

Students must watch a movie, especially romance comedy or tragedy, of their choice and write about how it is gothic (almost any movie could be considered gothic). Students watch a movie and must write at least five paragraphs addressing elements of gothic nature within the film.

These elements would be:

1. identify who the characters are in terms of lightness and darkness, and explain why they are what they are.

2. address what issues may be morally ambiguous with supporting detail.

3. discuss how characters might be attracted to death, or life through their fear of death with support from the movie.

 

Lisa Fall 2007 Genre Teaching Activity

Students would choose one network (i.e. NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) that has separate news casts in the morning and evening. They would watch two broadcasts from two different days on each time slot. In other words, they will watch NBC's The Today Show and Nightly News broadcasts on two separate days. They will then compare and contrast the differences between these shows. How are the anchor's different? News stories? "Fluff" stories? Segments? Why does the morning broadcast have a meteorologist? Why does the evening broadcast have only one anchor? They will then look at how these shows fit into the genre of television news and how they differ. Students will give a 5 minute presentation about their findings.

 

 

Jennifer Sellers and Theresa Haider

Ask students to choose a profession (doctor, nurse, teacher, police, fireman/woman, etc) and watch a show that is focuses on that profession. Then the students interview a member of that profession and ask them how accurate the show's portrayal is of their profession. Make a short presentation to the class on their findings.

 

Ligia Hernandez and Andi Larson

Sports Films:

Ask your students to write a small paragraph about a time where they have worked really hard in order to win at a sports event or a competition. Have them explain all the hardships and preparation they went trhough in order to achive that goal.

Have them discuss in small groups if they learned any lessons by winning or losing at that particular event.

Prepare a table with several sports movies such as Ruby, Remember The Titans, Invincible, Coach Carter,Glory Road, Bend it Like Beckham, Miracle, Ice Castles, Cutting Edge, Bring it On, Cool Runnings. Have the small groups come up to the table and choose a movie. They will watch it at home and then try to find any similarities-in terms of character, behavior, struggle, lessons learned, etc-with the movies and their own experinces (the ones they wrote about).

Have them share their insights about the movies with the class and how did writing about their own personal experiences help them understand the movie.

We believe that pedagogy and curriculum should be seen as relevant to their lives and how they can apply it to their personal lives.

 

Mary Voigt, Alma Mendez, and Patricia Mcgurk

 

To give students some idea of Cold War politics I may ask students to view various science fiction programs, particularly Star Trek. Using the show as a model I would ask them to find evidence of three key American ideals to start: positioning as first on the world stage, optimistic hopes for the future and how they are intricately connected with the expansion of our democratic ideals, and a mixed relationship between technology and the fate of the individual. Once these three themes are established I would ask them to view other science fiction from the same cold war era and see if they believe they can find these same themes played out. They would do this by conducting a Formalist/ Structualist approach to the movie or show they chose to view.

 

Sarah Thomes and Emily Peckscamp

Fairy tales are a special genre in and of themselves. Students can read several classic tales, and identify some of the conventions of this genre. Then, students will read some fairy tales that have been rewritten to parody to original. An example is a collection of "politically correct" fairy tales. Students can then compare the differences between the two, and what conventions were kept the same or changed in the rewrite.

 

 

Jarrett and Nate

 

The romantic comedy is one of the most formulaic genres around. To understand what Hollywood thinks romance is, the students will view a few clips from various romantic comedies. The focus will be on the main character. The teacher should show both male and female protagonists. The teacher should split the class in half and ask one side to look list the characteristics of the males and the other side to examine the female protagonists. Show the film clips so that everyone can view typical examples of romantic comedies. Have the students work in groups (by which gender character they had) to decide what commonalities they see through the various films’ protagonists—personality, events, goals, etc. Have each group come up with a list of the five main similarities. Be sure the students DO NOT label their list as male or female and do not put their names on it. The teacher will then collect the lists and hand them out randomly to the groups. The groups must then decide whether the character is male or female and how they know. This activity should lead to a group discussion on what expectations are attached to males and females.

 

 

Rebekah Ignatowicz and Justin Crum

 

To help students understand how to classify films into different genres, We would have the class all write up their own short stories. As a class we would go through each of the individual short stories and identify the characters, plot, and setting. We would then compare those elements to films and tv shows that we see in the media. We would look at how they are similar and different, and classify them into different genres. In doing this process we would go over the basic elements that make up the different genre types, so students can correctly recognize and identify the different categories of media.

 

Abbey Weis and Karen Keller

 

Most students are familiar with the movie Shrek, but when taught wit a focus on its genre, they will view it with a more critical lens. Students will first be given a list Propp's character roles: villian, hero, donor, helper, princess, father, dispatcher, and false hero. They will match each role with a character in the film and analyze how the character defies the stereotypical archetype classification. In other words, they will list counter-characteristics to the traditional ones. (An example of a traditional fairy tale could work as a starting for them to analyze the typical portrayals, etc.) Students will also identify characteristics that make Shrek a Quest genre. In addition, they will idenify other possible genres that the film could coincide with and explain how and why.

 

Greg Gustafson, Steve Paul, and Rob Bennett

I'd start out with an easy genre like film noir. First I'd have the class brainstorm some different genre's, and they would probably come up with things like comedy, drama, action, etc. I would have them give characteristics of each one, as well as examples that the class feels would fall into each of the categories. then if no one came up with film noir, I would tell them about it; the shadows, the femme fatale, etc. I'd end the unit by showing an old film noir and a new one if we had enough time, then at the end we'd discuss it, as well as what characteristics they found similar between the old and new noir films.

 

 

Karen Keller and Abbey Weiss

A great source for teaching students various film genres is a video series called American Cinema. Each tape in the series covers two film genres. I have created several study guides that go along with these videos that help teach basic components of the genre. The videos are available at the Hollywood Video store in Uptown as well as on Amazon.com or Netflix. If you'd like a copy of the study guides I have made, just e-mail me

 

Here is the link to descriptions about each video in the series.

 

Kerry Newstrom/Sara Speicher

 

Ask students to get into groups of 6. Have one student write as all students tell what movies they’ve seen, television programs they watch, and books they’ve read in the past few months. Have the students categorize shows according to genre - and encourage them to come up with genre categories of their own. Next, have the students place all of their movies, shows, and books into a genre category. Have the class get together to share their lists.

 

Katie Houlihan and Sarah Staples

To teach students how the Western genre films' portrayal of Native American male characters generally reflect status-quo values, you could teach students from a "critical or ideological" approach in which "students critically examine the normalizing force of genre texts in defining what is considered to be normal based on the need for order, consistency, control, and regularity versus instances of abnormality or deviancy in society" (Beach, 67). Taking early Western films, from the John Wayne era, students could brainstorm what was considered to be a "normal" male (cowboy, sherrif, etc.) vs. a deviant male (savage, uncivilized Native American). Then, reflect on how those notions of normalcy were mediated through old Western films and why such notions existed - what/how did these portrayals control society? Students could then study Western films from the past twenty years and compare the more modern portrayals of Native American males to their earlier portrayals. What has changed? What hasn't? How does this reflect what notions have prevailed in our society over time, in consideration of Western expansion? Have students work in small groups to craft an outline of a movie script in which Native American males were portrayed more truthfully. Once they share their ideas with other groups, discuss whether these screenplays would be "blockbusters" or not, and why. Also, ask what these alternative versions of the same issue reflect.

 

70's Sitcom vs. 80's Sitcom: Family roles and race

Dan Richardson & Nate Schultz

Students watch clips from "The Jeffersons" and "The Brady Bunch" and discuss the differences in how the families are portrayed (for example, the Jeffersons live in an apartment in the city, the Bradys live in a house in the city). Students could be provided with a list of questions or a graphic organizer to help them focus on the similarities and differences between the father in each show, the mother in each show. The students then watch clips from the "Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" in order to make a similar comparison between the charaters on these two shows. I want to suggest that an additional layer of discussion can focus on how depictions of race change over time. How are the Bradys depicted differently than the Keatons ("Family Ties")? How are the Jeffersons depicted differently than the Cosbys? What do students think is the relative accuracy of the 4 depictions of family? How did depictions of race change from the 1970's to the 1980's? These are difficult questions to answer, and we think the lesson would have to be more carefully planned than we have done here.

 

Genre Analysis Activity

by Miriam Krause - Fall 2009

Pick a genre that you do not usually like or watch for your analysis. Interview some of your fellow students and read online reviews to find out what fans of this genre like about it, common themes, etc. Based on this information, choose two examples of the genre to watch (two different films or episodes of two different TV shows) and write a review that includes discussions of the following topics (your review may be submitted in writing or as a video blog):

- why you do not or did not like this genre.

- why fans of this genre do like it.

- common themes found in this genre, including typical characters, settings, values, etc.

- how the two examples you watched were or were not representative of the genre, including brief synopses.

- whether learning about the genre and watching examples of it did or did not change your opinions about it, and why.

 

Film Noir Activity

by Molly Schned and Laura Hammond

 

 

Film Noir Activity:

 

 

 

In order to have students consider the elements and conventions of film noir, as well as engage with the stereotypes and limitations of it, groups of 3 or 4 students would receive a slip of paper with the title of a fairy tale or cartoon on it.  The students would then adapt the story and present it as a film noir.  Audience members would try and guess the story and take notes on the specific elements the other students used.  Alternately, students could take scenes from film noir and translate them into other genres.  These activities would help students become more aware of the elements that make up different types of film.

 

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Historical/Period Piece

Adam Reich

 

Watch a film dealing with a certain historical figure.  Analyze elements of the film(s) paying certain detail to historical accuracy.  Why did the filmmakers choose to make a film about this individual/event at this point in time.  Does the film reflect upon modern times in any way.  Have students analyze the film paying attention more on details than on general plot lines.  Are the costumes historically accurate.  What kind of language is being used in the film.  Is this the way the events actually happened?

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Chris Miller & Sarah Rose

Teaching Genres

 

 

One way to introduce students to the idea of genres within film and television would be to play a four-corner activity. We would have the students stand in the center of the room.  Then we would say the name of a popular TV show, i.e. “If you like Grey’s Anatomy’s stand in corner 1” “if you like The Simpsons, go stand in corner 2” ,“if you like family guy…corner 2,” “House…corner 1” etc.  Once everyone had a corner to stand in, we would have them discuss:

            -why they like the show(s) they picked

            -what the shows have in common

                        -similar character(s)

                        -plotline

                        -setting

and then come up with a name for that genre (may or may not be the “name” it has been given by mass culture).  We could repeat this activity for multiple genres.

 

 

 

The Musical—What’s the big deal?

By Josh and Meredith

 

Have students watch clips from different musicals and ask them to consider why this format has remained so popular among various audiences for so long. Provide students with discussion questions to jumpstart their thinking about the films, such as: what differences do you see in musicals aimed toward adults and those targeting children, why are so many set in historical eras, how does the use of music differ in the musical from other films, etc. This will push the students to think critically about the genre and compare different examples within it.

 

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Brien Kelly & John Byrnes

 

 

Fairy Tales and Film Genres

 

 

Students would be asked to break into groups and choose a Fairy Tale that they are familiar with.  Then, each group would be assigned a specific film genre: Film Noir, Action / Adventure, Horror, etc.  Students would brainstorm and re-write their Fairy Tale in the genre that they have been assigned.  This would force students to think of the conventions of genre and how to apply them to a story.  After writing, the groups would share their stories with the class.

 

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Medical TV Series Activity

By Karena H. and Elisabeth C.

 

For our teaching activity students would compare medical dramas with reality television shows about real doctors such as Hopkins. By comparing the dramas with realities shows, students would determine common elements, and differences between the two types of shows. Students would also read articles about how real doctors react to dramas about the medical world. The purpose of the assignment would be to get students to explore and understand how medical dramas compare with the real medical world and understand limitations of the medical drama genre.