CURRICULUM GUIDE
GRADES: 6-12
TABLE OF CONTENTS Instructor Resources A Letter to Educators Discussion Questions Interpretive Essay Prompts Standards About CFI
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Student Handouts About the Films Viewing Activities
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Dear Educators, Thank you for attending the California Film Institute’s DocLands screening of Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment. Our DocLands Education screenings focus on increasingly relevant issues of global empathy and active citizenship, and we believe this film will be a powerful and engaging text to use in your classroom. We know that this year is likely one of the most challenging of your professional career, and we hope that this film and study guide can support the incredible work you’re already doing. These curricular materials are designed to get students to engage deeply with film by the common-core aligned skills of developing an evidence-based interpretation of a text. The discussion questions on the following page offer a variety of options for fostering small-group or whole-class dialogue. If your students are already familiar with a process of writing evidence-based interpretive essays, consider using one of the suggested essay prompts for a short writing piece. Additionally, individual handouts for before, during, and after viewing are provided as stand-alone activities to be used individually or in sequence. Thank you so much for your tireless work! Sincerely, The CFI Education Team
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What are the central issues addressed in these documentaries? 2. What are some surprising facts you learned from these films? How do these facts shape your understanding of the theme of identity and empowerment? 3. What did you see in these films that reminds you of other stories from your life or other stories you know? 4. What are some background details you noticed in these films? How do these details provide information about the context in which the films were made? 5. Consider other films you’ve seen. What makes these films unique or important? What are some connections between these films and other films? 6. Which film was the most inspirational? In what ways is it inspiring? 7. Which film had the most unique or interesting visual style? What was unique about it?
INTERPRETIVE ESSAY PROMPTS 1. Pick one of the four films and analyze how the central person or people in the film exemplified the theme of “identity and empowerment.” 2. Pick one of the four films in the program and compare and contrast the central person or people in the film to the protagonist of another text you have read.
STANDARDS CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
ABOUT CFI The nonprofit California Film Institute celebrates and promotes film as art and education through year-round programming at the independent Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, presentation of the acclaimed Mill Valley Film Festival and DocLands Documentary Film Festival, as well as cultivation of the next generation of filmmakers and audiences through CFI Education programs. Follow the California Film Institute on social media @cafilm @californiafilminstitute @cafilminstitute californiafilminstitute Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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Name:_________________________________________
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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ABOUT THE FILMS
WALLS CANNOT KEEP US FROM FLYING Director Jonathan Mehring | US 2021 | 12 min | In Arabic with English subtitles Two Palestinian youth from the West Bank seek personal freedom through skateboarding while growing up under occupation.
INTO THE CIRCLE Directors Meg Griffiths & Scott Faris | US 2021 | 17 min Into the Circle tells the story of a resilient Indigenous family, their journey through life-altering tragedy, and the community that helped them reconnect with their Lakota heritage.
BECOMING BLACK LAWYERS Director Evangeline M. Mitchell | US 2021 | 19 min Five young Black lawyers share their lived experiences of being Black in predominantly White law schools, providing thoughtful insight into the significance of Blackness in law school and what it means to become a Black lawyer.
GAME HAWKER Directors Brett Marty & Joshua Izenberg | US 2022 | 30 min For Shawn Hayes, the ancient practice of falconry is more than a deep partnership with raptors: It’s become his life’s work. Through his skill and finesse, he’s carved a space for himself in a culture where people of color haven’t always been welcome. Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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BEFORE VIEWING:
IDENTITY AND EMPOWERMENT Directions: During this program of shorts, you will watch four short films connected by themes of identity and empowerment. Before watching, consider what those words mean to you by responding to the following prompts. 1. In the boxes, record six words that capture aspects of your identity. These could be groups you belong to, activities you engage in, or beliefs you hold. Anything that informs your sense of who you are.
2. Pick one of the six words you listed above, and in a short paragraph, describe an experience when something related to this aspect of your identity gave you a sense of empowerment.
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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Who is the subject of the film and what interest or goal informs their identity?
What obstacles have they faced in pursuing their goals?
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
Into the Circle
Walls Cannot Keep Us from Flying
Film
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What gives them the strength and ability to overcome those obstacles?
Use this notecatcher to record observations about the subject of each film, paying attention to how they cultivated their personal sense of identity and empowerment.
Directions:
NOTECATCHER
DURING VIEWING:
Who is the subject of the film and what interest or goal informs their identity?
What obstacles have they faced in pursuing their goals?
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
Game Hawker
Becoming Black Lawyers
Film
NOTECATCHER
DURING VIEWING:
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What gives them the strength and ability to overcome those obstacles?
AFTER VIEWING:
RESPONSE QUESTIONS Directions: Sometimes when responding to film or literature, you might hear texts described as either mirrors or windows. Mirrors are those stories that reflect your own world, showing an experience that is familiar or relatable, while perhaps providing a fresh perspective. Windows, on the other hand, are those stories that let us look into a new and unfamiliar world, a world beyond our own lived experience. Think about these terms in relation to the films you’ve just watched and respond to the following prompts, using evidence from the film to support your writing. 1. Of these films, which one was the best mirror: a story that reflected something you see or have experienced in your own life, and gave you a way to see your own experience from a new perspective? What was relatable about this story and what was unique about the way the filmmaker chose to tell the story?
2. Of these films, which one was the best window: a story with insight into a world, identity, or experience you were unfamiliar with? What was unique about this story, and what was unique about the way the filmmaker chose to tell the story?
3. Of these films, which film best fit the program’s theme of “identity and empowerment?” What was the film’s message about identity or empowerment? What parts of the film conveyed this message?
Short Docs: Identity + Empowerment Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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