ITVS Community Classroom lesson plans pair educational film modules drawn from ITVS’s acclaimed documentary films with standards-based lesson plans, activities, and other interactive content.

Lesson Plans

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The Power of Expression

This lesson documents the importance of opening up through storytelling and song about the things that make us hurt and angry and challenges students to tell their story.

From the Women and Girls Lead, Vol. 3: Women, Girls, & the Criminal Justice System Classroom collection
From the film Girls on the Wall

Understanding Immigration Issues

This lesson focuses on the history of immigration in the U.S., current immigration reform issues and legislation as students work together to formulate plans for changing immigration laws in the U.S. (includes 3 film modules)

From the Sentenced Home Classroom collection
From the film Sentenced Home

Using Stories to Inspire Community Action

In this lesson, students will explore how storytelling can be a powerful way to illustrate how problems affect people and to inspire collective action that can bring about positive change. The class will first analyze the potential impact of the experiences described by Rose Mapendo, a woman whose family suffered severe hardships during violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Students will then gather and share a true story from their own community that explains the human impact of a local issue. (includes 1 film module)

From the Women and Girls Lead, Volume 1 Classroom collection
From the film Pushing the Elephant

What Is Democracy?

In this lesson, students will consider the qualities that exist in a democracy and how different people would define democracy. They will create their own media expressions of what the concept means to them. (Includes 1 film module)

From the Vote Democracy! Classroom collection
From the film Please Vote for Me

What Is the Impact of My Decisions?

This lesson asks students to reflect on decisions they have made that have negatively impacted others in order to build empathy and hold themselves accountable.

From the Women and Girls Lead, Vol. 3: Women, Girls, & the Criminal Justice System Classroom collection
From the film Troop 1500

What Makes Someone an American?

This lesson explores what it means to be “American” and how children become assimilated into the culture in which they were raised, not necessarily the culture of their birth. (includes 4 film modules)

From the Sentenced Home Classroom collection
From the film Sentenced Home

What to Do: The State of the Criminal Justice System

This lesson provides students with an opportunity to learn more about trends in the criminal justice system in the context of an exploding prison population.

From the Women and Girls Lead, Vol. 3: Women, Girls, & the Criminal Justice System Classroom collection
From the film Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story

Women Peacemakers

Students will define violence and personalize the issue by discussing their perceptions of and experience with violence. They will consider the key traits and skills Ameena Matthews embodies as a “violence interrupter” that allow her to successfully prevent shootings and mediate conflict. They will also consider the role gender plays in engaging communities and changing social norms around peace and violence.

From the Women and Girls Lead, Vol. 2: African American Women Lead Classroom collection
From the film The Interrupters

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