Movies as Literature

This complete, one-year literature course was designed for high school but could be used as a middle school study. The course uses classic movies (some of which are better known than their novel of origin) to introduce and study the elements of literary analysis. For instance, Emma and To Kill a Mockingbird are both well-known and often-studied novels, while Chariots of Fire is known primarily as a movie. Student discussion and composition questions are provided for each of the seventeen movies featured in the extensive Teacher Guide (answer key included). Extra resources include a glossary of important literary terms as well as a final exam. Focusing on the skills needed to dissect different literary aspects of great books, however, doesn’t mean that underlying messages in movies goes unnoticed. Whether you want your students to read the novels first and then watch the movies and analyze them, or merely watch the movies alone, this book provides great guidelines and offers students the tools they need for literary analysis. The optional Student Workbook contains the questions from the Teacher Guide, with room for students to answer them, plus a glossary and plenty of movie trivia for fun.

Please note that a brief synopsis of many of the books included here are provided in our Library Builders section. Study guides for the same book are often available from several publishers, so we found it more efficient to give a description of the book only once.