The purpose of this project is to provide some fun, educational activities during April and May of 2020 for students of all ages utilizing films that many of them (and us too!) love. I have taught courses on the Pixar films to college students and continuing education students for several years, and I wanted to offer that experience to other groups as well.
First let me describe the modules and the process, and then I’ll lay out the schedule below.
The mini-course will last from April 13th to May 14th with 2 modules per week. Every Monday and Wednesday I will launch a video (10-12 minutes each) where I talk about some of the major themes in the film. The videos will be posted on this webpage with links in the schedule below.
Videos will have questions built into them that need to be answered before you can continue watching. There are 3 levels of questions (K-5th grade; 6-8th grade; high school and beyond), and you can write your answers right in the program itself. The questions are interpretive and analytical, and the idea is that you can use them to lead your own discussion of the film. Hopefully, you will have watched the movies together before accessing the video.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, I will be live on FB and Twitter from 10:00-11:30 Central Time to answer any questions parents and teachers (and anyone else who is interested!) want to raise on behalf of themselves or their children/students. I’ll be working in both formats in order to give access to as many folks as possible, and I’ll make sure to post some questions geared toward different ability levels. Feel free to drop in at any point to talk!
On Facebook, I’ll start a post that others can respond to at the appointed time. On Twitter, we’ll use the hashtag #PixarinApril to curate the discussions. If you’ve never used Twitter before, it’s easy and you can set up a private account. As long as you follow me (@joshua_r_eyler) and use the hashtag, I’ll be able to see your replies, but nobody in the wider Twitterverse will be able to do so.
The Schedule:
Monday, 4/13–Toy Story Video Module Launches
Tuesday, 4/14–Toy Story Discussion on FB and Twitter
Wednesday, 4/15–Finding Nemo Video Module Launches
Thursday, 4/16–Finding Nemo Discussion on FB and Twitter
Monday, 4/20–The Incredibles Video Module Launches
Tuesday, 4/21–The Incredibles Discussion on FB and Twitter
Wednesday, 4/22–Ratatouille Video Module Launches
Thursday, 4/23–Ratatouille Discussion on FB and Twitter
[Please note: Many of the films we’ll be discussing over the next three weeks are rated PG and deal with advanced themes related to loss, grief, and growing up. Parental discretion is definitely advised.]
As of Monday, 4/27, I need to put video modules on hiatus. I hope to return to them over the summer. Live discussions will still take place.
Tuesday, 4/28–WALL-E Discussion on FB and Twitter
Thursday, 4/30–Up Discussion on FB and Twitter
Tuesday, 5/5–Toy Story 3 Discussion on FB and Twitter
Thursday, 5/7–Brave Discussion on FB and Twitter
Tuesday, 5/12–Inside Out Discussion on FB and Twitter
Thursday, 5/14–Coco Discussion on FB and Twitter
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and spread the word to whomever you think would be interested.
A Lifetime's Training 