Strand
Film, Social Studies, English, Language Arts
Objectives
Students will read a list of Latino film descriptions. They will select several films to discuss in an article for a hypothetical high school newspaper. The article will suggest some films to an adolescent audience. Students will write the article and share it with the class.
Cultural Perspective
Although many Latino films incorporate tragic stories of gangs and gang violence, family continues to be an immensely important theme as well. In the United States, where many adolescents are born into immigrant families, other prominent themes also emerge. Latino immigrant families frequently find their citizenship status questioned, their educational opportunities limited, and their cultural values challenged. Filmmakers, many of them Latino themselves, have made films about the lives and aspirations of young people in school, at home, and in the workplace. The challenge for each filmmaker becomes how to sustain the distinct ethnic and cultural aspects of each immigrant family while erasing the stereotypes associated with these groups.
Pacing
Two class periods
Materials
Expository Writing
Have students use The Latino American Experience to choose a film for viewing and write an essay (see Extension below).
Key Questions
What are some of the issues faced by Latino teens living in the United States?
What do the films show us about the socialization of adolescents in families of Hispanic background?
What are some cultural traditions and expectations in the Latino family? Point of View
Your high school newspaper adviser has asked you to write an article for your fellow students suggesting some films that feature young Latino characters. She would like you to include movie titles that would appeal to your peers as well as those that address some important issues in teen life today. Be sure to give a brief summary of several movies as well as your thoughts on why these movies may be worth viewing. Also include your “critique” of the film.
DBQ
Key questions students should answer are:
- What do you see in this artwork?
- Are there symbols that suggest the younger generation?
- Are there symbols that suggest Hispanic tradition?
- How do the two worlds fuse together? In what ways do they collide?
Directions
Distribute the Student Activity sheet or have students access it via the Classroom Resources site. Have students keep the following topics in mind as they conduct their research:
- Gender roles
- Identity
- Gangs
- Coming-of-age stories
- Family life and traditions
Tell students to use the
Main Ideas and Details Chart to take notes. Remind students that they should read a variety of film descriptions before choosing several for the article. Remind them that considering the topics listed above will help them in their selection of films. Encourage the students to put themselves in the reader’s shoes. Have them ask: Which films would best relate to or appeal to this age group?
Assessment
Use the Newspaper Article Rubric to assess students’ writing. Have students reflect on their writing and use the list of expectations to judge how well they met the criteria.
Extension
Students have the opportunity to view a film(s) that they have researched and write their reflections on the film(s). They should ask themselves: How are my experiences in school and with my family/job, similar or different than those I have seen in the film?
(May be copied for classroom use.)