Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy is a feature documentary that introduces audiences to the esteemed chef who is an expert in Mexican cuisine. Kennedy’s charm and no-frills attitude reveals how passion and appetite can build a lifelong career.
A class screening of this film may compliment a curriculum in history, world cultures, Latin American studies, and food studies. Taught in conjunction with this guide, the film will encourage students to think about other cultures and their own lives and career paths. Students will also be prepared to learn more about activism.
Teaching Tools
Learning about student activism and taking pride in one’s culture in ‘We Are the Radical Monarchs’
We Are the Radical Monarchs is a documentary chronicling the three year journey of a troop of 8 -13 year old girls of color and their two leaders. A class screening of this film may compliment a curriculum in history or social studies, specifically around social justice movements and student activism. The film will encourage students to think about the importance of taking pride in one’s culture, and what it means to be an activist.
Learning about living life to its fullest in ‘Supa Modo’
Supa Modo is a dramatic film about a terminally-ill girl in Kenya whose entire village rallies to realize her dream of being a superhero. A class screening of this film may complement a curriculum in Social Studies and World Cultures. Taught in conjunction with this guide, the film will encourage students to think about the importance of living life to its fullest, and what it means to be a superhero. Support materials are intended to facilitate group discussion, individual and collaborative creative exercises, subject-based learning and access to resources for further investigation of material. Educators are encouraged to adapt and abridge the content as necessary to meet their unique learning objectives.
Learning about climate change with ‘Bill Nye: Science Guy’
Bill Nye: Science Guy is a feature documentary that follows the offscreen life of legendary science educator Bill Nye. A screening of the film may supplement a science or environmental studies curriculum. Taught in conjunction with this guide Bill Nye: Science Guy will challenge students to think critically about American attitudes toward science amid the growing threat of climate change. Discussion questions and supplementary materials facilitate further research into related topics such as the scientific method, and the relationship between fact, theory and belief.
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Learning about the fight for equal rights in ‘Dolores’
Dolores is a documentary film about the life and work of legendary civil rights activist Dolores Huerta. A screening of the film may complement a US history, social studies or ethnic studies curriculum.
Taught in conjunction with this guide, the film will empower students to think critically about the ongoing fight for equal rights for people of color and women in the United States, and about the meaning of sustained activism, both personally and politically. Discussion questions and supplemental materials facilitate further research into related topics such as intersectional feminism, Chicano/Chicana cultural identity, and the importance of recognizing the work of activists in the American cultural narrative.