Teaching literary analysis to secondary students can be fun! Both middle school students and high school students can struggle with literary analysis, but an easy way to trick them into analyzing literature is by practicing with short films.
I’ve been using this strategy to teach literary analysis with my struggling readers for years. Using short films to teach literary analysis is a great way to make the process less scary and overwhelming. Using entertaining short films is a way to get students engaged in the literary analysis process.
I use short films to teach so many literary elements such as symbolism, tone, theme, and even social commentary!
Here’s my top 5 favorite short films for teaching literary analysis.
Overview: Lambs tells the story of lamb parents who are a little frustrated and embarrassed that their child isn’t JUST.LIKE.THEM. Through a hilarious learning opportunity, the lamb parents come to realize that conformity shouldn’t be the only option for their child. They decide to embrace their own little lamb’s uniqueness – appreciating him for exactly who he is.
ELA Focus: Use this short film to teach the author’s purpose and social commentary. There’s a definite takeaway here for how important it is to embrace diversity and appreciate your family for who they are – not who we think they should be. During and after viewing, ask students to think about:
- Who is the intended audience for this piece? How do you know?
- What does it mean when a piece is considered a social commentary?
- What makes this short film a social commentary?
2. Nuggets
Overview: If I’m being honest, this is my all time favorite short film – to watch AND teach! The simple animation packs such a punch! You’ll go from thinking what-in-the-world-is-this? To OMG NO WAY! This short film teaches so many lessons about temptation, choices, and even addiction. I don’t want to give away any spoilers – you just have to watch it to see for yourself what all the hype is about. There’s no dialogue in this film, but every detail from the colors to the sound is beautifully crafted.
ELA Focus: Use this short film to teach symbolism, theme, and author’s purpose. During and after viewing, ask students to think about:
- How does the lack of dialogue enhance the meaning?
- How does color symbolism affect this piece?
- How is the title of the short film symbolic?
3. Snack Attack
Overview: This is such a great short film to use when teaching literary analysis because it requires students to focus on detail and flashbacks! The film tells the story of an elderly woman and a young man who are waiting on the same bus. A misunderstanding causes a disagreement among the two, but there’s a twist at the end that will leave everyone laughing.
ELA Focus: Use this short film to teach flashbacks, characterization, and theme! During and after viewing, ask students to think about:
- What is the filmmaker attempting to teach us about assumptions?
- How do flashbacks enhance the theme?
- What type of characterization is utilized within the film?
4. Soar
Overview: Soar is such a powerful short film about growth mindset. This film tells the story of a young inventor who keeps “failing” at creating different airplane designs. Just when she’s about to give up, a TINY boy and his model airplane fall out of the sky. The young girl has to save the day by developing a design for this tiny boy’s plane so that she can help him catch up with the rest of his fleet/family. Giving up just isn’t an option if she wants to save her new friend!
ELA focus: I use this short film to teach connotation vs. denotation, mood, tone, and symbolism. During and after viewing, ask students to think about:
- Why is the title of this short film a good “fit?”
- What could the stars possibly symbolize?
- What does this short film teach us about mindset?
The Small Shoemaker is set on the beautiful streets of Paris and tells the story of a small business owner who crafts beautiful shoes and is challenged when a strange street vendor comes to town. The shoemaker must learn how to deal with competition, be creative, and find inspiration even in unlikely places.
ELA focus: This is a great short film to not only teach personification, but also mood and characterization. During and after viewing, ask students to think about:
- How do indirect and direct characterization function in the film?
- How does the personification function in this piece to enhance the mood?
- How does the characterization enhance the conflict in this film?
These are just a few of my favorite short films to use when teaching literary analysis or literary elements. You can grab all of the worksheets and organizers I use for teaching these short films here! I also have more great short films to use when teaching literary analysis that you can check out here!
Grab the bundle of all 10 short films + literary analysis graphic organizers here!
What are some of your favorite short films or videos to use when teaching your students how to analyze literature?
