How it works
This movie graphic organizer gives a class something to do with a film besides watch it: a prediction to test while it plays and notes to talk about afterward.
Read the full guide
Before, during and after
Have the prediction written before the film starts, so there is something to check. Pause once or twice for the notes, so nobody writes through a scene. The last three boxes wait until the film ends.
A film or a short video
A feature film has room for the full sheet. For a short clip in a science or history lesson, the video graphic organizer with three note boxes is enough, and its half sheets save paper.
- Say what to watch for before the film starts: one thing to see and one thing to hear.
- A rating needs a reason. Ask for one detail from the film that earned or lost a point.
Questions and answers
How do students take notes during a movie?
In short phrases, not full sentences. Three notes are enough for a class film: something seen, something heard and something that surprised.
How do you write a movie review for school?
Say what the film is about in two or three sentences without giving away the ending. Then say what worked, what you would change and who would enjoy it, with a reason for each opinion.
How do you compare a book and its movie?
List what is only in the book, what is only in the movie and what is in both. Then pick one change and say why the filmmakers might have made it, and whether it helped the story.