How to Earn Elective Credit in Cinema Studies

For creative teens, how to earn elective credit in cinema studies.

How to Earn Elective Credit in Cinema Studies

Some of our homeschool high schoolers’ favorite subjects each year were often their elective credits. That makes sense, of course. Electives are the credits that teens need on their transcripts but are specifically included to encourage teens to discover, explore and develop interests, life skills and talents.

Several of our teens were really into film and filmmaking. They wanted to learn how to craft stories like the ones they enjoyed in their favorite movies. Not only that, but they wanted to learn about filming and editing movies. They wanted credit in Cinema Studies.

In those days, there was not much in the way of curriculum for studying the stories of film and of skills for filming. However, we are homeschool moms, so what did we do? We created the curriculum and experiences.

Here’s what our high schoolers and their friends did:

Our teens were so invested in learning that they actually ended up with two separate credits:

• Cinema Studies.Story Analysis
  • Using Cinema Studies for Literature Learning (curriculum developed by 7Sister Sabrina, of course)
  • Note, Cinema Studies for Literature Learning can also be used as English/Language Arts credit, here is a post from our 7Sisters Cousin Sara May about her family’s experience using the Cinema Studies guides for ELA.
• Cinematography

However, some of their homeschool high school friends only wanted one credit, so they combined half credit in Cinema Studies for Literature Learning and half credit in Cinematography.

Do you have creative teens who would love to earn some elective credit(s) in Cinema Studies? You can do this! As you know, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school, but here’s the way we did this.

Elective credit in Cinema Studies/Story Analysis

We did this course in our co-op and also in our umbrella school classes. Teens could choose whether to count the credit for ELA or elective.

Through 7Sisters’ Cinema Studies for Literature Learning our teens explored the important IDEAS of story-telling and the power stories have to shape individuals, groups of people, and even entire cultures using the visual medium of movies. They followed the process in the guides of watching the movies (a couple of times) and completing the guides.

Our high schoolers also loved the co-op discussions they had about the films and the storytelling skills they learned through the guides.

Here are some of the story telling elements they learned.

Elements of Literature brought into focus in Cinema Studies for Literature Learning include:

• Theme
• Universal and Personal Symbolism
• Satire
• Archetype
• Motivation
• Internal and External Conflict
• Static and Dynamic Characters
• Extended Metaphor
• Father and Son Stories
• Fiction as Social Commentary
• Suspension of Disbelief
• Dramatic Foils
• The Nature of Heroism
• Irony
• Foreshadowing
• Composite Characters
• Classic 3-Act Plot Structure
• Sub-plot
• Deus Ex Machina
• Farce
• Bildungsroman (Coming of Age Story)
• Fairy Tales, Legends, Myths, and Allegories
• Juxtaposition
• Allusion

Here are the movies included in Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Bundle

• Rudy
• High Noon
• Places in the Heart
• The Three Musketeers
• Casablanca
• What’s Up Doc?
• A Christmas Carol
• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Wizard of Oz
• 12 Angry Men
• Field of Dreams
• Moby Dick
• The Truman Show
• The Miracle Worker

BTW- some of our teens also completed these additional guides for a second elective credit in Cinema Studies/Story Analysis

• Apollo 13
• Charade
• Hook
• Hoosiers
• Life of Pi
• Lillies of the Field
• Midnight in Paris
• Remember the Titans
• The 39 Steps
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Great Debaters
• The Incredibles
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• The Sandlot

Note: Some of these Cinema Studies for Literature Learning guides also have an adapted edition that is available for homeschoolers in states that reimburse for curriculum expenses.

Elective credit in Cinematography

Our creative homeschool high schoolers also earned at least one credit in Cinematography. They learned basics in the art and skill of filmmaking in a co-op class. (Even though we homeschool moms did not know a thing about the topic, we had learned how to teach what we don’t know!)

• We logged hours for this credit (based on a Carnegie Unit). We simply logged the time our high schoolers spent studying filmmaking, attending co-op class and producing short films.
• Since we were learning Cinematography alongside our teens, we wanted curriculum. We found Filmmaking for Dummies and Teach Yourself Filmmaking. We discussed the topics in the books together in the group.
• We watched great movie scene clips (chosen for camera work, dialogue, acting, etc) suggested by the students or moms. We would discuss what made those clips great.
• Also we used extra material at included on DVDs for many movies. These often have terrific extra material that gives a behind the scenes look at how scripts are written, camerawork is done, crews work together. Our teens especially loved the extra material and their discussions based on viewing Lord of the Rings DVDs’ extra material. (Unfortunately, there are not so many DVDs these days. Sometimes you can find the “extra material for movies on YouTube.)
• On a monthly basis, we broke the teens into teams, gave them a Bible story or other topic to script, film and edit. They filmed on their own inexpensive video cameras and edited on their Movie Maker programs. Simple but good for application of what they had been learning in class. They then showed their projects in class.
• Each spring, the high schoolers had their own film festival and invited the local homeschool support group to come. We had a panel of judges that voted on numerous categories- a number of awards were given. (These awards looked GREAT on their transcripts!)

Check out this episode of Homeschool Highschool Podcast for more ideas on filmmaking for homeschool high schoolers.

Cinema Studies elective credits…you can do this!

Hey, here’s an early attempt at filmmaking from the archives of our kids’ “public service announcements” (about ballroom dancing at their umbrella school).

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