Many years ago Kevin Costner produced a series of documentaries on the stories of the various conquests of indigenous peoples in the Americas; 500 Nations to date is still one of the best resources for providing true stories that are far less romanticized than what students get in their history books This video episode fits in one class period and details what happened from the moment Columbus set foot on the ground in Puerto Rico to the demise of the Taino people. Movie guide has 26 questionst that follow the film and four follow up topics for large group discussion or as essay prompts. This film works well for a level I Spanish class (especially on Columbus day) or in a Social Studies class where students are learning about Europeans colonizing the Americas. Suitable for either middle or high school level students.

This wonderful movie produced by Edward James Olmos for HBO chronicles a student led intitative to stage citywide walkouts in order to protest discrimination against Chicano students and punishments for speaking Spanish in school. Based on a true story and co-written with actual participants in the walkouts, this movie is wonderful for any level of Spanish class or as part of a social studies unit on the civil rights movements of the late 60's. Discriminatory practices were not limited to African Americans, and this film gives great understanding to some of the unfair treatment Latino students experienced in California. The film is rated TV-14 and is suitable for students in either midde or high school. Dialogue is in English with options for Spanish. Movie guide contains 27 questions in chronological order and several follow up themes for discussion or as an independent writing assignment. Movie guide questions in both English and Spanish versions.

This movie chronicles the true story of the Bielski brothers, Russian Jews who successfully harbored 1200 Jewish refugees in the woods while fighting the Nazis for four years. This is one of the absolute best films I have seen about heroism during the Nazi occupation. This movie was nominated for an Oscar two years ago and is beautifully made. Students love watching it and it carries a PG-13 rating. Movie guide contains 30 chronologically ordered questions, follow up topics for discussion and an answer key in case you need it.

This project works best for students completing a course in US or World History. Project asks students to create their own society, based on what they have learned about US society and pre-search investigation on 3 other countries. Students then create a visual presentation outlining every aspect of their improved society, including, economy, government, roles of citizens, rules, trade etc. Students also reflect on the difficulties they encountered when creating their society. Assignment is designed to be comprehensive in its analysis of all aspects of a society, the problems that arise and how to best manage them. It will take students approx one week to complete, and will require at least two days in the computer lab to gather information and to work on visuals. Project includes guided questions for students, a research chart for compare and contrast, detailed instructions and a grading rubric.

PBS American Experience has an excellent episode on the Freedom Riders and the Montgomery bus riots in the struggle to disband segragation in the deep South. The program is just under two hours and could be cut apart over the course of several days with opportunities for students to discuss in pairs and larger group some of the ethical dilemmas and risks that the Freedom Riders risked. This movie guide contains 40 questions in order of the program with opportunities for "think pair share" and several follow up topics for after the program for students to journal or discuss with classmates. PBS American Experience is available for free through PBS Website or streaming through a Roku/Chromecast. This lesson works best for high school aged students studying the Civil Rights movement in their social studies classes.

This documentary claims to be 50 minutes long, but is really only 40. It serves as a nice introduction to Machu Picchu, the history of the Inca who built it, how they got conquered and looks a little bit at the stone cutting techniques used to build Machu Picchu and other Inca structures. Movie guide has 18 questions in English that follow the film chronologically and a couple of topics for further discussion. This documentary bounced around a bit, but students will receive a decent overview of the basics on the Inca Empire and Machu Picchu. I purchased this DVD on half.com for $2.00, it was worth it for a decent emergency lesson or to tie in with what you already teach about Machu Picchu/Inca.

This one hour documentary from PBS chronciles the Supreme Court Case Hernandez vs Texas as a critical moment in determining if Mexican Americans should be considered a protected class against discrimination under the 14th amendment of the Constitution. 19 questions in chronological order of the film, with answer key and translated version in Spanish. The DVD is available from PBS or on line from Amazon, and is suitable for either a social studies class studying civil rights, or a Spanish class where you want to provide students with a little history. DVD also has audio track in Spanish for Heritage Learner classes. Movie takes one class period to view.

This movie guide comes with a separate "presearch" activity for students to complete in advance of viewing the film THE HELP in order to understand what Jim Crow laws were and how they limited African-American's civil rights in many areas. Students complete the webquest the day before viewing the film THE HELP to discover and discuss these laws. The actual movie guide contains 27 questions that accompany the film in chronological order and 3 topics for discussion. Plan 3-4 days to complete the presearch, view film and discuss with students. This film has some difficult scenes, but is PG-13 rated and suitable for either middle or high school age students.