C is for Cinema and Common Core State Standards

hello25051
8 hours ago
2 min read

I apologize to my readers for my extended break from the blog!

A positive reason I can give you for being away is a significant change in our children's education; shifting from the National Curriculum for England to a US Common Core State Standards curriculum. The result? A change that has allowed us to take a more active role in shaping their learning journey. Both children are currently working on sustainable and responsibility projects. Everything in inquiry based learning, and its brill.

Their school focuses on fostering ecological literacy and understanding environmental stewardship, and at home I consciously try to increase discussions on studying water systems and responsibility.

To build on our son’s school work and water responsibility, I decided to create a workbook for him to pursue his interests through science investigation including data collection and maths (graphing). A primary goal is to encourage his curiosity and help him think more sustainably through his own scientific investigation and continue in his free time.

As a family we all enjoy going to the cinema as often as possible and at home watch as many documentaries as we can. As an add on to his project from films he has enjoyed, AI ( including Chat GPT) and I curated suitable excerpt's of film and media that specifically illustrate the concepts of responsibility and sustainability. What is really great that with AI-driven cross-referencing, I can map film scenes to our children's workbooks, ensuring all activities align with Common Core State Standards and grade-level requirements. *reference film clip timings below.

Film Clip Timings:

Film	Scene Focus	Suggested Clip Timing
Avatar The Way Of the Water	Immersive Aquatic Environments & CGI - ecosystem scenes	00:00:00 - 03:12:00
Black Panther (2018)	Technology with nature	01:05:10 - 01:07:20
Aquaman (2018)	Ocean pollution - human impact on water systems	00:24:40 - 00:26:30
Poolman (2023)	Pool Maintenance, testing & Responsibility	00:12:30 - 00:15:10
Black Panther (2018)	Wakanda waterfall and river, culture, sustainable protections, water resources	00:18:50 - 00:21:00
Aquaman (2018)	Atlantis waterfall and River - natural water systems and balance	00:18:50 - 00:21:00

So 2026 begins with bridging the gap between our children's love of cinema and the academic requirements for Common Core State Standards! What I thought really mattered is adding pedagogical depth to movies and children's extra curricular activities (watching super hero genre and contemporary media,) whilst giving height to engagement in sustainability across all school subjects. Our goal is to turn 'screen time' into 'study time' by validating children's personal interests as legitimate evidence for their scientific and mathematical investigations. This is a expectation of the Common Core State Standards; ultimately utilise high engagement material responsibly and to treat media as evidence; not just entertainment.

US Common Core Alignment	Anchor
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7
Evidence-Based Research	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7-9
Real-World Relevance	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7
Explain events and ideas using evidence from visual media	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7
Participate in collaborative discussions	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1
Write opinions supported by evidence	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1