FoW - Film of the Week

Let's make our students watch movies and at the same time, practice for the Textual Analysis

Purpose

FoW is a regular homework task that helps students build the habits needed for the IB Textual Analysis, but in a smaller and less intimidating format. It gives them steady practice in choosing scenes, noticing film elements, and connecting ideas clearly in writing. It also helps broaden their viewing habits by pushing them toward films they might never choose on their own, especially older or more historically important works. This fits well with the IB Film course, which asks students to engage with films from different times, places, and cultural contexts.

In my own teaching, I usually do not watch full feature films in class. I personally feel that classroom time is better spent on short films, labs, production work, and direct teaching of movements, theories, and film language. That is simply my personal approach, not a universal rule. I know excellent teachers, including some of my own role models, who spend weeks unpacking one single film and get wonderful results. The beauty of IB Film is that there is room for different teaching styles, as long as students are guided with purpose and care.

FoW also comes from a simple observation: many students today barely watch recent releases and have never seen classic films. FoW gives me one practical way to change that, while still keeping the work focused, manageable, and connected to the final assessments.

Core principles

  • Same thinking, smaller scope. Keep the TA logic (A/B/C with explicit C(i) and C(ii)) but reduce word count, extract length, sources, and number of elements.

  • Depth over breadth. Two strong claims beat five weak ones.

  • Evidence first. Every claim names the cinematic choice and the intended effect, with a timecode.

  • Differentiation is built-in. Students can specialise: one handles A (context), another focuses B on a single element, another strengthens C links.