Movies: teacher notes

The same notes now live on each movie’s own page (the answer key shows when the address ends in ?key=1, and the warm-ups are always shown). This page keeps every key in one place.

Answer keys for Part 1 of each worksheet. A blank answer means the key still needs to be checked against the film. Check ratings and content for your own students before showing a film. Spare Parts and The Imitation Game are PG-13; The Imitation Game deals with war, a suicide and the prosecution of a gay man, so it suits older students best.

Big Hero 6

1. B What type of robot is Baymax originally designed to be?
2. B What invention does Hiro create for the science showcase?
3. B Who is revealed to be the masked villain?
4. C What does Hiro initially want to use Baymax and his friends for?
5. C How does the team ultimately save Callaghan’s daughter?

Student worksheet

Coraline

1. B Why does Coraline go through the small door in the wall?
2. A What is different about the people in the Other World?
3. B What does the Other Mother want Coraline to do if she wants to stay?
4. A What does Coraline find hidden inside the Other World that she needs to rescue?
5. B What does Coraline do with the key at the end of the movie?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to read a motive.

CASEL focus by question:

• Self-Awareness: feeling ignored and wanting attention
• Responsible Decision-Making: spotting a trap (the Other World is “perfect”)
• Self-Management: staying brave and thinking under stress
• Social Awareness and Relationship Skills: first impressions of the neighbors
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG for scary images and thematic elements. This is the scariest film in this set: button eyes, a villain who changes into a monster, ghost children, and a long chase. A student who is sensitive to scary movies may want another film. The Other Mother is a villain who pretends to love a child, which can also be a good talking point. Best for grades 7 to 9.

Student worksheet

Hidden Figures

1. B Where do Katherine, Dorothy and Mary work, and what are their jobs called?
2. A What is Katherine’s new job when she joins the Space Task Group?
3. B What does Mary do to be allowed to take the classes she needs to become an engineer?
4. B What does Dorothy do when she finds out an IBM computer will replace the human computers?
5. A Before John Glenn’s launch, what does Katherine do?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 15 minutes. The film starts at the moment when “computer” meant a person, so the warm-ups start there. The film is set in the segregated South, so the last warm-up sets the stage without asking anyone to share anything personal.

• What is a computer? (3 minutes): Ask students to define it. Take three answers. Then tell them that before the 1950s, a computer was a person who did calculations for a living. Ask what such a person would need to be good at.
• Race the machine (4 minutes, pairs): Each pair multiplies 347 x 29 by hand while a third person times them, then checks with a calculator. Ask: how long did that one take? How would you feel if a rocket launch depended on 500 of these? Where could mistakes slip in?
• Who gets credit? (2 minutes): Ask: can you name someone who did important work and rarely got credit? Take two or three ideas. The title of the film is about this idea.
• Rules from history (3 minutes): In the early 1960s, some places in the United States had separate bathrooms, libraries and schools for Black and white people. Ask: why do you think such rules existed, and how do rules like that get changed? Take two or three ideas. Do not ask anyone to share their own experiences.
• Space race (2 minutes): The Soviet Union put the first person in space in 1961, and the United States wanted to catch up. Ask: why might NASA need someone to double-check the computer’s numbers before a launch?
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name something you got better at by practicing, and who helped you.”

A note on tone: the film uses the real words and signs of the time. Tell the class in advance that you will hear a few of them, that the film is showing how unfair they were, and that the class is watching to understand.

Answer key: Part 1 follows the plot as summarized by Wikipedia and Common Sense Media; confirm against the film.

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to follow a character’s choice.

Teaching points by question:

• Computers Before Computers: the word “computer” meant a person. Look for answers that mention doing long calculations by hand, and that machines took over the routine work and people moved up to work the machines.
• Learning a New Machine: Dorothy sees a change coming and prepares. Strong answers mention learning ahead of time and helping others.
• Checking the Machine: a computer can be wrong, and a person with judgment can catch it. Look for answers that name a high-stakes case (a launch, a bank, a medical device).
• Unfair Rules: no single right answer. Look for specific actions (a petition, speaking up, finding an ally) and for honest reasons why it is hard.

CASEL focus: “Unfair Rules” is Social Awareness (recognizing unjust norms) and Relationship Skills (standing up for the rights of others). “Learning a New Machine” is Self-Management (the courage to take initiative).

History note: the film is based on a true story but dramatizes some scenes. Per Wikipedia, it combines timelines and characters, and several famous scenes did not happen as shown: the segregated coffeepot, Al Harrison smashing the restroom sign, and Harrison letting Katherine into Mission Control. Mary Jackson, not Katherine, had the restroom incident; Katherine often used white restrooms without complaint. The flight was planned for three orbits (the film says it was cut short), and the machine is called an IBM 7090 while the console shown is a 7094. Some critics also say the film leans on a “white savior” storyline. These are good discussion points: ask students what the film changes, and why a filmmaker might.

Grace Hopper: she is not in the film (the film is about NASA; she worked for the Navy). A 10-slide deck about her, with speaker notes and a printable outline, is linked from the movie page and lives at /movies/grace-hopper-slides/. Dorothy’s programming scenes make a natural bridge to it.

Content note: Rated PG for thematic elements and some language. Common Sense Media lists it for ages 10 and up and rates the discrimination “a lot.” Segregation is shown realistically, including signs that say “colored,” a few uses of the word “Negro,” and mild language (“damn,” “hell”). There is no graphic violence. Fine for grades 6 to 11 with some context first.

Student worksheet

Inside Out

1. B Why does Riley’s life change at the start of the movie?
2. A What happens when Joy and Sadness are pulled out of headquarters with the core memories?
3. B Who does Joy meet in Riley’s long-term memory who offers to help her get back?
4. B At the Memory Dump, what does Bing Bong do so that Joy can escape?
5. B At the end, what does Joy learn about Sadness?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Question 4 and 5 ask students to read an emotional situation.

CASEL focus by question:

• Self-Awareness: noticing and naming feelings, and the pressure to hide them
• Social Awareness: empathy (Sadness and Bing Bong)
• Responsible Decision-Making: Riley’s choice to stop running away
• Relationship Skills: sharing a hard feeling with family
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG. Bing Bong’s sacrifice is sad, and the family move is a common worry for students. Fine for grades 6 to 9.

Student worksheet

Inside Out 2

1. D What new emotion appears at headquarters when Riley becomes a teenager?
2. B What is Riley trying to accomplish at hockey camp?
3. B What does Anxiety do to Riley’s Sense of Self?
4. B Where do Joy and the other original emotions get sent when Anxiety takes over?
5. B How does Riley ultimately deal with her anxiety at the end?

Student worksheet

My Neighbor Totoro

1. B Why are Satsuki and Mei moving to a new house in the countryside?
2. C What unusual form of transportation appears at the bus stop?
3. B How does Mei first discover Totoro?
4. C When Totoro seems confused by the umbrella, Satsuki smiles and shows him how it works. What does this tell us about her?
5. C At the end of the movie, Totoro and the Catbus help Satsuki find Mei quietly, without asking for anything in return. What does this suggest about what it means to help someone?

Student worksheet

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

1. B What does Nausicaä do that most people in the Valley do not?
2. B What secret does Nausicaä find under the Toxic Jungle?
3. A Why does the Tolmekian army want to burn the jungle?
4. B Why do the Ohmu stampede toward the Valley?
5. B How does the stampede end?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to read motive and consequences.

CASEL focus by question:

• Social Awareness: fear of the unknown, curiosity and perspective
• Responsible Decision-Making: violence as a solution to fear
• Self-Management: handling anger and grief
• Relationship Skills: choosing peace over revenge
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG for violence. A parent figure is killed, there are battles and people die, and the stampede is intense. It is slower than most animated films and may be hard for younger students. Best for grades 7 to 9. Check which dub your streaming service offers; the 1985 “Warriors of the Wind” edit is a different cut and not this film.

Student worksheet

Robots

1. B Why does Rodney leave Rivet Town and travel to Robot City?
2. B What does Rodney invent at the start of the movie?
3. B What does Ratchet stop making so that older robots are forced to buy expensive upgrades?
4. C Rodney’s dad, Herb, works hard washing dishes at a job he doesn’t love, but he still encourages Rodney to leave home and chase his dream. Why does Herb do this?
5. B Ratchet’s slogan is “Why be you when you can be new?” What is this message really trying to make robots believe?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

Short warm-ups for the start of the block (each takes 2 to 5 minutes, and they matter most when the film is shorter than the period). All of them tie to the film’s themes of wanting new things, being worth something, and noticing needs.

• Wheel of Names (the one used in class): paste in the class list and spin to pick who answers. “What’s something you really wanted, got, and then realized wasn’t worth it?” Spin for several students. It sets up Ratchet’s upgrades and the needs vs. wants question on the back.
• Show of hands: quick questions, hands up, no explanations needed. Then pick a few hands to say more.
  • Who has ever bought something because an ad or a friend made it look cool?
  • Who has ever bought something and regretted it?
  • Who has a phone or game that suddenly needed an upgrade or got slow?
• Slogan check: put “Why be you when you can be new?” on the board with no context. Ask where students have seen a message like it (ads, social media, shoe and phone releases). Revisit it at question 5.
• New or needed? (four corners): Would you rather be the newest model or the one everyone depends on? Corners: newest, needed, both, neither. One student per corner explains.
• One minute quick-write: “Name something that is old or broken and still worth keeping or fixing.” Share two or three. This sets up Fender and the Rusties.
• See a need: pairs have 90 seconds to name one thing at school that bothers people and an invention that could fix it. Come back to it after the film at question 8.
• Predict from the title: what would a city made only of robots be like, and who might get left out? Write guesses on the board and check them at the end.

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to read motive and message rather than recall plot.

CASEL focus by question:

• 4: Social Awareness (reading a parent’s motives and sacrifice)
• 5: Responsible Decision-Making (recognizing manipulative messaging)
• 6: Self-Management (perseverance through rejection)
• 7: Social Awareness (valuing people others dismiss; media literacy)
• 8: Responsible Decision-Making and Relationship Skills (service to community)
• 9: Responsible Decision-Making and financial literacy (needs vs. wants, budgeting, saving). Key: needs = oil 25 + rent 30 + spare part 20 = 75 bolts, leaving 25. The upgrade (60) does not fit this week. Strong answers save the extra: skipping movie night saves 25 a week, so about 3 weeks; keeping movie night saves 15 a week, so 4 weeks. Movie night is a want, but a reasonable one; accept either choice if the math is right.
• 10: Self-Awareness (self-reflection and identity)

Content note: Rated PG for brief language and some rude humor, mostly slapstick and bodily-noise jokes. Fine for grades 6 to 9.

Student worksheet

Ron’s Gone Wrong

1. A What makes Barney different from other kids at the beginning of the movie?
2. B What is a B-Bot supposed to do?
3. C What’s wrong with Ron when Barney first gets him?
4. B How does Ron learn about Barney?
5. C What does the Bubble company want to do with the B-Bots’ data?

Student worksheet

Sneakers

1. B In the 1969 opening, what do the two college friends do with a computer?
2. B What is the job of Martin’s team?
3. B What do the men who say they are NSA agents ask the team to steal?
4. B What does the team learn after the theft?
5. B At the end, how does Martin make sure the NSA cannot use the box?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The film is about people who are paid to break into places so the owners can fix them. The warm-ups set up that idea and the one about who gets to hold powerful tools.

• Hands up (2 minutes): Who has gotten a fake text or email that said it was from a bank, a delivery company or a friend? What gave it away? Take two or three volunteers. Sets up “Attacks on People.”
• What would you do? (3 minutes): A company says: “We will pay you to try to break into our building and our computer system, and we will not call the police.” Who would take the job? What rules would you want written down first? (Write the rules on the board. “Permission in writing” should come up. Come back to it at question 1.)
• Name the job (3 minutes): Name a job where you break something on purpose so others can make it stronger. Examples: crash test dummies, building inspectors, fire drills, a teacher who gives a practice test. Ask how each one is different from just breaking things.
• What does the title mean? (2 minutes): Write Sneakers on the board. Ask what it could mean in a movie about computers. (Hint: not shoes. It is slang for people who sneak in to test security.)
• Password check (3 minutes): On the board, write three passwords: 123456, password, Tr0ub4dor&3. Which is the hardest for a computer to guess, and which is easiest for a person to remember? Do not ask anyone for their real passwords.
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name something you took apart, tested or tried to break just to see how it worked.”

A note on tone: the point is why testing security matters and where the line is. If someone asks how to break into a real account or system, say that is out of bounds for this class.

Answer key: Part 1 uses the plot as summarized by Wikipedia and Common Sense Media; confirm against the film, since the notes could not check scene by scene.

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to follow a reveal.

Teaching points by question:

• Testing Security: penetration testing, authorization and permission (the line between a test and a break-in). CS and ethics.
• Attacks on People: social engineering. Strong answers name a defense (check the identity, never give a code over the phone, a second approval).
• Who Holds the Power: encryption and the tension between privacy and security. No right answer; look for risks on both sides.
• Teamwork: different skills on a team.

CASEL focus: Teamwork asks for Social Awareness (recognizing strengths in others) and Relationship Skills (teamwork). “Who Holds the Power” is Responsible Decision-Making (evaluating impacts on the community and institutions).

Content note: Rated PG-13. Common Sense Media lists it for ages 13 and up. It has one strong expletive, a character who is knocked out and held captive, and bloodless violence. No sex, drinking or drugs. It is a 1992 film, so the technology looks old (modems, floppy disks, phone lines). That is a good thing to point out: the ideas have not changed. Best for grades 8 to 11.

Student worksheet

Spare Parts

1. (to check) What subject does Dr. Cameron teach at Carl Hayden?
2. B What city does the underwater robotics competition take place in?
3. (to check) Which team member has the most technical experience at the beginning?
4. B What everyday material do they use to make their robot waterproof?
5. (to check) What advantage does their robot have over the expensive MIT robot?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 15 to 20 minutes, in the order below. Cut the last one or two if the block is tight. Nothing here gives away the ending. The film is about a team that is counted out, so the warm-ups ask about being counted out, working with almost nothing, and what a team is made of. This is also our own program in miniature: the competition in the film is the MATE ROV event we enter.

• Quick vote, hands up (2 minutes): Who has ever been told they probably could not do something? Who did it anyway? Take two or three volunteers for “what was it, and what happened?” Nobody has to share. Sets up the whole film.
• Budget game (4 minutes): Write two numbers on the board: $800 and $11,000. Tell them one is a team of four high school students and one is a team from a top engineering university, both building the same underwater robot. Ask: which is which, and who do you think wins? Then ask: with $800, what would you build yourself and what would you scavenge or fix? Take guesses on the board. Come back at question 1 of the back page (“Working with Constraints”).
• Build it from junk (4 minutes, pairs): “Your robot has to work underwater and you have almost no money. Name three everyday things you could use to build a part of it (a frame, something to keep water out, something to push it along).” Each pair shares one. Students will guess some of the film’s answers, and that is fine. They enjoy catching it on screen.
• Who is on a team? (3 minutes): Put four words on the board: builder, planner, encourager, problem solver. Ask students to silently pick the one that sounds most like them, then stand by that word (or raise fingers 1 to 4). Ask one person at each word: “What would the team miss if you were not on it?” Sets up “Skills and Roles” on the back page.
• Wheel of Names (3 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name something you made, fixed, or built that you are proud of, even if it was ugly.” Spin for three or four students.
• Predict from what you know (2 minutes): The film is based on a true story and the team in it is from a public high school in Phoenix. Ask: what could go wrong for a team with no money, no experience, and a lot of people expecting them to fail? Write guesses on the board and check them at the end of the film.

A note on the content: the students in the film are undocumented, and the film is rated PG-13 for the themes that come with that. Do not ask anyone in the room about their own or their family’s status. Keep the questions about the film and about what the team does. If a student brings it up, listen and thank them; do not press for more.

Student worksheet

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

1. B Why does the filmmaker, Daniel Roher, start asking questions about AI?
2. A What does the word “apocaloptimist” in the title mean?
3. A Which AI company leaders does the film interview?
4. ** Which of these does the film talk about?
5. ** How does the film end?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The film is a documentary about AI. The warm-ups get students thinking about their own opinions before they hear the experts, and set up the question of who is speaking. Do not ask students to share worries that feel personal.

• Show of fingers (2 minutes): Hold up 1 to 5 fingers: how excited are you about AI? Now how worried? Take one or two volunteers from each end to say why.
• Four corners (3 minutes): AI will mostly help / mostly harm / both about equally / I don’t know yet. Students stand in a corner, then one person in each explains. Ask them to remember their corner. You will ask whether the film changed it.
• What does the title mean? (2 minutes): Write apocaloptimist on the board. Break it into pieces: apocalypse and optimist. Ask what kind of person that could be.
• Real or fake? (3 minutes): Ask: have you seen a fake video, photo or voice? How could you tell? Take three answers. Write them on the board. Come back at “Real or Fake?”
• Who is in the room? (2 minutes): If you were making a film about AI, who would you want to interview? Who might not want to talk to you? Take guesses. Ask again at the end: who was in this film and who was not?
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name one thing you do with AI, or one thing you would not want AI to do.”

Answer key: Questions 1 to 3 come from the film’s published description and cast. Questions 4 and 5 are marked “(to check)”: the film’s own order and ending were taken from reviews, not from a scene-by-scene viewing, so check them when you preview it. Preview the film before showing it.

Teaching points by question:

• Both Sides: balanced answers name a specific benefit (medicine, learning, accessibility) and a specific harm (fakes, jobs, misuse). No right answer; look for reasons.
• Who Decides: an argued answer. Strong answers name more than one group (companies, governments, researchers, the public).
• Real or Fake: strong answers include checking the source, looking for the original, looking for other reports, and waiting before sharing.
• Handling Worry: observational. Do not ask students to share their own worries aloud.

CASEL focus: “Handling Worry” is Self-Management and Self-Awareness (naming and managing a strong feeling). “Real or Fake?” is Responsible Decision-Making (reasoned judgment). “Who Decides?” is Responsible Decision-Making (institutional impacts).

Media literacy talking points: Roher says Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg declined to be interviewed. Reviews are mixed. Some say it is a scary, useful introduction, and some say it tilts toward optimism and gives AI company leaders a lot of room. Ask students who they would want to hear from that is not in the film.

Content note: Rated PG-13. Common Sense Media recommends 13 and up. It has mild and bleeped profanity, frightening talk about AI causing human extinction, discussion of AI-linked suicide and self-harm, and images of people shopping for guns. No violence. Preview it and consider a short calm check-in afterward. Best for grades 9 to 11.

Student worksheet

The Closest Thing We Have to Alien Technology

1. B What is Moore’s Law?
2. B How are computer chips made?
3. B Why can the machine not use ordinary lenses with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light?
4. B How does the machine make EUV light?
5. ** Which two companies built the machine’s light system and mirrors together?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The video is about how the chips inside every device are made. These warm-ups get students thinking about how small things get and who makes them, without giving away the answers.

• How small is small? (3 minutes): On the board, write: a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide. Ask: if a modern chip has parts about 10 nanometers wide, how many of those could fit across a hair? (About 8,000.) Let students call out guesses first.
• Hands up (2 minutes): Who has a phone? How old is it? Who thinks a phone from ten years ago could do what yours does now? What changed inside?
• Moore’s Law guess (3 minutes): Write Moore’s Law on the board. Ask what a law about computers could say. Take guesses. Do not give the answer; the video starts there.
• Build a chip? (3 minutes, pairs): If you had to make a very tiny pattern on a surface, what tool would you use? Light? A stencil? A stamp? Each pair shares one idea. The video uses light and a mask like a stencil.
• Who makes the chips? (2 minutes): Ask: where do you think the chips in your phone are made, and by whom? Take guesses. Revisit it at the end.
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name one thing you use every day that you could not make yourself.”

Answer key: Questions 1 to 4 follow the video’s explanation as described in its chapter list and published summaries (Moore’s Law, the layer-by-layer chip process, EUV light and mirrors, tin droplets and a laser at about 50,000 a second). Question 5 is marked “(to check)”: confirm against the video which companies are named as partners (a Dutch company and a German optics maker appear in published summaries). Preview the video before showing it.

Questions 1 to 3 follow the video in order; 4 and 5 are from the later sections.

Teaching points by question:

• Moore’s Law: faster, smaller, cheaper devices. Good answers name a real example (phone cameras, AI, games).
• Light and Mirrors: shorter wavelength light prints smaller details; EUV is absorbed by almost everything, so the machine runs in a vacuum and uses ultra-smooth mirrors.
• Problem Solving: this is the engineering process: name the problem, test ideas, fix. Accept any problem if the steps are in order.
• Teamwork Across Countries: no right answer. Look for ideas about skill, cost and risk (supply chain).

CASEL focus: “Teamwork Across Countries” is Relationship Skills (teamwork) and Responsible Decision-Making (institutional impacts).

Format and content note: This is a 55-minute educational YouTube video, not a film. It is not rated. It has no violence, swearing or mature themes. Best for grades 8 to 11. The video includes a short sponsor message from its creator; check where it falls and skip it if you like. YouTube may also show its own ads in the player; the full video is on its own watch page, and a chapter list there lets you jump to a section.

Student worksheet

The Imitation Game

1. B What is the name of the German encryption machine that Alan Turing and his team must break?
2. C What does Alan name his codebreaking machine?
3. B Who brings the diverse perspectives that help the team succeed?
4. C What happens to Alan Turing after the war ends?
5. B What difficult decision must the team make once they can read German messages?

Student worksheet

The Social Dilemma

1. B According to the film, how do most social media companies make money?
2. A What three goals does the film say the platforms are trying to reach?
3. B In the family story, what does the mother try at dinner to cut down on phone use?
4. B What happens to Ben, the teenager, as the app keeps suggesting things to him?
5. A Which of these is a tip the experts give at the end?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The film is about the technology in every student’s pocket. The warm-ups get students thinking about their own opinions before they hear the experts, and nobody has to share personal habits.

• Guess the number (2 minutes): How many hours a day do you think the average American teenager spends on a phone? Write guesses on the board. Do not ask about anyone’s own use. Check the real number at the end.
• Free? (3 minutes): If an app costs nothing, how does the company make money? Take guesses. Write them on the board. Come back to this at “Data and Privacy.”
• Recommendation game (3 minutes): How does a video app decide what to show you next? List guesses. Ask which ones involve the app learning about you.
• Fingers (2 minutes): Hold up 1 to 5 fingers: how much do you think apps are designed to keep you using them? Take one or two volunteers from each end.
• Who made it? (2 minutes): The film is made by a company and shown on a company’s service. Who might want you to hear this, and who might not? How can you tell if a documentary is fair? Write ideas on the board.
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name one thing that helps people focus on a task.”

A note on content: the film includes statistics on teen self-harm and suicide. Mention that briefly beforehand, say that students can look away or step out, and remind them who they can talk to.

Answer key: Part 1 follows the film as summarized by Wikipedia and Common Sense Media; confirm against the film.

Questions 1 and 2 are the film’s main claim. Questions 3 and 4 follow the fictional family. Question 5 is from the closing section.

Teaching points by question:

• How a Recommendation Works: a system that learns from what you watch, how long you watch, what you like and who else watched, and shows more of what keeps you. Strong answers name the data and the goal.
• Data and Privacy: the user’s attention is what advertisers buy. Strong answers name specific data (what you watch, where you are, who you follow) and a use (showing ads or choosing posts).
• Built on Purpose: look for a specific feature and an honest reason (to keep people on the app). A good answer weighs the benefit to the company with the effect on users.
• Your Choices: this is observational, not personal. Do not ask students to share their own habits aloud.

Critical viewing: the film is a docudrama, and its fictional family scenes were widely criticized as heavy-handed. Critics also said it oversimplifies and leaves out scholars who study these questions. Facebook (now Meta) responded that the film gives a distorted view and scapegoats social media for complex social problems. Defenders say the dramatization makes the ideas easier to follow. Ask students: who made the film, who is interviewed, who is not, and what does the film want you to do? That is a good way to use the film as media literacy and not only as a warning.

CASEL focus: “Built on Purpose” is Social Awareness (the influence of organizations and systems on behavior). “Your Choices” is Self-Management and Responsible Decision-Making (reflecting on one’s role in well-being).

Content note: Rated PG-13. Common Sense Media lists it for ages 13 and up. It has mild profanity, news footage of protests, riots and bombings, a fictional teen and his sister arrested at a protest, and interviewees discussing teen self-harm and suicide statistics. Some students may find the topic close to home. Remind the class that your counselor is available. Best for grades 8 to 11. Preview it.

Student worksheet

The Social Network

1. B What is Facemash, the site Mark builds in 2003?
2. B What happens to Mark because of Facemash?
3. B Who gives Mark the first $1,000 to start thefacebook?
4. A Which co-founder of Napster joins the company and pushes Mark to think bigger?
5. B What happens to Eduardo’s share of the company?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The film is about the first years of a site students use every day. The warm-ups raise the questions it asks, without anyone having to share personal stories.

• Who built it? (3 minutes): Name a website or app everyone uses. Who do you think built it, how old were they, and how long did it take? Take guesses on the board, and check one at the end.
• Photos and permission (3 minutes): Imagine someone built a website with every student’s school photo and let people vote on who looks best, without asking. Who is hurt? Who is not? What should the builder have done first? Take two or three ideas.
• Whose idea? (3 minutes, pairs): Two friends come up with an idea for an app. One builds it and the other does not. Who owns the idea? What should they have agreed on before they started? Each pair shares one thing to write down.
• What does “based on a true story” mean? (2 minutes): Ask: when a movie says this, how much is true? How could you check? Write ideas on the board. Come back at “Fact or Fiction.”
• Predict from the title (2 minutes): Why might a movie about a website be called The Social Network? Take guesses.
• Wheel of Names (2 minutes): paste in the class list and spin. “Name something you made or built that you would want credit for.”

A note on tone: this film has adult content. Tell students ahead of time what to expect (language, drinking and a few party scenes), and that you may skip a scene or two.

Answer key: Part 1 follows the plot as summarized by Wikipedia and Common Sense Media; confirm against the film.

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to follow a reveal about money and control.

Teaching points by question:

• Whose Photos?: consent and privacy, and the difference between “can” and “should.” Strong answers say a programmer should ask whether the people agreed and who could be hurt.
• Why It Grew: the network effect (a network is more valuable with more users) and why a closed start, one school at a time, helped. This is a good moment to connect to how apps grow.
• Credit and Fairness: no single right answer. Strong answers say agreements need to be written down, and that being legal and being fair are different things.
• Fact or Fiction: the film is a dramatization by writer Aaron Sorkin based on Ben Mezrich’s book, “The Accidental Billionaires.” The real Zuckerberg, Saverin, Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz have each criticized its accuracy. Strong answers say to check more than one source, to look at who has a reason to tell the story one way, and to separate events from motives.

CASEL focus: “Credit and Fairness” is Responsible Decision-Making (anticipating consequences). “Fact or Fiction” is Responsible Decision-Making (a reasoned judgment from information).

Content note: Rated PG-13. Common Sense Media lists it for ages 14 and up and rates the language and drinking “a lot”: strong profanity including the f-word, heavy college drinking, pot and pills, a cocaine snort interrupted by police, passionate bathroom-stall hook-ups and women shown in underwear at parties. Some critics called the film misogynistic, and writer Aaron Sorkin answered that he was writing about a group of angry, misogynistic characters. Facemash, which rates students’ looks, is shown. Best for grades 10 to 11. Preview it, and consider whether to skip or fast-forward a few scenes.

Student worksheet

The Wild Robot

1. A What causes Roz to be stranded on the island?
2. (to check) What is the first thing Roz learns to do on the island?
3. (to check) Which animal becomes Roz’s first real friend?
4. B How does Roz learn the animals’ language?
5. C What natural disaster threatens all the animals?

Student worksheet

Turning Red

1. A What happens to Mei when her emotions get too strong?
2. A What does Mei’s mother do when she finds out?
3. A What do Mei and her friends want to do despite her mother’s rules?
4. B What does Mei learn about the panda at the concert?
5. A What does Mei decide about the panda at the end?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to read a family situation.

CASEL focus by question:

• Self-Awareness: identity in different settings
• Self-Management: strategies for strong emotions
• Social Awareness: a parent’s perspective and family history
• Relationship Skills: repairing a relationship, honest talk
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG. The panda is a comic stand-in for puberty, and there are references to periods, crushes and a boy band. It is aimed at older tweens, so some sixth graders may find it embarrassing and some will love it. Check that your class is comfortable with the topic. Best for grades 7 to 9, fine for most sixth graders.

Student worksheet

Up

1. B What adventure do Carl and Ellie dream about as kids and promise to take?
2. B How does Carl make his house fly?
3. A Who is stuck on the porch when the house takes off?
4. B What does Dug’s special collar do?
5. A At the end, what does Carl give up to save his friends?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension (use the order of the film). Question 4 and 5 read social situations.

CASEL focus by question:

• Self-Awareness: attachment, loss and what matters
• Social Awareness: noticing a lonely person
• Responsible Decision-Making: Muntz as a warning about obsession
• Relationship Skills: honoring a relationship and moving on
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG. The opening montage includes Ellie’s death and Carl’s grief, which is hard for students who have lost someone. The dogs chase and threaten the main characters and Muntz is dangerous. Fine for grades 6 to 9, with a heads up about the opening.

Student worksheet

WALL-E

1. B What is WALL-E’s main job on Earth?
2. B What type of robot is EVE designed to be?
3. C What is the name of the spaceship where humans live?
4. C What does WALL-E find that becomes very important to the story?
5. B Who or what has been controlling the Axiom ship and keeping humans from returning to Earth?

Student worksheet

WarGames

1. B How does David end up connecting to a military computer?
2. B How does David figure out the password?
3. B What goes wrong when David plays “Global Thermonuclear War”?
4. B After the FBI takes David to NORAD, what does he do to try to stop the computer?
5. B What finally stops the computer from launching real missiles?

Teacher ideas (before the movie)

About 10 to 15 minutes. The film is about a computer game that turns out to be real, and about a computer that learns. These warm-ups set up both without giving away the ending.

• Tic-tac-toe (3 minutes, pairs): Play two quick games on paper. Ask: Can you always win if you go first? Can you always at least tie? Take answers. Do not explain why. The film uses this idea at the end.
• Hands up (2 minutes): Who has played a video game against the computer and lost? Who has beaten a hard level by trying it many times? Take two volunteers. What did you learn each time?
• 1983 (3 minutes): Ask: how would you connect two computers when there was no home internet, only a phone line and a modem? Take guesses. Explain briefly that people really did dial numbers to find other computers, and the film makes a joke of it.
• Who decides? (3 minutes, vote with hands): Should a computer be allowed to decide who gets a grade? Open the school gate? Launch an alarm in a real emergency? Where do you want a person to make the final decision, and why?
• Password check (2 minutes): Write three guesses on the board that a stranger might try for a famous person’s password (a pet’s name, a birthday). Ask why those are easy. Do not ask anyone for their real passwords.
• Predict from the title (2 minutes): What does WarGames mean? War, or games, or both? Write guesses on the board and check them at the end.

Answer key: Part 1 follows the plot as summarized by Wikipedia and Common Sense Media; confirm against the film.

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 ask students to follow a reveal. The ending teaches tic-tac-toe: when both sides play perfectly, nobody wins, and the computer applies that idea to nuclear war.

Teaching points by question:

• Passwords: weak because it can be guessed from public information. Strong answers mention length, not using personal facts, and a password manager or multifactor login.
• Permission: the line is crossed once he is connected to a system he does not have permission to use. A good answer says he should have disconnected and told someone as soon as he saw it was not a game.
• People in the Loop: the system was built to remove human hesitation. A human can refuse an order; a computer cannot. Look for answers that say people can use judgment and stop a mistake.
• Learning by Trying: reinforcement learning and trial and error; running many simulated games is cheaper and safer than the real thing.

CASEL focus: “Permission” is Responsible Decision-Making (anticipating the consequences of one’s actions). “People in the Loop” is Responsible Decision-Making (institutional impacts).

Content note: Rated PG, made in 1983, so the PG rating is milder than the current PG-13. Common Sense Media lists it for ages 11 and up. It has frequent swearing and some strong words, intense suspense as missiles nearly launch, a gun held to a man’s head, cigarette smoking, and a couple of teen kisses. The teen hero changes a grade and is not punished until later. Fine for grades 7 to 11, with a heads up about the language.

Student worksheet

Wreck-It Ralph

1. B What is Ralph’s job in his game, Fix-It Felix Jr.?
2. A Why does Ralph leave his game?
3. B Which game does Ralph enter first to win a medal?
4. B Why is Vanellope von Schweetz not allowed to race in Sugar Rush?
5. A What does Ralph say at the end about who he is?

Questions 1 to 3 are plot comprehension. Questions 4 and 5 read social situations.

CASEL focus by question:

• Self-Awareness: labels and identity
• Social Awareness: excluding a different person
• Responsible Decision-Making: owning and repairing a mistake
• Self-Awareness and Social Awareness: reframing a weakness (also a light CS tie: a glitch is a bug)
• Personal Connection: self-reflection

Content note: Rated PG for rude humor and cartoon action. The Hero’s Duty game has some scary alien bugs, and there are a few mild jokes. Fine for grades 6 to 9.

Student worksheet

Ron’s Gone Wrong: discussion questions

Pick and choose. Most take 30 to 60 seconds. Bouncy ones are marked with a star.

Quick warm-ups

• ★ Thumbs up or thumbs down: would you want a B-bot? Everybody vote, then call on a few people to say why.
• ★ If your B-bot showed up out of the box right now, what is the first thing you would ask it to do?
• ★ Best scene in the movie. Shout it out.
• ★ Ron glitches constantly. What is the funniest broken thing he did?
• ★ Give Ron a rating out of 10 as a robot. Now rate him out of 10 as a friend. Why are those different numbers?
• ★ If you had to be trapped in a locker with one character from this movie, who and why?

Comprehension check

• What was actually wrong with Ron compared to every other B-bot?
• Why did Barney want a B-bot so badly in the first place?
• What did Marc want the B-bots to be? What did Andrew want them to be? How were those different?
• What did Ron do at the end of the movie, and why did he do it?

Think about it

• Every other B-bot already knew what its kid liked. Ron had to learn Barney by hanging out with him. Which way makes a better friend, and why?
• The B-bots pushed kids toward people who were already similar to them. What do you miss out on when you only meet people like yourself?
• Savannah’s whole life was public. What is one thing that should stay private, even from your closest friend?
• Barney’s dad and grandma were trying to help, but they got it wrong at first. Why is it hard for adults to know what kids actually need?
• Ron broke the rules constantly. Was Ron a good robot or a bad robot? Defend your answer.
• The company said they were connecting people. Were they? What were they actually doing?
• Is a friend still a friend if you programmed them to like you?
• Rich was mean to Barney early on and ended up in the friend group later. What changed?

Real life connection

• Where do you already see something like a B-bot in your real life? Think apps, feeds, recommendations.
• Your phone or your game already suggests things to you. Who decided what it suggests?
• Name one thing a machine should never be allowed to decide for you.
• If you were on the team building B-bots, what is one rule you would have insisted on?

Character and self

• Which character are you most like, and why? Think about how they handle their feelings and how they treat other people.
• Barney had to choose between being popular and being honest. When have you seen someone make that choice at school?
• Name one small thing a person could do tomorrow to be a better friend than a B-bot.

If you need to stretch: pair share for 90 seconds on any question, then take three answers out loud. Or do a four corners vote on the “good robot or bad robot” question and have each corner defend itself.