Introduction

Why use short non-fiction films?

There is no doubt that films are a useful medium for engaging students' interest. They also offer a rich focus of study. Studying non-fiction short films will develop students' literary and media literacy skills, through enhancing their understanding of ways in which information can be conveyed, the different forms information can take, and how film and television texts work persuasively and argumentatively.

Key reasons for using short films to help teach literacy include:

• A short film can be screened in its entirety easily within one lesson.
• Longer films lose their impact either by being viewed over a number of lessons, or by being screened only in extract form.
• The short running times of the films make repeated viewings possible, and thereby students can acquire very detailed familiarity with the work under consideration.
• Short films are less likely to have been seen by students than features, and so retain the element of surprise.
• Film is an inclusive medium, accessible to students of diverse learning styles, experiences and needs by virtue of its rich variety of visual and auditory content.
• Short films are not necessarily governed by the same conventions as their longer counterparts. These departures from more familiar forms and narrative structures very often hold an audience more securely, and provoke stronger responses, than more traditional films.
• Film and print, while different in many ways, are also very closely allied; and the study of each within the context of the other can make visible many shared or related practices and conventions. A short film therefore can offer a manageable and stimulating resource to develop a core skill, which lies at the heart of the English curriculum.
• Working with the moving image gives students different ways of reading and different ways into writing. For example, the ability to structure ideas, connect with an audience, pursue an argument and illustrate it with telling examples are all possible outcomes from working with film. Specific ideas and suggestions can be found in the schemes of work and lesson plans in this guide.

In addition to English, short films offer opportunities for GCSE Media Studies:

• They provide an accessible way of introducing film language and how the technical and cultural codes of film language work to create meaning.
• Used alongside the additional materials supplied online to support this pack (scripts, storyboards, press packs, interviews with directors, etc), they provide unique insights into key concepts for Media Studies, including Institution and Audience.

Finally, short films provide a great starting point for students' own film-making practice. Steve Goodman (Teaching Youth Media, 2003) writes affectingly about his experiences of working with disadvantaged students in America and making video documentaries in an 'alternative' high school. Apart from the study of film, why not take this a step further and encourage students to make their own short documentaries? Working with the moving image also allows students with certain disabilities to engage with a text.

These films will also support a range of Citizenship topics (material to be added here soon).

Aims of this pack

This is not a prescriptive resource. It offers a flexible and versatile way of addressing the requirements of the curriculum, while indicating ways of stretching students' understanding of how film texts work. As a follow-up to Screening Shorts it builds upon and extends the range of concepts introduced in that pack. The target audience for Screening Shorts was students studying in Years 7 to 9. The films in this pack are mainly appropriate for slightly older students, from Year 8 up - though the age appropriateness of the films varies and you should view each film before deciding whether to use it with your class.

The films have been chosen because they offer multilayered meanings and rich sources for investigation and exploration. This guide introduces you to a range of ways of making connections between print texts and films, drawing out the parallels and specific rules and codes of each form. The practical ideas, schemes of work and lesson plans provide flexible ways into studying each film with your classes. We hope that you will use them as springboards for developing your own work with short films.