Film Viewing Questions for ELA Classrooms

Teach film like literature - even if you're not a film teacher

This growing library of film viewing questions is designed for English and Humanities teachers who want to help students become visually literate, critically engaged, and emotionally present when analyzing film.

Whether you’re showing just the opening scene or using a film as a novel study companion, these resources guide students to think deeply about theme, characterization, symbolism, motif, genre, and narrative structure — all through the lens of cinema.

No previous film studies experience required.

🧠 What These Viewing Guides Offer:

  • Ready-to-use PDFs (with Google Docs versions)
  • Scaffolding for film analysis without overwhelming students
  • Focus on literary concepts applied to film: theme, conflict, archetype, symbolism, etc.
  • Excellent for substitute plans, project-based learning, or interdisciplinary units
  • Perfect entry points into deeper discussions of genre, society, satire, or identity

🎬 Explore Viewing Question Sets by Film:

Coraline (Selick, 2009)

Track visual motifs, mood, and theme in this eerie stop-motion film. Includes 3 scaffolded sets of questions.

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Into the Spider-Verse (Persichetti, Ramsey, Rothman, 2018)

Explore identity, comic-style visuals, and heroism. Focused on visual motifs, theme, and character arc.

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Woman of the Hour (Kendrick, 2023)

Analyze media, gender dynamics, and true crime ethics in Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut.

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Mean Girls + Lord of the Flies Pairing

Compare archetypes, leadership styles, and mob mentality across genres. Great for theme-based units.

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Neo Yokio (Pilot) + Catcher in the Rye

Contrast the jaded antiheroes of Neo Yokio and Catcher in the Rye in this rich character study.

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Bridgerton vs. The Duke and I

Analyze adaptation choices, tone, and gender roles across book and Netflix show openings.

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Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019)

Prep students to analyze space, status, and tone before diving into Parasite. Great media literacy warm-up.

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Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)

Analyze horror technique, symbolism, and class division in Peele’s unsettling opening.

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Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)

Pre-viewing + scene analysis for race, fear, and visual metaphor in the film’s tense first 14 minutes.

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🔓 Want Access to the Entire Collection?

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  • Full access to all downloads
  • Behind-the-scenes notes and lesson scaffolding
  • Previews of in-progress units
  • And more
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