Coraline Intro to Film Unit Bundle
Perfect for teachers who need a rigorous but accessible film unit—fully scaffolded and ready to teach tomorrow.
Bring rigorous, accessible film analysis to your ELA classroom.
This pacing guide gives you a complete 3–4 week roadmap for teaching Coraline (dir. Henry Selick) as a full Film Analysis unit — blending literary analysis skills with visual storytelling. It links to every anchor resource, activity, discussion guide, and assessment option you need, making your planning effortless and your instruction fully scaffolded.
Designed for grades 8–12, this unit helps students move from noticing visual details to crafting analytical claims, developing themes, and producing structured writing with evidence drawn from film sequences, film frames, and class discussion.
What Students Will Learn
Skill goals included in the pacing guide:
- Describe, identify, and apply foundational film form vocabulary (shot types, framing, mise-en-scène, editing, sound) to analyze meaning.
- Analyze how composition, color, lighting, camera movement, and sound shape tone, character, and theme.
- Use evidence from film frames, sequences, and clips to support claims in writing or discussion.
- Generate thesis-level claims and theme statements that integrate film techniques.
- Write coherent analytical paragraphs or essays using point → evidence → analysis.
All aligned to Common Core ELA and media literacy standards.
What’s Inside the Pacing Guide
A full breakdown of 12–15 class days, including warm-ups, viewing sequences, structured discussions, modeling, writing practice, and assessments:
Week 1: Foundations of Film Analysis
Students explore models, learn key vocabulary, and apply film terms to Coraline’s opening and early sequences. Guided notes, discussion prompts, and optional homework are included.
Week 2: Theme, Character, and Analytical Writing
View Act 3, discuss themes, unpack a model analysis, and begin planning either a presentation-style summative assessment or a formal film analysis essay.
Week 3: Assessment Options
Two full pathways are included:
- Film Analysis Presentation Deck workflow
- Formal Film Analysis Essay workflow
Both include peer review structures, drafting supports, and class-time pacing.
Perfect For Teachers Who Want…
✅ A ready-to-use blueprint for teaching film as literature
✅ Scaffolded rigor for mixed-ability classes
✅ Skills-based, standards-aligned activities students actually enjoy
✅ A break from the read → annotate → write routine — without sacrificing depth
✅ A strong introduction to film analysis that transfers directly to literary analysis
