Frankenweenie
Frankenweenie — Subtext Activities (Lightning & Town Hall Scenes)
Unpack the hidden meanings in Frankenweenie with subtext activities for the Lightning and Town Hall scenes.
Frankenweenie
Frankenweenie — Caricature & Body Representation Activities
Analyze Burton’s gothic style through caricature and body representation in Frankenweenie. Includes student chart, answer key, and creative extension.
Frankenweenie
Frankenweenie — Characterization, Archetypes & Caricature Activities
Explore how Tim Burton’s quirky characters mix archetype, parody, and stereotype. This lesson pack includes notes, student packet, and slides to teach characterization through Frankenweenie.
9th Grade ELA
The Rematch — Close Reading & Characterization Lesson (BJ Novak)
Makes satire and characterization come alive with this 1–2 day lesson that includes guided reading questions and differentiated prompts that help middle and high school students analyze diction, irony, and theme while practicing evidence-based discussion.
9th Grade ELA
How to Engage Students When Teaching Analytical Writing
My students used to breeze through short stories just so they could move on. Then I introduced BJ Novak’s bizarre, hilarious short stories—and suddenly, they were asking to read more. That’s when I realized the most accessible texts can also spark the deepest thinking. Why Start With
Film Studies
3 Shots and Film Frame Analysis Practice in Opus
Analyzing 3 shots and other film analysis practice moments in Opus.
Film Studies
The Allegory of Opus
Unpacking the allegory of A24's Opus characters.
Film Studies
Opus Opening Sequence
Analyze character and world in the opening sequence of A24's horror satire film, Opus.
Coraline
Reading Questions for Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Chapter by chapter reading questions to support Novel Studies of Coraline by Neil Gaiman (the book).
Film Studies
Viewing Questions for The Farewell
Over 25 short-answer questions broken into two main viewing segments that guide students to understand and apply film vocab, make inferences about theme and symbolism, and explore cultural values and emotional subtext.
Sci-fi
Arrival Opening Film Sequence Analysis Practice
COMING SOON: Shot by Shot breakdown and film sequence analysis activity for the opening sequence of Arrival.
Parasite
Intro to Active Viewing Parasite | The First 4 Minutes
A Guided Film Warm-Up for Close Viewing and Visual Analysis of Bong Joon Ho's film, Parasite.