Display five art prints at the front of the class. A nice variety for this exercise might be an Impressionist print, a Cubist or Surrealist print, a Norman Rockwell print, a Renaissance print, and a photograph. Have each student take out a piece of paper and rank the five prints in order from the image they think is the “most real,” to the one that is the “least real.” Try not to give more instruction than that.

Transition – Have students share their responses. Have them justify why they made the choices that they did. Where did the image come from? Are they subjects or events that ever existed? Do we know? Are the students drawn to the “real” images or the ones that are more “unreal”? Is the purpose of film to capture the real or the unreal (hopefully the class is divided on this question and can argue their own personal view).

STEP 1: Modeling – Usually, the photograph is labeled most real. Holding up the print, ask them about what reality is being portrayed. What is missing? Have everyone with a camera phone take it out and look through their photos to find the one that is the most real. Have those students show the image to a neighbor and have the neighbor describe why it could be real. What truth is captured? What is left out?

STEP 2: Instruction – Like photography, film has the ability to capture a reality. The final image is less manipulated by an artist than the paintings displayed in the anticipatory set. It is capturing actual subjects in an actual setting. We can argue that the subject is posing or the environment is created, but there is a physical reality to them.

STEP 3: Individual Practice – Have each student get out a piece of paper. Show three short clips from teen films that are filmed in different manners (Hoop Dreams, Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). Before showing the clips, tell the students that they will each have to list which physical elements in each clip make it real. They should not focus on the story or the characters, rather what about how the movie was filmed makes it seem real. Some things for them to consider: set and environment, camera angles, editing, sound. They need to find moments of reality in each clip.

STEP 4: Group Practice – Have students get into groups of three (different groups than they have used so far in this unit). Each student will share their responses with the others in the group. Look for instances when the groups agree on moments from the script and when they disagree.

STEP 5: Group Practice – Pass out a poster paper to each group. Based on the discussions in the groups, each group must create a “Truth in Teen Films Pact.” On the poster, they will need to list rules that teen films must follow if they are to represent reality. Have them first focus on physical elements, but they can also talk about what types of stories, characters, or dialogue that should or should not exist. Everyone in the group will sign their pact at the end, so they all must be comfortable with it. Circulate throughout the room helping groups and clarifying instructions as needed.

STEP 6: Guided Practice – Have each group attach their pact to the wall at the front of the class. With the time remaining, you will need to create a poster that contains one pact for the whole class. What are common elements on each list? Keep asking, “How do we achieve reality?” Make sure you address things such as casting, acting, camera work, design, and editing. Once you have a common pact for the class (keep it simple, not too many points) have everyone come up and sign the class pact. Depending on the length of the lesson, creating a classroom pact may be used as the anticipatory set for Lesson Four.

Students can be assessed on their group pacts and participation in classroom discussions and activities.

This was created by Bradley Moss.