Number 1 Movie for Movie Talk

#1 Children

 Cave! You aren't going to like this movie.  Your students aren't going to like it  but they aren't going to stop talking about it either. It's strange. It's disturbing.  It's also fairly easy to narrate in Latin which is why I chose it - but honestly, it's so much more.  Leave at least 10 minutes at the end because your students will have a lot to say about  this movie. Even though it is actually an indictment of the Japanese educational system, if you are teaching in the US, your students WILL relate as well. They will want to talk about the grind of the school day, the sameness, the unending assessments, the constant pressure to "be quiet." The discussions I have had with students about this little movie have been intense and revealing and no, not in Latin but in the larger picture of what education should be, some of the best I have ever had.
   Some students may have a lot of anxiety about the fate of the dog. Since I would rather they watch then be consumed worrying about what will happen, I tell them ahead of time, "the dog doesn't die."  I understand - bad things happening to animals is terrible to watch.  I don't describe what the students look like or that their mouths are zippered or that there are numbers on their foreheads. Nor do I mention the fact that the teacher is wearing a "happy mask."  All of these are beyond the limits of my students' understanding of oral Latin. Actually, I think leaving out these details adds to the surprise and wonder of the film when they watch it.
Words used include: discipulus, magister, canis, tramen (N3 train), sedet, scribit, legit, currit, ambulat, pila, laeta, irata, tradit, clamat, iratus, 
How to Begin:
In hac fabula,  discipulus in oppido habitat. Cottidie, ambulat ad ludum.  Spectat tramen. Spectat canem.  Canis ad tramen currit.  Tum discipulus ad ludum currit.  Ludus est in oppido.  Oppidum sordidum est.  Discipulus non laetus est. In ludo,  magister scribit.  Discipuli legit et scribit. Discipuli non dicunt. Discipuli audiunt
Pars I: to 2:13.  I describe the various activities of the school as well as the dog and the train.
Pars II 2:13- 3:16 (to the point where the dog and boy start running towards the train)
​Quid Accidit: Immediately after 3:16