Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read What Teachers Can Do. New Hampshire: Heinemann, 2003. This is a must-read for all middle and high school teachers. It provides immediately useful and practical strategies on helping students become independent readers. It provided the inspiration for some of the classroom activities.
Bordwell, David. Narration in the Fiction Film. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, Press, 1985. This textbook is probably not appropriate for younger students, but excerpts could be used successfully with older students. It provides invaluable explanations about
how
films tell stories. There is a special section dedicated to specific genres (detective, horror, etc.) that you may find useful.
Corrigan, Timothy. The Film Expeience. Boston: Bedford, 2004. This textbook can provide educators with vocabulary, viewing techniques and strategies and other information that will greatly help as you use film to teach your students. It provides more information than you will use for this unit, but the first few chapters are especially valuable as it relates to this particular course of study.
La Petite Vendeuse du Soleil.
1999. Accessed 24 July 2005. www.newsreel.org/films/petiteve.htm> An in-depth look at the film selected for this unit. This site provides the information I have included here as well as links to other helpful sites.