Following my recent two part blog about top 10 books and movies to be shown in special education classes, I thought that there should be another type of list on here devoted to special education history and social studies classes. While I never took any special education classes that involved social studies, it did get me thinking that there are other schools out there that do teach small sized special education history classes. For this week’s two part blog, I will cover 10 movies that special education students can understand and be valuable to a special education history class curiculum.
For Part 1, I will again cover films 10-6 and then 5-1 in the next blog. Again, if you have any movies that you think should be on the list, please comment in the chats below. So, in the spirit of the Fourth of July this week, let’s get started!!
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#10: This is America, Charlie Brown (1988-1989)
Now, for the beginning of this list, I am going to cheat a little bit and put in a mini-series because it’s multiple episodes. However, I feel that it should be on the list because it’s presented in a way that special education students can understand.
“This is America, Charlie Brown” is a mini-series based on the Peanuts characters created by Charles Schultz that covers several important moments in history as told through the eyes of Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts characters. The topics covered in the miniseries are as follows:
A. The Mayflower Voyage
B. The Birth of the Constitution
C. The Wright Brothers First Flight
D. The NASA Space Station
E. Transcontinental Railroad
F. The Great Inventors
G. The Smithsonian Institute
H. The Music and Heroes of America
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Each episode is approximately 30 minutes each and the topics covered are topics that special education students can understand such as who George Washington is and who signed the Declaration of Independence. Plus, seeing the Peanuts characters interacting with historical figures can help spread the student’s imagination to make them seem like they are interacting with the historical figures themselves.
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#9: Johnny Tremain (1957)
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One of the most common topics talked about in any history class is the American Revolution and the birth of our country that came out of it. For special education students, if you are going to study history topics, then US History is the best option to go with. A topic that most special education students will understand is the Boston Tea Party that happened in the early days of the revolution.
The 1957 Disney film, “Johnny Tremain” is largely about the American Revolution as told from the eyes of a young silversmith, but largely focuses primarily on the Boston Tea Party. By watching the scene, students can see why the colonists would throw tea overboard and how a simple beverage could result in rebellion. Of course, the film also shares a firsthand illustration into other events such as Paul Revere’s midnight ride as well as the Battles of Lexington and Concord. “Johnny Tremain” is a tool that can stir up the imagination of students who are visual thinkers just as well as any other visual representation of the American Revolution.
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#8: “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier” (1955) and “The Alamo” (1960)
Another common historical topic that is covered in history class is the Texas Revolution where the United States battled Mexico for the area that was to be known as the state of Texas. One of those participants was Davy Crockett of Tennessee, who can also be used as a two fold participant because Davy Crockett also demonstrates a visualization of the Westward Expansion.
In the 1950’s, Davy Crockett was brought to life by Disney and became a cultural fad for a short period of time. However, when you put the fad aspect aside, you see come to life a legend where Davy Crockett comes to represent the state of Tennessee by joining the United States Congress and then proceeds to the Alamo. “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier” also looks at the relationship between Indians and settlers demonstrating how the relationship between the two evolved since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. This also further shows the relationship Davy Crockett and his pal, Georgie have with Busted Luck, a tribesman who joins them on their journey.
As for the battle of the Alamo itself, the 1960 version to me is probably the best version for special education students on account that it is easier to follow and also teaches the lesson that there will be conflict on levels, such as when Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and Col. William Travis (Laurence Harvey) have frequent disagreements. Davy Crockett (John Wayne) is also represented here as someone who is thrown into the reluctant role of mediator while also maintaining his well-liked persona between the two men.
In this version, the students can put themselves in the shoes of the Alamo Defenders and gain an understanding as to why we have to lay down our lives for a common cause. Plus, while we are on the topic, the 2004 version is another option, but that’s geared more towards general history students.
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#7: “The Road to El Dorado” (2000)
One thing I’ve noticed, particularly during the early Middle School years, is that history classes tend to focus more towards geographical locations such as central and South America. Among the areas covered are the invasion of the Conquistadors led by Hernan Cortez and how the search for gold laid down the foundation for Latin America.
“The Road to El Dorado” (2000) follows two con man (Kenneth Bragnah and Kevin Kline) who stowaway on Cortez’s ship ultimately leading them towards the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. By putting themselves in the shoes of the two protagonists, students can see why the search for gold ultimately set in motion the events that led to Spain and Portugal making a name for themselves in Central and Southern America. But most importantly, students can learn why the Spanish and Portuguese were so dead set on gold and would do anything to make a name for themselves, even by enslaving the natives of the region by any means necessary as demonstrated when the antagonist is enslaved by Hernan Cortez.
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#6: “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000)
Staying on the topic of Central and Southern America, there is another film that also paints a visual picture of the ancient civilizations in that part of the world. One of those civilizations was the Inca Empire which is present day Peru. “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000) is about how anyone of a higher power can be brought down a peg (in this case, the emperor is turned into a llama), but also transports the students to life in Peru, given them a visual look into the culture of the Inca Civilization.
Students can also see the difference between the emperor (David Spade) and the peasant (John Goodman) in terms of how each class was viewed upon because that is something that is still a part of life nowadays in certain parts of the world. It also teaches that while Emperor Kuzco has a change of heart, not all rulers and emperors in that time was very benevolent another area that is frequently looked at in today’s society as well.
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So, that will do it for Part 1 of this two part blog on movies for special education history classes. Join me next time as I go through #5 through #1.
Catch you all later!!
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