What a fun idea this company has come up with. They have made study guides for the movies! These things are great, I really wish we had them when I was in High School.
We love movies over here in this house, and since Christmas when we got a Wii.... Netflix is our new best friend. We chose to review the Z-guide for the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. We went to Netflix and placed the movie in our DVD cue and waited for it to arrive.
It took Evan and Tayler a little longer than usual to watch the movie.... They had a list of 25 questions to answer and those questions required real answers. They would pause the movie, write their answer and keep going. Why the review questions? Kris Wilcox, President of Zeezok Publishing addresses that very question.
" This assignment forces the viewer to become an active learner, rather than a passive observer."
In addition to actively watching the movie and answering the questions the Z-guide will take your child on a more in depth study as well.
" There are nine additional activities that provide interdisciplinary educational opportunities built around each movie's theme."
The guide is divided into 10 different sections, and the company suggests 1 ~ 2 activities per day, making each Z-guide a week long study. Our experience varied from that. I would suggest that you stretch it out over a 2 week period. In our study, much of the research required to produce thoughtful answers, took up a considerable amount of time, and a week just wasn't enough time.
Overall, both of my high schoolers enjoyed using the Z-guide. They felt like they better understood the movie by answering the questions. They also felt that the additional activities helped them better understand The Great Depression, and the way that Blacks and Whites interacted during the 1930's in Alabama.
Both children did suggest that the Z-guide contain some resource links for their Activity 2. The questions asked required quite specific answers, and they became frustrated after reading site after site and not finding the answers they were looking for.
ZeeZok Publishing has hit a home-run with this idea. With nearly all the movie title available either at local libraries, or through Netflix, it truly is a great way to introduce some classics into your home, even for the reluctant readers. I think that we will be getting a few more of theses Z-guides to use over the Summer.
Click here to see the available list of Z-guides, for your High Schooler to choose from. They are available for a very reasonable price of $12.99. You will be able to use them over and over again as your children go through the High School years.
Check out the ZeeZok Publishing website for all the other great products they offer in Penmanship, Literature, and Musician Appreciation.
Reviews on other movie guides can be found HERE
***disclaimer***
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I received a copy of the Z-guide "To Kill a Mockingbird" free of charge, for the purpose of this review. No other compensation has been received. All the above opinions are my own.
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