Non-Christmas wintry movie ideas to show to 7th graders?
December 10, 2009 3:53 AM Subscribe
Non-Christmas, non-holiday wintry movies to show in 7th grade?
I am a new teacher on a 7th grade team (5 teachers with the same 100 or so kids) in Massachusetts. The team usually has the kids watch A Christmas Carol on the last day of school before the winter break so they can have fun and we'll have shortened classes for the rest of the day.
I don't want to argue with them about watching a movie in general, but I feel uncomfortable showing a Christmas movie at a public school, let alone one with large Jewish, Indian, and Chinese populations like ours.
So I am looking for alternate movies to suggest to them. So far I have thought of March of the Penguins and Ice Age.
Requirements:
-G or PG
-Entertaining for 7th graders
-I would rather have something mildly educational or at has a good moral message (be nice to each other), but I'll take all ideas
I am a new teacher on a 7th grade team (5 teachers with the same 100 or so kids) in Massachusetts. The team usually has the kids watch A Christmas Carol on the last day of school before the winter break so they can have fun and we'll have shortened classes for the rest of the day.
I don't want to argue with them about watching a movie in general, but I feel uncomfortable showing a Christmas movie at a public school, let alone one with large Jewish, Indian, and Chinese populations like ours.
So I am looking for alternate movies to suggest to them. So far I have thought of March of the Penguins and Ice Age.
Requirements:
-G or PG
-Entertaining for 7th graders
-I would rather have something mildly educational or at has a good moral message (be nice to each other), but I'll take all ideas
Wow, totally agree, The Dog Who Stopped The War is excellent. A really insightful look at kids about that age that you hardly ever see anywhere else. Underrated, sometimes hard to find, but must see.
posted by ovvl at 4:40 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by ovvl at 4:40 AM on December 10, 2009
La Guerre des Tuques doesn't even seem to HAVE a US rating, and it's in French, so clearly it's a recruitment film for terrorists and pedophiles.
(My apologies if you're confident that nobody you meet at Parent-Teacher Night will think this way.)
Groundhog Day, on the other hand, is pretty solidly winter-y. And the local rental place will definitely actually have it. And it's PG!
posted by dansdata at 5:31 AM on December 10, 2009
(My apologies if you're confident that nobody you meet at Parent-Teacher Night will think this way.)
Groundhog Day, on the other hand, is pretty solidly winter-y. And the local rental place will definitely actually have it. And it's PG!
posted by dansdata at 5:31 AM on December 10, 2009
Best answer: These are more entertaining than educational, but here are some mainstream possibilities:
Happy Feet (though I suspect most of the kids will have seen it)
Balto
Iron Will
Cool Runnings
The latter three are old enough that a lot of the kids probably will not have seen it. I'd personally go for the screwball comedy (Cool Runnings) rather than the more serious ones like Balto or Iron Will, given that the kids will probably be wound pretty tight the day before winter break.
posted by drlith at 5:34 AM on December 10, 2009
Happy Feet (though I suspect most of the kids will have seen it)
Balto
Iron Will
Cool Runnings
The latter three are old enough that a lot of the kids probably will not have seen it. I'd personally go for the screwball comedy (Cool Runnings) rather than the more serious ones like Balto or Iron Will, given that the kids will probably be wound pretty tight the day before winter break.
posted by drlith at 5:34 AM on December 10, 2009
Also, I'm not an athlete, but I remember being thrilled by ski movies. There are some newer ones that might have them on the edge of their seats.
Less funny now that I'm a parent, Warren Miller's Skiing Blunders reels were hilarious to me as a pre-teen, I'm ashamed to say. You might want to screen it first because it's unrated.
posted by jeanmari at 5:45 AM on December 10, 2009
Less funny now that I'm a parent, Warren Miller's Skiing Blunders reels were hilarious to me as a pre-teen, I'm ashamed to say. You might want to screen it first because it's unrated.
posted by jeanmari at 5:45 AM on December 10, 2009
Your war on Christmas has gone too far!!
Ahem. Excuse me for that. I think if you're going for a cool winter movie, it doesn't get much more interesting than March of the Penguins. Kids love it, it's fascinating, but kind of scary, no? The poor little penguins, etc.
I would say to not rule out completely A Christmas Carol. I mean, there are Christmas movies and then there are Christmas-time movies. Just because a movie occurs during the Christmas season doesn't make it pro-Jebus. And really, if you think about it, A Christmas Carol has decidedly pro-pagan (all those spectres!!) and anti-capitalist (give up your money to help the po' folk, Mr. Scrooge!) themes running through it. A far cry from the living nativity scene we had to participate in in my public elementary school (early 80s, northern Indiana...shudder). Anyway, good luck!
posted by billysumday at 5:49 AM on December 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
Ahem. Excuse me for that. I think if you're going for a cool winter movie, it doesn't get much more interesting than March of the Penguins. Kids love it, it's fascinating, but kind of scary, no? The poor little penguins, etc.
I would say to not rule out completely A Christmas Carol. I mean, there are Christmas movies and then there are Christmas-time movies. Just because a movie occurs during the Christmas season doesn't make it pro-Jebus. And really, if you think about it, A Christmas Carol has decidedly pro-pagan (all those spectres!!) and anti-capitalist (give up your money to help the po' folk, Mr. Scrooge!) themes running through it. A far cry from the living nativity scene we had to participate in in my public elementary school (early 80s, northern Indiana...shudder). Anyway, good luck!
posted by billysumday at 5:49 AM on December 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
I saw this on VHS back in high school and it has stuck with me. Jack London's "To Build a Fire."
posted by zzazazz at 6:03 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by zzazazz at 6:03 AM on December 10, 2009
Best answer: I came in to suggest Cool Runnings, so I guess I'll second it instead :)
I have at least one friend (a parent) who would be profoundly appreciative of this gesture. I think you're making the right call. No need to make a big deal about it, pick something fun, wintery, and most of the kids won't even notice that it's not about Christmas.
posted by carmen at 6:05 AM on December 10, 2009
I have at least one friend (a parent) who would be profoundly appreciative of this gesture. I think you're making the right call. No need to make a big deal about it, pick something fun, wintery, and most of the kids won't even notice that it's not about Christmas.
posted by carmen at 6:05 AM on December 10, 2009
I remember seeing Cool Runnings years ago. Not my kind of movie at ALL and I've always been vaguely embarrassed about liking it as much as I did. It's so colorful and so positive. It's also old enough that there's a decent possibility that a lot of the kids won't have seen it, unlike Ice Age or Happy Feet. I'd go for that.
posted by dlugoczaj at 6:16 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by dlugoczaj at 6:16 AM on December 10, 2009
I remember Jack Frost taking place around the holidays, but I don't think Christmas is explicitly apart of it except things happening around the holidays. At the very least, it's about second chances and believing in the possibility of second chances more than about Christmas. Also, a talking snowman!
"101 Dalmatians" (the original animated version) has a lot happen in winter, too, but again, I don't think the winter scenes are explicitly Christmas.
posted by zizzle at 6:20 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
"101 Dalmatians" (the original animated version) has a lot happen in winter, too, but again, I don't think the winter scenes are explicitly Christmas.
posted by zizzle at 6:20 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
COOL RUNNINGS! Love that movie. The Olympics are coming up, so it is appropriate.
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:38 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:38 AM on December 10, 2009
"Just because a movie occurs during the Christmas season doesn't make it pro-Jebus"
No, of course not. Except in this case, the movie's title is obvious about how it occurs during Christmas, a Christian holiday in which the religion's central figure, Jesus Christ, is born. It explicitly excludes students whose religions (or lack thereof) do not recognize Jesus as the messiah, and to whom "Christmas" means nothing, or worse, represents (at the very least) two millennia of marginalization and discrimination. Some people can try to say that Christmas is a "secular" winter holiday now, but that is largely an attempt by Christians to assert their privilege in American popular culture at the expense of other cultures and traditions.
posted by autoclavicle at 6:48 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
No, of course not. Except in this case, the movie's title is obvious about how it occurs during Christmas, a Christian holiday in which the religion's central figure, Jesus Christ, is born. It explicitly excludes students whose religions (or lack thereof) do not recognize Jesus as the messiah, and to whom "Christmas" means nothing, or worse, represents (at the very least) two millennia of marginalization and discrimination. Some people can try to say that Christmas is a "secular" winter holiday now, but that is largely an attempt by Christians to assert their privilege in American popular culture at the expense of other cultures and traditions.
posted by autoclavicle at 6:48 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Some people can try to say that Christmas is a "secular" winter holiday now, but that is largely an attempt by Christians to assert their privilege in American popular culture at the expense of other cultures and traditions.
As a Jew with a Christmas tree and stockings who is planning on celebrating on the solstice by watching all my favorite Christmas flicks, I'd disagree with that.
I might argue against March of the Penguins, though. Seventh graders will get pretty giggly about the penguin sex scene, I'd bet, especially if they're all wound up right before break.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:20 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
As a Jew with a Christmas tree and stockings who is planning on celebrating on the solstice by watching all my favorite Christmas flicks, I'd disagree with that.
I might argue against March of the Penguins, though. Seventh graders will get pretty giggly about the penguin sex scene, I'd bet, especially if they're all wound up right before break.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:20 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't exactly recommend The Day After Tomorrow, because it's actually a pretty shitty movie, but it's definitely about cold.
autoclavicle, most Christians I know, and myself included, are actually pretty resistant to calling Christmas a "secular" holiday. Most of the people I know who want to depict Christmas as secular aren't Christians by any definition of the word with which I'm familiar.
posted by valkyryn at 7:22 AM on December 10, 2009
autoclavicle, most Christians I know, and myself included, are actually pretty resistant to calling Christmas a "secular" holiday. Most of the people I know who want to depict Christmas as secular aren't Christians by any definition of the word with which I'm familiar.
posted by valkyryn at 7:22 AM on December 10, 2009
[A Christmas Carol] explicitly excludes students whose religions (or lack thereof) do not recognize Jesus as the messiah, and to whom "Christmas" means nothing, or worse, represents (at the very least) two millennia of marginalization and discrimination.
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, is about a greedy moneyman who is shown the consequences of his actions and becomes a warm generous soul through the intervention of some very pagan ghosts. The Christmastime setting is important, of course, but I think the moral lesson and the 19th Century urban setting are far more prominent when viewed by today's young people. There is no focus at all on Santa Claus or the Christ-child.
Not to belabor the point, but I only spoke up because the claim that it "expliclitly excludes" people who aren't Christian is nonsense.
-
posted by General Tonic at 7:24 AM on December 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, is about a greedy moneyman who is shown the consequences of his actions and becomes a warm generous soul through the intervention of some very pagan ghosts. The Christmastime setting is important, of course, but I think the moral lesson and the 19th Century urban setting are far more prominent when viewed by today's young people. There is no focus at all on Santa Claus or the Christ-child.
Not to belabor the point, but I only spoke up because the claim that it "expliclitly excludes" people who aren't Christian is nonsense.
-
posted by General Tonic at 7:24 AM on December 10, 2009 [2 favorites]
How about "A Christmas Story"? While it happens during a Christian holiday, it's not at all Jesus-y.
posted by taz20075 at 7:56 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by taz20075 at 7:56 AM on December 10, 2009
Just another voice chiming in that we ALWAYS used to watch Cool Runnings on the last day of school before winter break (10-15 years ago).
posted by kidsleepy at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by kidsleepy at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2009
Snow Day was written by the guys behind The Adventures of Pete & Pete and you can kinda tell it was maybe originally supposed to be a Pete & Pete movie.
posted by dogwalker at 8:17 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dogwalker at 8:17 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
I don't have time to dig it up, but there was a thread just a couple months back about "wintry" movies, although they weren't necessarily all appropriate for pre-teens. I remember recommending The Chronicles of Narnia for its wintry scenes, but there were certainly others that might fit your bill.
posted by Pomo at 9:19 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by Pomo at 9:19 AM on December 10, 2009
Yeah - Pomo - here's that thread of movies set at Christmas time.
posted by Sassyfras at 9:37 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by Sassyfras at 9:37 AM on December 10, 2009
(and I don't see too many from either thread that would be appropriate for 7th graders)
posted by Sassyfras at 9:41 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by Sassyfras at 9:41 AM on December 10, 2009
What about The Golden Compass? The last part of the movie is in the cold north and features armored white bears.
posted by SLC Mom at 10:19 AM on December 10, 2009
posted by SLC Mom at 10:19 AM on December 10, 2009
Pomo: "I don't have time to dig it up, but there was a thread just a couple months back about "wintry" movies, although they weren't necessarily all appropriate for pre-teens. I remember recommending The Chronicles of Narnia for its wintry scenes, but there were certainly others that might fit your bill."
Ummmm...the Narnia cannon is definitely pro-Jesus. I didn't catch it as a kid reading the books, but the Christian Right were pretty obsessed when the first movie came out.
I had totally forgotten about Cool Runnings, but I loved that movie as a kid. I bet a lot of them haven't seen it.
posted by radioamy at 10:46 AM on December 10, 2009
Ummmm...the Narnia cannon is definitely pro-Jesus. I didn't catch it as a kid reading the books, but the Christian Right were pretty obsessed when the first movie came out.
I had totally forgotten about Cool Runnings, but I loved that movie as a kid. I bet a lot of them haven't seen it.
posted by radioamy at 10:46 AM on December 10, 2009
This conversation should have ended with the first mention of Cool Runnings.
I, mean, c'mon! It's Based on the true story of the First Jamaican bobsled team trying to make it to the winter Olympics.
posted by slimepuppy at 1:48 PM on December 10, 2009
I, mean, c'mon! It's Based on the true story of the First Jamaican bobsled team trying to make it to the winter Olympics.
posted by slimepuppy at 1:48 PM on December 10, 2009
La Guerre des Tuques, or in English, The Dog who Stopped the War. A Quebec film about an epic snowball fight; extremely wintery, featuring kids of about that age, great moral message, but -- SPOILER -- the dog dies at the end (hence ending the "war").
Aw, jeez. It's an entertaining movie until the dog dies and emotionally scars the kids for the rest of their lives. (How do I know? IT HAPPENED TO ME.) Seriously, show Cool Runnings or something more upbeat for your end of the semester movie, not this one. This movie has been burned into my psyche due to the depressive ending.
posted by Atreides at 2:33 PM on December 10, 2009
Aw, jeez. It's an entertaining movie until the dog dies and emotionally scars the kids for the rest of their lives. (How do I know? IT HAPPENED TO ME.) Seriously, show Cool Runnings or something more upbeat for your end of the semester movie, not this one. This movie has been burned into my psyche due to the depressive ending.
posted by Atreides at 2:33 PM on December 10, 2009
Response by poster: Wow! Thanks for all the awesome ideas! I haven't seen most of these, so I will have to check them out! I've been meaning to see Cool Runnings for a while but haven't gotten around to it. I think they would enjoy a movie like that.
Thanks so much for the support from all the people who don't think I'm a Christmas-hater. I celebrate Christmas myself, but a lot of my students don't. I know that A Christmas Carol isn't trying to convert them or anything, but it's just Christmas shoved in their faces one more time. I feel awful that kids who don't celebrate it can't listen to the radio or watch TV or go to the mall or visit a friend's home without having to feel left out about Christmas.
7th grade is such a hard time since they all want to fit in so desperately, and I want to make sure school is a place where they can feel comfortable. :)
posted by NHlove at 5:15 PM on December 10, 2009
Thanks so much for the support from all the people who don't think I'm a Christmas-hater. I celebrate Christmas myself, but a lot of my students don't. I know that A Christmas Carol isn't trying to convert them or anything, but it's just Christmas shoved in their faces one more time. I feel awful that kids who don't celebrate it can't listen to the radio or watch TV or go to the mall or visit a friend's home without having to feel left out about Christmas.
7th grade is such a hard time since they all want to fit in so desperately, and I want to make sure school is a place where they can feel comfortable. :)
posted by NHlove at 5:15 PM on December 10, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
A seriously great movie.
posted by Shepherd at 4:27 AM on December 10, 2009