Forums

Forums / General Science and Teaching / Movies for Science in Elementary Grades

General Science and Teaching

Movies for Science in Elementary Grades

Author Post
Lauren Santiso Lauren Santiso 1430 Points

Hello, Besides the movie The Lorax, does anyone have any movie suggestions for students that are in elementary grade levels about different science topics? Does not need to be one topic in particular, just want to create a movie list with different movies for different topics!

Ashley Menendez Ashley Menendez 1405 Points

I suggest watching the movie Fern Gully it is an old film from the 1980's that is a cartoon. It details the devastating effects of pollution on the environment.

Andrea Brucker Andrea Brucker 590 Points

I watched Wall-E with my famiy last night, and kept thinking about how well it fit with our study of plants and the environment in 4th grade!

Susanne Hokkanen Susanne Hokkanen 79520 Points

I love the movie Wall-E, and we watch it every year right after our climate change science unit. It is also a great movie to teach symbolism and argumentative writing. I have my students watch for symbolism throughout the movie - such as Eve's name and her shape in consideration of her mission. For argumentative writing or discussion, I like to have the students argue whether is more human-like or robot-like using evidence from the movie. It is a great movie!

Kelsie Rodman Kelsie Rodman 585 Points

When I was in elementary school, I recall watching mostly Bill Nye the Science Guy in science class. I am not sure how popular these would be with students today as they are quite outdated. I do remember watching October Sky when I was in school though. It can be tied to space science, history, mining, forest fires, and even character development. When we watched it, we also built rockets and got to all go outside and set them off. This movie is a great addition to any lesson to get them interested in space science, or even math and engineering. I found this really helpful website that ties movies with lessons. It gives well thought out discussion ideas as well as lesson ideas. I hope it is helpful for you! http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/october-sky.html

Heidi Wolff Heidi Wolff 615 Points

I just purchased "Making North America" from PBS after watching it on NOVA. It works well for 4th grade Earth Sciences. It could probably be used for Earth Science for other grade levels. Very well done with many awesome graphics.

Sawsan Ismaiel Sawsan Ismaiel 125 Points

Try arctic tale and ferngully.

Amanda Arling Amanda Arling 170 Points

When I was in grade school my teacher always stuck with the classics such as The Magic School Bus series or Bill Nye the Science Guy. I also think that Charlottes Web, March of the Penguins, Finding Nemo (a lot of Disney/Pixar movies), the options are endless.

Sarah Benton Feitlinger Sarah Benton 1775 Points

Although these are not full length movies, here are some of my all time favorite YouTube and PBS clips to engage learners before and during a lesson. http://www.shareitscience.com/2015/03/science-teaching-toolbox-10-tried-and.html

Jade Mears Jade Mears 90 Points

The movie "Osmosis Jones" can be used to teach about the human body, and viruses. It gives a great visual of the inner workings of the body like a busy city.

Vincent DeJesus Vincent DeJesus 20 Points

Osmosis Jones, any episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy (he now has a new show on Netflix called Bill Nye Saves the World), any episode of The Magic School Bus, and Big Hero 6 are some options.

Chelsea Cook Chelsea Cook 875 Points

I think The Magic School Bus would be a great option because each episode is about something different. This gives you something to show your students that covers various science concepts. I always enjoyed watching The Magic School Bus in elementary school.

Corbin Hatterman Corbin Hatterman 4845 Points

The Bee Movie could be a good movie to watch to introduce ecosystems, how different organisms interact with each other to sustain it, and what happens when a part of the ecosystem is suddenly removed.

Haley Wiebenga Haley Wiebenga 1353 Points

I feel like you are able to incorporate movies (especially kids movies) into science much more often than most people realize! For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (for engineering), Finding Nemo/Dory (for oceans unit), A Bugs life (for bug unit). Students are also much more knowledgeable on the most interesting and popular kids movies than adults are, so it would be a great idea to introduce topic options to them, and ask them for suggestions.

Victor Payne Ada Mendoza 10 Points

I find action movies still have the best appeal and revenue and are most suitable for everyone.

Post Reply

Forum content is subject to the same rules as NSTA List Serves. Rules and disclaimers