Star Wars Saga Film Studies & Movie Analysis 9 Week Full Curriculum (Grades 9-12)

A complete 9-week secondary ELA/Media Studies film curriculum using the Star Wars saga to teach cinematic craft, argument writing, and comparative analysis. Flexible final assessments lets teachers choose or combine focuses on cinematography, Hero’s Journey (monomyth), Leitmotif and Biomes. Two scaffolded units (Weeks 1–4, Weeks 5–9) pair weekly Movie Guides with discussion prompts, vocabulary, and standards-aligned assessments. Built for 45–55 minute class periods.

What’s Included

• Weekly Movie Guides (short-answer chronological questions, end of film questions, theme discussion)
• Extension: Cinematography Mini-Lessons & Activities
• 4 Comparative Analyses (rubrics included)
• 2 Summative Assessments (3 prompts; rubric)
• 3 Optional Final Assessments (due end of Week 9)
• Google Forms versions of weekly multiple-choice quizzes (self-grading; mirrors each guide’s MC)
• WIDA-aligned language targets (speaking, listening, reading, writing) and UDL/MTSS differentiation menus
• Answer keys for vocabulary, chronological questions, reflections, and MC
• File formats: PDF + editable Google Docs/Slides links

At a Glance — Scope & Sequence

Unit 1 (Weeks 1–4): Episodes IV, V, VI, I

• Week 1: Ep IV A New Hope — Cinematography focus; formative guide
• Week 2: Ep V Empire Strikes Back — Comparative Analysis I
• Week 3: Ep VI Return of the Jedi — formative guide
• Week 4: Ep I The Phantom Menace — Comparative Analysis II

Unit 2 (Weeks 5–9): Episodes II, III, VII, VIII, IX

• Week 5: Ep II Attack of the Clones — formative guide
• Week 6: Ep III Revenge of the Sith — Unit 2 Summative Assessment (3 prompts)
• Week 7: Ep VII The Force Awakens — formative guide
• Week 8: Ep VIII The Last Jedi — Comparative Analysis II (Unit 2)
• Week 9: Ep IX The Rise of Skywalker — formative guide + Final Assessment due

Standards Alignment

• Anchor CCSS emphasized across weeks: CCRA.R.1–4, R.7; CCRA.W.1–2, W.9; CCRA.SL.1; CCRA.L.4.
• Guides specify standard mapping per task (scene evidence, theme analysis, media integration).
• Assessments (How Learning Is Measured)
• Formative (weekly): Short-answer scene analysis, vocabulary in context, discussion, and MC (paper or Google Forms).
• Comparative Analyses: 2–3 paragraphs, claim-evidence-reasoning across films with rubrics.
• Unit 2 Summative (Week 6): Three prompts (visions/prophecy; obedience/responsibility; civilian impact/guardrails).
• Final Assessment (Week 9, teacher-selected) — see next section.

Final Assessment (Week 9) — Three Teacher-Selectable Options

• Introduce all three in Week 1; students maintain a simple “What to Watch For” tracker through Weeks 1–9.
• Weeks 1–8: 2–3 minutes of tracker notes after each viewing block.
• Week 9: Finalize and submit.
• Rubric aligns to thesis/focus, cross-film evidence, discipline-specific analysis (per option), reasoning, organization/style, and media/presentation quality.

Choose one, two, or all three to fit your course goals:

Option A — Media/Craft Analysis (ELA/Media/Visual Arts)

• ELA, Media Studies, Film/TV, Visual Arts teachers.
• What students do: Compare paired scenes across eras (OT vs. PT/ST) showing how shot design, lighting/color, movement, editing/VFX reshape meaning or tone; conclude with a direct comparison claim.

Option B — Music & Leitmotif (Music/Performing Arts)

• Band/Choir/Orchestra, General Music, Film Music units.
• What students do: Track one leitmotif across ≥3 films; explain how orchestration, tempo, register, and placement shift narrative meaning.

Option C — Biomes & Worlds (Science/Geography Integration)

• Science (Earth/Environmental), Geography, Interdisciplinary teams.
• What students do: Analyze three Star Wars biomes/locations (e.g., desert, ice, mineral/salt) — how production design, sound, and shot choices cue environment; include two accurate science connections or misconception corrections per biome.

Differentiation & Language Supports

• WIDA Key Language Uses baked into each week; four-column Speaking/Writing/Reading/Listening targets.
• UDL/MTSS: Choice of evidence sets, scaffolded Google Forms MC, captioning, visuals, sentence frames, and exemplars.
• Honors/accelerations: Optional “attempt all prompts; score best two.”
• Teacher Setup & Pacing
• Designed for 5 days/week (45–55 min). Chunk films in 8–15 minute segments with think-pair-share and note-mapping.
• If a week includes a major writing task, use the final 2–3 guide questions as homework or omit as needed.
• Please preview films and follow school policies for media use and permissions.

Who This Fits

• ELA/Media Studies seeking text-dependent analysis on a high-engagement “text.”
• Music educators wanting authentic film-music analysis with leitmotifs.
• Science/Geography teachers or cross-curricular teams interested in environment/biomes through production design.

Licensing & Tech

• Classroom license for one teacher. Films not included.
• Materials in PDF + Google formats; MC quizzes provided as Google Forms (matching each guide’s MC list exactly).