Why not I say. Why not use the upcoming movies such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword to teach a lesson on space, civil wars, or Medieval History.
Why not ..
Using things that are fun will not only help students get into the subject they are learning about but also encourage them to develop their imaginations. By having an imagination, this will allow students to think positive about themselves and their future.
For instance, when the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School students along with Mr. Wronko and Tracy Caprioni did a special presentation with Ghana regarding the history and fighting ability of a knight, they implemented the use of Science Fiction and Medieval History to do it. This can be seen in the above image with Perfecto Kendle dressed up as Darth Vader and Tracy Caprioni as a knight.
This is what took place during that event:
On June 17, 2016 the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School students along with Mr. Wronko invited technology coach Tracy Caprioni to once again attend a special Ghana session. During this session, Tracy Caprioni gave a special lesson on being a knight. Before his seminar began, he was introduced by Darth Vader who was played by Perfecto Kendle. Once Mr. Caprioni was introduced he showed off his entire knight outfit. His outfit consisted of his helmet, armor, chain mail shirt, and plates. In addition, he brought in his sword which was very flexible. For instance, he was able to bend it and the sword was not bent as it went back into a standing position. Mr. Caprioni also showed some maneuverers with the sword such as defensive and offensive positions. For his final demonstration, he wanted to show how heavy and powerful his gear was so he broke a concrete block.
My overall point is, why not. Use things that will catch students attention. There is nothing wrong with it. For example, this past year I had the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle Schools draw pictures and get published in Prehistoric Times Magazine, interview part time wrestler and Spanish teacher Merced Solis, a.k.a. Tito Santana, listen to lectures from state senator Jennifer Beck and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and finally, use their hobbies to create analogies that tie their hobbies with the history they were learning. By the end of the year not only were the common core standards in New Jersey covered but also the students were having fun doing it.
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