18,000 schools to use Academy Teaching Guide

Feb 20, 2006 by Ian Evans

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has partnered with Young Minds Inspired (YMI) to provide 18,000 high schools with an instructional guide about making films. This seventh year of the partnership will focus on documentaries.

Academy Award® nominee Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) will narrate the guide Documentaries: Searching for Truth which is geared toward students in secondary English, language arts, visual arts and communications classes, and is designed to encourage critical thinking, expand knowledge of filmmaking and increase overall interest in films.

“Working with YMI is great,” said Academy President Sid Ganis. “We are doing another study guide that provides students with an innovative educational resource combining the excitement of filmmaking with the fun of learning.”

Each teaching kit includes a teachers’ guide, lesson starters, resource lists, take-home activities, website resources, an Academy Awards® commemorative poster as well as an 85-minute DVD on documentaries. The DVD was produced by the Academy and Acme Filmworks.

This is just another example that shows that the Academy is more than just the host of Hollywood’s big night. Their work on preservation and education continues year round.