Ex Machina Movie Guide Questions & Worksheet

This Ex Machina Movie Guide Questions & Worksheet helps Grades 11 to 12 students think critically about consciousness, freedom, manipulation, surveillance, and what it means to be human. As Caleb evaluates Ava inside Nathan’s isolated research estate, students reflect on power, trust, ethics, and the dangers that emerge when intelligence is created without responsibility or respect.

This packet gives you flexible ways to teach a full-length film without losing instructional time: use the pre- and post-movie discussion prompts to build purpose before viewing, pause at key time stamps for guided writing and conversation, or assign the written guide after the film for review and deeper analysis.

Engaging questions include scene-based, time-stamped prompts, reflection questions, and a multiple-choice quiz for easy differentiation. It works well for whole-class viewing, homework, independent analysis, film study, or guided small-group discussion.

Check the thumbnail images for sample questions to see if this movie guide is suitable for your students.

Film Summary:

Ex Machina follows programmer Caleb Smith as he is invited to tech CEO Nathan Bateman's isolated research estate and asked to evaluate Ava, a humanoid AI. What begins as a Turing-test experiment becomes a tense struggle over consciousness, surveillance, trust, manipulation, and the ethics of creating a mind that wants freedom.

Parental Guidance:

Rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references, and some violence. See details on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/parentalguide/

Perfect For:

• Grades 11-12 ethics and technology units
• AI, freedom, and personhood discussions
• Surveillance and power analysis
• Upper-secondary film study
• Classes comparing science fiction with real-world ethical questions

Skills Addressed:

• Reading for evidence
• Ethical reasoning
• Character motivation
• Compare and contrast
• Theme
• Discussion and argument
• Vocabulary in context

What's Included: (a zip file with)

Student Worksheet

• Google Slides/PPTX Print Version (Toner Tip! Print 2 Slides/Page)
• Google Slides/PPTX Digital Version
• Self-Graded Multiple Choice Quiz (30 Questions | Easy Language)
  • Digital Version (Google Forms)
  • Print Version (can be derived from the Answer Key not Self-Graded)

Teacher's Guide & Lesson Plan

• Pre & Post Movie Discussion Questions (themes, schema-building)
• Lesson Plan Options A, B, and C (3-day, 4-day, and 5-day pacing)
• Worksheet Answer Key + CCSS Alignment
• Multiple Choice Quiz Answer Key
• CCSS Alignment + Admin Movie Request + Parent/Guardian Permission Slip (2 Pages)
  

(Note: All files formatted for seamless upload to your Google Drive if desired.)

Time & Tech:

Runtime: 108 minutes. Use this resource before, during, or after viewing. Print the worksheet or assign the Google Slides/PPTX digital version, and use the Google Forms multiple-choice quiz when you want a self-grading differentiation option.

DISCLAIMER: This product is an independently created worksheet and question set for classroom commentary and instruction. It is not affiliated with the film's creators or distributors, and it does not include the movie itself. Teachers should preview films for local policy fit.