McFarland, USA Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats (PG - 2015)

McFarland, USA Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Forms (PG – 2015) challenges students to analyze this powerful story about persistence, community, family values, and teamwork. Ask students to compare the average student at their school with a student at McFarland. Explore how Coach Jim White’s approach allows him to learn about the values and characteristics of the Mexican-American culture in McFarland. Write an essay about how to integrate some of these positive aspects of McFarland’s community into your own community.

This resource consists of 12 high-level, short answer and essay questions that will do more than just ask your students to regurgitate information. See the thumbnail images for sample questions.

This product .zip file includes:

• A student movie guide, PDF digital fillable form version (4 pages)
• A student movie guide, PDF print version (4 pages)
• An answer key (4 pages) is included, however, some answers will vary as students are encouraged to construct their own meaning throughout the film and many questions are open-ended.
• A Google Slides Version of the Movie Guide
• A generic movie guide permission slip (1 page)
• CCSS alignment indicating standards met, PDF (1 page – see also preview image)
  • CCSS Note: I’ve taken the liberty of aligning certain reading standards with the act of consuming content via the movie instead. Although students aren’t reading they are asked to perform the same cognitive functions on the content that they consumed from the movie.

This movie guide is included in two different film elective full-year curriculums:

• Film Studies & Movie Analysis Curriculum — A lighter, plug-and-play sequence of mainstream (mostly G–PG-13) films with strong subtitles that are easy to stream on Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video—ideal for mixed-readiness, intro classes.
• Film as Literature & Cinematic Arts Curriculum — A more rigorous track built around canonical, mature titles prized for depth and analysis—iconic selections that may be harder to source, best for honors/AP-bridge and seminar-style courses.

Here are my tips for using this McFarland, USA Movie Guide | Questions | Worksheet | Google Formats (PG - 2015) in your classroom:

1. Print one, double-sided movie guide for each student
2. Preview each question on the movie guide as you come to it before resuming the movie
3. Pause at the times designated on the movie guide and help students if necessary
   • Discussion here is great, encourage and allow students to share their ideas and thoughts for any question
   • Discourage students from simply copying answers
   • If needed, and if time allows, feel free to rewind and show important parts of the movie for additional analysis
4. After completing the short answers on the movie guide, allow 5-10 minutes for each essay question at the end
5. On average, completing this movie guide will require about 30-45 minutes in addition to the length of the movie