Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Movie Guide | Questions (PG - 2016)

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Movie Guide | Questions (PG – 2016) challenges students to connect with Rafe and his struggle to adapt to life without his brother and follow the rules at his new school. Ask students to compare their school to HVMS, contemplate if Rafe’s punishment was fair and, judge Principal Dwight’s ultimate goal. Discuss how Leo’s character creates a great plot twist and encourage students to think like a director/writer.

Teacher’s Note: Skip 23:10 – 23:20 to avoid the insinuation of the f-word (“what rhymes with suck”)

This resource consists of 10 high-level, short answer and essay questions that will do more than just ask your students to regurgitate information.

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 generic movie guide permission slip (1 page)

Digital Version Tips

• It is intended for a paperless, 1:1 tablet/iPad classroom
• Ask students to download a PDF editor app if they don’t already have one. It needs to have a save function as well. I used Foxit PDF.
• Host the file. I used google drive to share a folder with students.
• When complete, ask students to save the file in a designated google drive folder using a naming convention. (I use LastnameFirstnameMovieGuide.pdf)

Here are my tips for using Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Movie Guide | Questions (PG - 2016) 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