Into the Spider-Verse: Structured & Scaffolded Film Analysis Unit
Take your students beyond surface-level movie worksheets with this complete film analysis unit designed around Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Through parallel frame analysis, students learn how filmmakers use visual choices to show growth, highlight themes, and build meaning — and then transform those observations into polished film analysis essays.
What’s Inside this Unit:
✅ 6+ model frame pairings with guiding questions (Opening vs. Closing Images, Tied Up, Shoulder Touch, The Leap, Shadows & Silhouettes, Spidey Intros)
✅ Scene analysis questions to scaffold close reading of film visuals
✅ Prewriting activities that help students turn annotations into thesis statements
✅ Detailed essay outline & graphic organizer with sentence frames for a full 5-paragraph film analysis essay
✅ Optional presentation pathway — students can create a slide deck instead of an essay
✅ Printer-friendly + full-color versions for classroom flexibility
Skills Students Will Build:
- Visual literacy & cinematic analysis
- Identifying and analyzing themes & character growth
- Connecting parallel scenes across a film
- Crafting thesis statements and structured essays
- Presenting film analysis in multiple formats
Why You'll Love This Unit:
- Works for ELA and Film Studies (grades 9–12)
- Rigorously aligned with analytical writing and Common Core standards
- Fully scaffolded: from observation → prewriting → thesis → essay
- Flexible for 1–2 weeks of lessons or as a cornerstone assessment piece
21 Printable PDFs + 21 Editable Google Docs Pages; 67 Canva Slides; Links to 3 public video clips
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