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Why Am I Scared of Horror Movies? (ISTE Lesson Template)

English Language Arts 10
Jonathan Ryan
English Language Teacher
American School of Asuncion
jonathan.ryan@asa.edu.py
Content Standards (Aero Common Core Plus):
RL. 3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact
over the course of a text.
RL. 7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media,
including print and digital resources.
RL 9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
LS.9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly,
concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the
organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose,
audience, and task.
LS.9-10.5 Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio,
visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of
findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
ISTE Standards:
1A: Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or processes.
2B: Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a
variety of media and formats.
2D: Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3A: Plan strategies to guide inquiry.
4B: Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
Overview:
High school students love horror movies. Throughout an October-themed unit
examining short stories of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and
Algernon Blackwood, students apply their pre-existing knowledge of the horror
genre, usually through films, to make connections to the stories and poetry they
read.
In this short, week-long lesson, students will learn about how directors use film
techniques such as camera angles, lighting tricks, camera movement, sound
effects and music to establish mood, increase suspense and, ultimately, scare their
audiences. Students will watch several horror trailers and movie-clips, analyze one
trailer closely for film techniques and mood-establishment and reflect on their
learning in writing. The purpose of this unit is to engage students in content
relating to mood-establishment in digital texts while simultaneously teaching
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Essential Questions:
1) How do camera angles, lighting and music impact an audiences emotions
during a film?
2) Why do horror movies scare us?
3) How do horror authors and horror film-directors set the mood to impact
Assessment:
Film Techniques Kahoot Quiz Formative Assessment
Horror Trailer Analysis Project Summative
Handwritten Reflection Formative

Resources & Prior Knowledge:

Smartboard Used for daily lectures and showing videos to the class.
Mini-Lecture PowerPoint Used to teach camera angles, sound and lighting in
class.
YouTube Trailers of every horror film imaginable can be found here.
PPT / Prezi Students will be crafting a multi-media oral presentation for the
summative assessment for the unit. They will need to be familiar with how to
use these formats in advance.
Screen-Shots Students will need to understand how to take screen-shots for
their presentations.
Kahoot.it Used for a formative assessment quiz on camera angles used in film
and photography.
Schoology Used for assignment submission and platform for notes and PPT
Instructional Plan:
Preparation
In preparation, the instructor of this lesson should ensure that all students have
working laptops, that they have all needed materials prepared and ready for the
lesson and that students have been pre-warned that they will be watching clips
of horror films in class.
Students have been working with the horror genre for a week and a half already
by the time this lesson is taught, so they should be familiar with the Four Us of
Horror (Unknown, Unexpected, Unbelievable, Unseen) and know the definition
of mood. They have studied several short stories in the horror genre already and
should be pre-conditioned and ready to apply the same knowledge to a different

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Management
Students will spend the entirety of this lesson in the classroom. Due to ASAs
BYOD policy, all students have access to a laptop and the Internet. The
classroom environment is ideal for this lesson because the instructor can monitor
and assist all students quickly and efficiently. The SmartBoard is also essential to
this lesson and is in the classroom.
Instruction and Activities
Day 1:
Introduce the focus of inquiry: Why do horror movies scare us? Students
will spend approximately five minutes discussing exactly why they find
thrills in the horror genre. Anticipated responses include the dark setting,
music, unexpected events (the jump factor), creepy monsters, setting
locations that are relatable, etc.
Film directors know what terrifies their target-population and, like any
skilled author or creator of a digital text, they cater their content and their
format to suit the desires of their audience.
Camera Angles / Lighting Techniques / Sound All these elements work
together to scare us!
PPT Lecture Camera Angles

Watch two horror film trailers REC (2007) and The Conjuring (2013)

Formative Assessment Camera Angles Kahoot!

Day 2:
Review camera angles and their impact on audience at the start of class.

Days

Lighting & Sound Impact on Audience and techniques specific to horror

films PPT Mini - Lecture Lighting
Watch two trailers to analyze lighting techniques Sinister (2012) and The
Cabin in the Woods (2011)
PPT Mini-Lecture Sound Techniques
Watch the two previous trailers without sound. Discuss the impact of
sound and how the sound is an important element to these films.
Divide students equally into groups of three Draw numbers from a hat
students should remember the numbers because they will use them on
Day 3.
Tomorrow, using these groups and the new content they have learned,
they will select a single trailer and analyze it in depth for camera angles,
sound and lighting techniques.
3&4
Students will divide into the groups selected on Day 2. They will be
introduced to the Horror Trailer Analysis Assignment and be shown the
assignment rubric.
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Differentiation
1) Some students may be excessively sensitive to horror films or scary
scenes. In this event, I offer students an opt-out clause and they can
complete the same content and project using action-films. If students are
frightened but wish to remain and watch, I send them the trailers in
advance and encourage them to watch them on mute first, to avoid
possible embarrassment in class. I announce this option at the beginning
of the unit and provide students with time to anonymously send the
request via Schoology or email.
2) For students who struggle with technology, there are tutorial videos for PPT
and Prezi placed on their YouTube accounts. Students who are frustrated or
lack the needed technical skills for the completion of the Horror Trailer
Analysis assignment can check these out independently as required.
3) Groups for the Horror Trailer Analysis Project will be selected by the
instructor to ensure an even distribution of talents and attention spans.

Closure and Reflection

This year will mark the second time I have taught a lesson on horror-film
techniques. There are some pitfalls that I have yet to sort out, the occasional
student who is highly sensitive to this material for starters. It is tough to
balance the immensely engaging genre of horror with trailers and film clips that
will not scar or severely scare my students! I believe that, with the addition of
the opt-out clause this year, I wont have problems with this a second time
around.
Students will be asked to reflect on what they took away from the four-day
lesson on film techniques. In the past, many students have commented, Mr.
Ryan, you ruined horror movies for us! All we do now when we watch them is
think and analyze whats going on! For me, that was encouraging to hear! I
believe that, although certainly in need of some refinement, this lesson is a fun
and engaging way for students to gain some experience analyzing film-texts

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