TOS Review: Zeezok Z-Guide to the Movies for Kit Kittredge

I have read that even when you are homeschooling, you should get up in the morning and dress professionally, like a teacher in school, and set a good example for your children.  Nevertheless, I cannot resist a good homeschool pajama day every so often.  Pop in a good educational movie, light a fire in the fireplace, sip hot chocolate, and eat popcorn in our jammies.  I'm trying to do this with my kids about once a month.

Some of my girls' favorite movies are the American Girl Movies, so they were excited to have a break from their regular work to review Zeezok Publishing's Z-Guide to the Movies for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.  My boys enjoyed it, too, but don't tell anyone!

The Z-Guides to the Movies are available for Elementary/Middle School or for High School levels, and for a number of popular movies, such as Johnny Tremain, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.  Most of the movies can be obtained from Netflix or even checked out from your local library.  We reviewed the Elementary/Middle School level.

The Z-Guide is a completely downloadable product, and it is much more than a discussion guide.  It includes ten activities, designed to be done two-per-day for a week.  The Kit Kittredge Z-Guide began with an overview of the movie and of the historical setting.  Activity 1 listed movie review questions for the children to answer while they were watching the movie.  I was impressed by how this kept their attention on the movie and improved their retention.  Activity 2 involved researching the Great Depression apart from the movie.  After all, movies are seldom a completely accurate portrayal of history!  Other activities followed, including vocabulary, a discussion of literary devices used, a newspaper story to write (because Kit wanted to be a newspaper reporter), and my favorite, a discussion of the worldview that shaped the events in the movie.  The worldview discussion teaches students to not only watch movies for entertainment, but also to understand the worldviews behind them.  According to Zeezok publishing, the hands-on activities for some of the movies include creating a treasure hunt, completing a craft, or planning and making a meal.   I plan to check out some more of these, because I have always loved unit guides that help me to include several different subjects, hands-on activities, and various learning styles in a way that will be educational and memorable for my children.

You can find all of Zeezok's Z-Guides to the Movies at Zeezok Publishing, or click here.  Prices vary, with many of them running around $12.99.  Check Zeezok's price list for individual titles.

TOS Crew members reviewed Z-Guides for a number of different movies, so to see what they each have to say, click here.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of Zeezok's Z-Guide to the Movies for Kit Kittredge in exchange for a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.