I’ve written in the past about how I’ve used a movie day to not only give myself a break to grade, but also review important concepts with students. With the end of the first quarter and Halloween around the corner, I’ve come up with another assignment that combines the fun of a Tim Burton classic with the rigor of defending claims!
(For this assignment, it’s best if students already understand claim, evidence, and reasoning.)
Materials Needed:
- The Nightmare Before Christmas Debate Two-Column Notes and CER Paragraph Handout
- The Nightmare Before Christmas film (I stream it through Amazon)
- Point and Refutation Google Slides
The Lesson: Day 1
The essential question for this lesson and the subsequent debate is as follows: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?
Prior to showing the film, I led a brief discussion with students in which we defined what makes “Halloween” versus “Christmas” movies. They decided that Halloween movies typically have elements like treat-or-treating, pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns, monsters, and sudden scares; Christmas movies, they decided, usually feature Santa Claus, presents, decorated trees, and “Christmas cheer.” Then I instructed students to take two-column notes while they watched the film: On the left, they had to document evidence for Halloween, and on the right they needed to write evidence for Christmas. Then I pressed play.
After the 76-minute film concluded, I asked students to write a CER paragraph defending their claim about what kind of movie this is. Here’s a sample CER paragraph defending a student’s claim:
The Lesson: Day 2
On day two I passed back the students’ notes and paragraphs so that they could review what they had written. Then we proceeded to debate using the format of Point and Refutation. Students who were staunchly on the side of Halloween went to the left side of the room, while the Christmas students went to the right. The beauty of this format is that it requires students to listen to their opponents’ assertions while also defending their claims with evidence.
Here’s a sample of the Point and Refutation format with this debate.
Sample Debate:
Student 1 (Christmas): I believe that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie because in one of the last scenes it shows Santa flying across the sky and shouting, “Merry Christmas!”
Student 2 (Halloween): I hear you when you say that the movie ending with Santa makes it a Christmas movie; however, I disagree with you because Santa is not the main character. Jack Skellington is the main character, and as he is a skeleton and the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, he shows that this movie is about Halloween.
Student 3 (Christmas): You’re correct when you say that Jack Skellington is the main character, but that doesn’t mean that this movie is about Halloween. Jack Skellington falls in love with Christmas and attempts to be Santa Claus; he doesn’t do it well and accidentally scares the children, but he still tries. He wants to be a part of Christmas, just like this movie.
Student 4 (Halloween): Yes, Jack does want to be a part of Christmas, but as you pointed out, he failed. He learns in the movie that he needs to accept who he is as the “Master of Fright” and not go looking for happiness in Christmas Town, which means that this movie is about Halloween.
And so the debate goes until students run out of original points to make.
Lesson Conclusion
Movie days get a bad wrap, but they don’t have to be just filler. By including note-taking, CER paragraphs, and debate fundamentals, this lesson adds rigor to seasonally-appropriate fun. And, let’s not forget, the teacher gets 76 glorious minutes to grade…
Looking for an extension activity? Have students read and discuss this Mary Sue post about The Nightmare Before Christmas and cultural appropriation.