My students have asked several times if we could watch Mulan in class. I have to say no because I don't want to waste instructional time to a cartoon. But with this lesson I could sneak in a few scenes here and there. I can use this with 6th grade for Ancient China and in 7th grade for Medieval China. I will definitely use this with my students.
There is a great resource called Teaching with movies. I am including the link for Mulan: http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/mulan.html During March (Women's History Month) I examine female role models, and have the students decide which females presented in literature, especially in the medium of film should be included on our Women's History Calendar. lbg
I really appreciate the idea about using a movie like Mulan to teach students about the role of strong women. I definitely find that as a US history teacher, I focus so heavily in my content on strong/ inspirational male characters. I am definitely making an attempt to highlight more people of color and female figures in my lessons. I also like the idea of having students think about females from literature and film that can be celebrated during Women;s History Month. I am just getting started on a women's suffrage unit, and this idea will definitely get my students to think about the role that women often play in media. Thanks for the ideas!