We are in the golden age of documentary. Many students have seen them, on YouTube, Netflix, and other streaming services, often without even having the medium categorized and defined for them as such. As school-aged children consume more and more streaming content, transferring documentary content to the classroom setting is a natural transition. Even more natural, in many cases, than a textbook, research article, or news report. In addition to the video format being more accessible, documentary – with its…

In these times of tightened school budgets, it’s very difficult to plan and execute a field trip for students. And while documentaries will never be a replacement for the authentic experience of a field trip, they can, like the best films, transport students to a place and time far away from the modern classroom. Not only that, but documentaries, with their frequent focus on personal stories, and often stories of people of color or everyday folks who may be left…