Z Guide to the Movies - The Ten Commandments

One of the issues that I have as a homeschooler is that I want to expose my children to more books than they can possibly read!  So even with very long reading lists and a read-aloud book, we don't get to read all of the books that I would like for them to read (or listen to).  Movies to the rescue!


Now, I firmly believe that books are best, but excellent movies that correspond closely to a book are a great opportunity to allow more exposure to classic books.  As well, there are many excellent movies to complement, illustrate, and add depth and meaning to history studies.

To enhance the educational experience of watching a movie, I highly recommend the ever-expanding line of Z Guides to the Movies.  The suggested grade levels for the Z Guides vary according to the guide.  For example, the 10 Commandments is a high school level study.  Each movie guide includes the following:

• Topic Overview
• Movie Synopsis
• 10 Learning Activities.

For the purpose of this review, I received and used the Z Guide to the Movies - The Ten Commandments.  This movie fit perfectly with our year-long study of ancient history, including the history of ancient Israel.

Topic Overview

The Topic Overview portion of a Z Guide to the Movies is a full page of meaty, background information on the historical period exemplified in the film.  Using the information in the Topic Overview, one could kick-off the study of a new historical period with a movie.  The background information could be shared with one's children to set the stage for the movie and the historical period.  

Movie Synopsis

The Movie Synopsis portion of a Z Guide to the Movies is a very detailed description of the plot of the movie.  For example, the movie synopsis of the 10 Commandments was two pages long.

10 Learning Activities

Each Z Guide to the Movies includes 10 different learning activities which vary widely.  As stated by Zeezok Publishing, "The goal of the Z Guide is not just supplemental educational activities for specific historical topics, but to also teach the viewer to think critically."

For Family Discussion

I love these questions!  As I was reviewing this guide and using it with my family, I immediately thought that these questions would make great conversation starters after watching the movie.  Including Dad in movie night and the family discussion would be a great way to include him in some homeschool activities.

Also included in each Z Guide to the Movies are suggestions for additional resources for further study and a detailed answer key.

Referring specifically to the Z Guide to the Movies - The 10 Commandments, I was impressed with the extremely wide-range and quality of the learning activities included in the guide.  To be more specific, here is a brief description of the 10 Learning Activities included in the movie guide that I reviewed.

• Activity 1 and 2 - Movie Review Questions.  The movie review questions are short answer questions to be answered while watching the movie to gauge attention and comprehension.  For the 10 Commandments movie (which is quite long), 25 questions were included for each half of the movie.
• Activity 3 - Compare and Contrast Writing Activity.  In this assignment, students are asked to compare specific scenes from the movie with the truth of scripture.  Since there are many scenes in the 10 Commandments that do not follow scripture exactly, I thought this was a wonderful assignment.
• Activity 4 - Creative Writing Assignment.
• Activity 5 - Critical Thinking Writing Assignment.
• Activity 6 - Word Search.
• Activity 7 - Hands-On Creative Activity.  In this fun activity, students design a treasure city for a pharaoh.
• Activity 8 - Hands-On Creative Activity.  In this activity, students design their own movie poster for the 10 Commandments using one's own hieroglyphic alphabet.
• Activity 9 - Worldview Activity.  In this writing activity, students are asked to write short essays on moral questions related to the movie.  
• Activity 10 - The Filmmaker's Art.  In this writing activity, students apply theme, foreshadowing, irony, and special effects to the film.       

Our family enjoyed using our Z Guide to the Movies very much.  In fact, I was so impressed with the content and the educational value that the Z Guide added to our viewing of the 10 Commandments that I plan to purchase the Z Guide for Johnny Tremain to use in our study of early American history next school year! 

To wrap-up this review, here a few more random thoughts that I had about the Z Guides as I worked on this review.

• Z Guides to the Movies could be great supplements to many different subjects.  For example, the 10 Commandments would be a great addition to a bible class as well as a history class.
• The guides could also form the basis of a fabulous high school course.  One of my favorite classes in college was "Religion in Film."  The activities included in the guide I reviewed reminded me of that class.    

While the full line of Z Guides is not currently listed on the Zeezok Publishing website, 29 titles are included in their print catalog.  You can request a print catalog here.  Each Z Guide is $12.99 and are available as instant downloads in E-Book format or on a CD.  

I received a copy of a Z Guide to the Movies - The 10 Commandments in exchange for my honest review of the product.  No other compensation, monetary or otherwise, was given in exchange for this review.