Based on the musical of the same name, this tragicomedy movie on education, history, gender and hidden sexuality follows a group of British boys during their last year in school: Against all odds, they all have the potential to receive a place at a prestigious college, so their headmaster provides them with a very special […]
Throughout this sociocritical movie drama, Ricky, his wife and his children are struggeling with the financial crisis of 2008: With the promise of a safe income, Ricky is lured into buying a van. His plan is to deliver mail as a contractor. Soon, both his boss and this exploitative system is revealed for what they […]
In this film about racism, otherness and football culture following a true story, Michael Oher is a black orphan growing up in poverty. After making friends with another boy named Sean Jr., Sean Jr.’s parents decide to adopt Michael. While he does not excel academically, Michael’s protective instincts seem to be exceptionally developed, leading him […]
Following a true story, this legal drama movie portays lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson. Despite having many lucrative options after graduating from Harvard University, he instead founds the Equal Justice Initiative to defend people who have wrongfully been convicted. One of his most famous cases is the one of Johnny D., who has […]
This historical drama film is based on the 1982 novel by Thomas Keneally and based on true events. It tells the story of businessman Oskar Schindler, who worked to save more than a thousand Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. This film is suited for interdisciplinary teaching […]
This science fiction film about technology, fate, free will and freedom starts a trilogy about protagonist Neo, who has to find out that his life is merely an illusion in a dystopic world. Created by machines, it is used to enslave mankind. But when Neo decides to break out of the illusion with the help […]
This movie drama tackles prejudice and violence in the modern day USA: Protagonist Walt is an old man, a veteran of the US-Korean War, recently widowed. One day Thao, a young Hmong American, is pressured into stealing Walt’s car but when the attempt fails, the grumpy old man and the boy cannot help but grow […]
A young adult novel about losing self-control, self-and body image, depression and the presence of winter. This is the story of two best friends Lia and Cassie, albeit with a sad twist: When one develops bulimia, the other one develops anorexia and thus they start a contest, trying to find out which of the two […]
A young adult novel about desires, fears and the struggle to keep up. 16-year-old Tessa is fatally ill with leukemia, so she comes up with a bucket list of things to do before she dies, e.g. commiting crimes, having sex and doing drugs. While her family is trying to cope in different ways, Tessa happens […]
An easy read navigating the diffuculties of migration and growing up trapped between two cultures. Manjit is a teenage boy living in Leicester (England), brought up by strict Punbjabi parents. Dissappointed by Manny’s grades and behavior, his parents arrange for him to be married in India: They take him there and then return to England […]
Jabberwocky is considered one of the greatest nonsense poems in English literature. It tells the tale of a monster called the ‘Jabberwock’ and is full of nonsense words and neologisms. The poem can be found in Lewis Caroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass. Possible classroom activities include: Students can try to decipher what the poem […]
The comedic autobiography describes Trevor Noah’s childhood as a mixed-race child in South Africa during the apartheid era. Suited for interdisciplinary teaching, it can be used in connection to History class while discussing South African history. A possible introduction to the book could be to watch clips of Trevor Noah hosting the The Daily Show.
A gripping dystopian story about security, freedom, and the willingness to buy one with the other. Marcus is a 17-year-old tech-savvy student in San Francisco. When he is not breaking his school’s security measures, he spends his free time playing augmented reality games with his friends. It is not his fault that the police find […]
A story about the readiness to help, false suspicion and the American ‘war on terror’. This novel is based on the true story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his family: When hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Abdulrahman was one of the few people who refused to leave. Traveling the sunken city by canoe, he rescues other […]
This novel is a kick-off to the dystopian trilogy about a society in which love is perceived as a disease. Consequently, young people undergo an operation known as ‘the Cure’ once they turn 18. But when Lena’s ‘Cure’ is drawing near, she meets Alex – he is one of the so called invalids, outcasts who […]
A shocking story of sexual assult and trauma: Melinda is an outcast at her high school. She busted a party a while ago by calling the cops but now she refuses to publicly give a reason. Shunned by her peers, she almost stops speaking entirely – if nobody listens, what is the point in speaking? […]
An epistolary novel about bullying, violence and school shootings. When Brendan and Gary decide they had enough of humiliation at their high school, especially by the hands of the popular football players, they make plans to take revenge on their peers. Their plan goes awry, however, when they start taking hostages.
A play about racism, prejudice, segregation and African American identity in the 1950s. Walter Younger lives with his family of five in a two-room apartment in Chicago’s south side. Walter’s mother is waiting for ten thousand dollars from his father’s life insurance and Walter would like to use that money to open a liquor store. […]