Film Review

The Karate Kid is a classic. I watched the 2010 version. My students can relate to it better than the original Karate Kid (1984). The students I teach have never been to China, so to engage them in China's setting, one activity required them to draw and label three different sceneries of China that stood out the most to them. They also I had a story map to identify the movies characters, plot, conflict, and resolution. After viewing the film, the students had to respond to a writing prompt. “Use details and facts from the movie to write a multi-paragraph essay explaining: What life lesson does this movie teach young children?” My students had so much to say about the main character (Dre) and his transition with moving to China. I observed many of the students placing themselves in the main characters position making statements on what they would do if they had to live in China. Many students were amazed with the scene of karate teaching. They made comments like: "I want to learn karate", "I can do karate, it's easy", and "karate can help me stand up to a bully." In my opinion, the movie's overall impact on the students focused on standing up for yourself by learning a new skill even if it is challenging. Many student's essays demonstrated their thoughts of the movie reflecting a kid who had to be determine to learn how to fight because that was his way to survive and fit in.