Essential Resource

Reel Conversations is an excellent book to get started with. I ran across it in a bookstore while I was student teaching. It doesn't matter if you are an aspiring filmmaker or just someone that just enjoys sitting back with a bowl of popcorn, this book makes it easy to begin developing a critical approach to viewing films. The authors cite their expereiences with middle school students, which serves as great evidence that students don't have to be juniors or seniors in high school to have strong analytical and critical thinking skills.

I haven't read Reading In The Dark yet, but it also looks like a good resource.