I suspect a rare phenomenon may be unfolding. We may end up with a cultural reference in the near future that nearly everybody understands. All across America, I expect to see classrooms where every single child in the room has seen the new Star Wars movie. The film’s a true tribute to the original Star Wars, and the plot, casting and directing are spot-on, reminiscent of the original trilogy.

If I were teaching English, language arts, or social studies, I would leap on this opportunity. So many lesson themes might use this film as a launching platform. Discussions of power dynamics, family dynamics, and friendship spin easily out from the new Star Wars. Depending on where I was at in the curriculum, I might ask students which character in the film they most identified with and why. That could be a short answer question to open the class or you might flesh it out with further questions and go for a full essay.

Finding common experiences has become more of a challenge lately due to the proliferation of games, shows and movies in our expanding, media universe. I’d seize this chance to discuss a film that is likely to become a shared experience for whole classrooms. Have fun!

P.S. And see the film before too many spoilers get out there.