Lesson Plan: Americans at the Movies - Communicating with Cuts

Use this lesson from The Story of Movies film study curriculum to introduce students to early filmmaking techniques. Students will screen the 1903 silent feature film classic The Great Train Robbery (directed by Edwin S. Porter), widely considered to be the first motion picture narrative. The film developed fundamental cinematic techniques for continuity editing, a new way of telling a story visually. Visit storyofmovies.org for more free online lessons.