Fly Away Home - Heartwarming Family Movie DVD | Perfect for Movie Nights, Family Gatherings & Inspirational Storytelling

I give this movie a 5 star rating. My 5th grade students loved it. I remember it when it came out and I am old enough to remember the true story it was based upon. Unfortunately, the 20-something teachers I work with had no idea about the movie. If you are looking for a great family movie that is not just a silly flick. This is a good one.Here is how I used it in my classroom: As an urban school, 5th grade teacher, I am required to cover all the Indiana 5th grade standards. We were focusing on the Indiana science standard: 5.LS.1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. We also had been working on the 5th Grade Indiana Social Studied Standards, specifically the civic responsibility ones. They are:5.2.9 Examine ways by which citizens may effectively voice opinions, monitor government, and bring about change in government including voting and participation in the election process.5.2.10 Use a variety of information resources* to identify and evaluate contemporary issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights and the common good.My class struggled with the way a citizen can make change because of current activities in the news. Rather than be able to discuss how to solve or attempt to solve civic issues, the students would not be able to get passed the topic of the current protests. I needed something that we could discuss that didn't involve race, gender, guns, or the current president who uses volatile tweets to create news buzz. How does one do that?As we studied the food web and the food chain, I wanted to give the students a real life situation that would create interest and discussion. We read Jean Craighead George's book, The Owl in the Shower. The story views the spotted owl controversy through the eyes of boy whose father lost his job because of the government ban on logging due to the preservation of the spotted owl. Of course, through a twist of fate, the boy unknowingly ends up raising the a spotted owl. As we discussed the political controversy, we also learned about owl and bird behavior, habitat destruction, and how environmentalists try to prevent more destruction.As a culminating event, we watched Fly Away Home. The movie has all of the things we learned in it. At various times during the movie, I heard many of my students say, "We learned about that!" or "I know what that is!" After the movie, we googled Bill Lishman who the movie is based on. His ground breaking idea that imprinted birds would follow a light aircraft is now standard practice.Little did I know that my students would absolutely love the movie. They asked to see it again and again. I am not sure if they relate to the age of the daughter or what she does or that the movie helped them understand what they had learned. It is a great movie.