This documentary portrays a reality far more complex than viewers are used to seeing in the media concerning preteen girls and urban girls of color. Without simplifying or sensationalizing their lives, the film shows the four featured girls as multifaceted and gripping individuals. Using a mix of intimate interviews, cinema vérité, and stop-motion animation, Going On 13 chronicles the girls’ coming of age. The girls talk about themselves. They take viewers into their world, with the music, television, digital media, and books they adoringly ingest (and that rarely reflect their own families’ economic or cultural backgrounds), providing texture, context, and contrast for the social and emotional challenges they face. Some content may be objectionable. (73 minutes)
Middleweb
National Middle Schools Association
NCTE Middle Section
PBS Teacher Source
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/classroo/6-8
Read Write Think: Classroom Resources
On June 2, 2010, North Carolina adopted the Common Core State Standards in K-12 Mathematics and K-12 English Language Arts released by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. With the adoption of these state-led education standards, North Carolina is in the first group of states to embrace clear and consistent goals for learning to prepare children for success in college and work.