Walkout (2006): Complete Movie Guide

About this resource

What's inside this resource

"Walkout" is a made-for-TV movie released in 2006. It is directed by Edward James Olmos and tells the true story of a group of Chicano high school students who staged a series of walkouts in 1968 to protest unequal conditions and treatment in their East Los Angeles schools.

The film focuses on the activism of Paula Crisostomo, played by Alexa Vega, who becomes a leader in the student walkout movement in California. The students' protests center on demanding better educational opportunities and rights, focusing on ending discrimination against Mexican-American students, and an acknowledgment of their cultural heritage and power.

The movie is based on real events and is historically significant in the Chicano movement. Although there are many important milestones in the Chicano movement, this is one of them. Bring this topic alive for your students with this powerful film.

These 22 teacher-generated questions are designed to help students focus in on key information during this powerful movie.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Identify key events, figures, and organizations in the 1968 East Los Angeles student walkouts as depicted in the film.
Explain historical vocabulary and concepts, such as boycott and student constitutional rights, in context.
Analyze the significance of a quoted line from the film through a written critical-thinking response.

Teaching tips

Have students fill in answers chronologically as they watch, matching the guide's own ordering of the questions.
Use the two critical-thinking questions as discussion starters after the film rather than simple recall checks.
Pair the fill-in-the-blank statistic question about Chicano enrollment at UCLA with a brief follow-up discussion of its significance.

Skills covered

Historical viewing comprehension — students answer chronological recall questions while watching a dramatization of the 1968 East LA walkouts.
Vocabulary in context — students define terms such as "boycott" as used in the film's narrative.
Critical analysis of a primary quote — students explain the meaning of the line "Student Rights Do Not End At The Schoolhouse Gate."

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Why does the guide instruct viewing the film in a specific order rather than answering questions freely?

The questions are numbered to match the chronological order of events in the film, so students answer them as each scene occurs while watching.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

Chicano civil rights movement
1968 East LA walkouts
movie guide
student rights

Topics

Walkout Chicano Studies Movie Guide Video Guide Mexican-American Hispanic Heritage

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