Emma is a great movie to watch to improve your SAT reading vocabulary score. It is by far our favorite of the Jane Austen movies. As luck would have it, or maybe because we started with this one, it was the first of many literary movies we’ve watched with SAT prep in mind. My girls loved it!
Watching Emma to improve your SAT reading score
Emma is by far our favorite of the Jane Austen movies, and the first that we watched. Alas, while my girls were interested in the book after this movie, they never got around to reading it. But a few months later, an excerpt of the book was a reading section on a practice PSAT. Because we had seen the movie, my daughter could understand the reading selection and aced the questions on that section! That was when I realized that while it would be ideal to read the book after watching the movie, it can still help improve your SAT score just to watch the movie.
Emma has gorgeous cinematography and perfect music, both of which help make the movie very approachable even if you’re not already a Jane Austen fan. The vocabulary used in this movie’s dialogue is advanced but not impossible to understand. The acting and set help convey the meaning of the words. As a feature length movie, it necessarily has to move more quickly than a television mini-series. But the benefit is that it’s more likely to keep your attention. And Emma has the happy ending required by my girls for optimal enjoyment. in spite of the freeze-frame on the official trailer below, Emma is overall an upbeat, happy movie.
Before watching Emma
This Emma DVD release is old enough that the picture quality of the streaming HD version of Emma is prettier, but if you wish to watch it more than once (as we did) you may prefer to go ahead and buy the Emma DVD.
Before you watch Emma, read my tips on how watch movies to improve your SAT score.
I watched all of these movies with my teen girls in mind. However, sensitives vary. If you have any question about a movie, the reviews on Common Sense Media are an excellent resource.
After watching Emma
Emma is an excellent book to improve your vocabulary and reading skills and has an ATOS readability level of 9.3.
A college teacher found that in her class students who watched the movie before reading the book had a better understanding of the novel.
A teaching guide for the 1996 movie version of Emma.
A handy vocabulary list and quiz words for Emma on Verbal Workout.
If you enjoyed Emma, check out these other movies to improve your SAT reading score.