The Goonies (1985): The Adventure Movie That Gets Students Writing Before It Even Starts

Students tend to respond immediately to The Goonies because it centres on kids their own age doing something genuinely exciting, with no adults leading the way. The group is a mix of personalities, each with something to offer, and the adventure they stumble into feels earned rather than handed to them. For many students who grew up watching it at home, there is also the recognition factor of a movie they already know, which creates a different kind of engagement in the classroom.

The story is set in the Goon Docks neighbourhood of Astoria, Oregon, where a group of friends who call themselves the Goonies are facing the demolition of their homes to make way for a golf course. On their last weekend together, Mikey Walsh discovers a treasure map in his attic that supposedly leads to the long-lost fortune of a 17th-century pirate, One-Eyed Willy. The group follows the map underground, through a network of booby traps and caverns, while also being pursued by the Fratelli family, a gang of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.

The movie raises questions that are worth exploring in a classroom: what does it mean to stick together when things get difficult, how do outsiders find strength in each other, and what would you actually do if the odds were against you.

Watch the Trailer

🗺️ A treasure hunt with real consequences. The Goonies are not adventuring for fun. They are trying to save their homes from being demolished. That stakes-driven motivation gives the treasure hunt a purpose that students can understand immediately. The adventure is exciting, but there is something genuine underneath it.

👥 An ensemble cast where every character has a role. Mikey is the dreamer, Brand is the reluctant older brother, Data is the gadget inventor, Mouth is the talker, Chunk is the heart of the group. Each character brings something different, and students tend to find at least one they identify with. The group dynamic is what drives the story.

⚙️ Booby traps, underground caverns, and a pirate ship. The set design and practical effects in The Goonies are ambitious for their time. Students are taken through skeleton-filled chambers, an organ built from bones, a marble chute, and a waterslide that leads to a full-scale pirate ship. The movie rewards attention, which is useful in a classroom setting.

🤝 Friendship and loyalty tested under pressure. The group argues, panics, and doubts each other throughout. What keeps them together is loyalty rather than agreement. The relationship between Mikey and Brand, and between Chunk and Sloth, gives the movie its emotional weight alongside the adventure.

🏘️ A story about community and belonging. The Goonies are outsiders in their own town, and they know their neighbourhood is being taken from them by people with more money and power. That sense of fighting for something you belong to gives the movie a layer that goes beyond the treasure hunt.

🏴‍☠️ Pirates as a subject students already have opinions about. The pirate genre carries cultural weight that students bring into the room with them. One-Eyed Willy is a specific invention of the movie, but the idea of buried treasure, booby traps, and a legendary pirate ship taps into something students already find compelling. That readiness to engage is worth something in a classroom.

⚠️ Things to be aware of:

• Language: Frequent strong language throughout, including multiple uses of 's--t' and 'bulls--t' from both children and adults, as well as 'damn', 'goddamn', 'ass', and 'hell'. Common Sense Media notes this language is significant and more than the PG rating now implies.
• Violence and scariness: The movie opens with a shootout. Children are in sustained peril throughout, pursued by criminals. The underground caverns contain crushed and impaled skeletons. One character discovers a frozen dead body. Death and injury are repeatedly threatened. Some sequences may be intense for younger or more sensitive students.
• Sexual content: A teen boy adjusts a mirror to see up a teen girl's skirt without her consent. Kissing between teenage characters. Off-colour humour involving a nude classical statue's genitalia. Panties are briefly visible in the mirror scene.
• Alcohol, drugs, and smoking: Not present.
• Other: A character named Sloth has a facial difference and is kept chained in a basement by his own family, treated as a monster. The film also includes fat-phobic jokes directed at a character named Chunk, and the character Data falls into a 'geeky Asian' stereotype. The Fratelli family is portrayed as a stereotype of Italian Americans as criminals. Teachers may wish to be aware of these elements.

📚 English Language Arts Teachers. The guide covers a full sequence of literacy tasks. It opens with a pre-watch writing activity on pirates that runs before the movie starts, giving students a point of engagement before the story begins. The comprehension section offers two differentiated sets of 26 questions each, in chronological order. The character analysis task asks students to write a short paragraph on each of the Goonies. The storyboard and synopsis activities require students to identify key scenes, sequence them visually, and then convert that into written prose. Two creative writing tasks close the guide.

🗣️ ESL and ELL Teachers. The multiple choice questions were written with ESL and ELL students in mind. Each of the 26 questions offers three possible answers, which reduces the language demands while keeping students engaged with the events of the movie. The differentiated format means ESL students can work from the same guide as the rest of the class without needing a separate resource.

🎬 Substitute Teachers and Cover Lessons. The guide is self-contained and works without teacher input. Students complete the pre-watch task before the movie begins, work through the comprehension questions as it plays, and finish the remaining activities afterwards. The TPT description notes it may also work well as a sub plan.

🏠 Homeschool Parents. The differentiated format gives homeschool families flexibility. The full-sentence questions suit students who are ready for extended writing, while the multiple choice set works well for younger or developing writers. The pre-watch writing task and creative writing activities are open-ended enough to generate genuine conversation alongside the movie.

Part 1. Pre-Watch Writing Task
A writing task about pirates in general, completed before the movie begins. Students have around 20 minutes to write, after which the guide suggests going around the room to share answers before starting the movie. Example answers are included.

Part 2. Comprehension Questions
Two differentiated sets of 26 questions each, in chronological order. The first set requires full sentence answers. The second set is multiple choice with three options per question, written to work well with ESL and ELL students. Answer keys are included for both sets.

Part 3. Character Analysis, Storyboard, and Synopsis
Students write a short paragraph about each of the Goonies. Example answers are included for the character analysis. Students then create a 9-scene storyboard illustrating key events from the movie, with a short written description for each scene. They use their completed storyboard to write a synopsis of the movie in their own words.

Part 4. Crossword and Word Search
Designed for early finishers. Students complete a crossword first, then use the crossword answers as the word list for the word search. Answer keys are included for both.