Develop novice script-writers. Small groups sift through a sample script, noting any script-writing conventions to share with the whole class. Using these conventions and plot structures, these groups compose a script for a 10-minute...

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...

Examine the technique of writing a script and complete a worksheet in which young writers summarize a favorite chapter in a Harry Potter book. They practice public speaking by acting out the summarization scenes for classmates. Handouts...

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

Explore women's history through films and filmmaking. An innovative research project prompts class members to create their own screenplay about a figure in women's history. After outlining their characters, settings, and plots, young...

Bring your learners together to write a class narrative about the first day of school. Start off by teaching them about sequence with a quick oral activity. Then, work together to fill out a story map. Finally, compose the class...

Casting, setting, context, frame, camera angle, lighting, soundtrack. Every choice a writer or director makes is conscious. Here's a worksheet that asks readers/viewers to examine these choices and consider how they are used to to...

What is dialogue? What must it contain? Use this plan to discuss dialogue with your emerging writers. They write a dialogue in script form to dramatize a conversation. Dialogue examples are included. 

Let's focus. In small groups, writers narrow text selections to produce a narrative script based on the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Next, pupils plan their reader's theater scripts based on the text.

That's all, folks! Scholars work with their group members to create conclusions for their To Kill A Mockingbird reader's theater scripts. They use a criteria list to help guide their conclusion writing and discuss how the conclusions...

Create a classroom full of writers using this innovative technique. The presentation walks learners through the process of writing a script, including identifying the setting, characters, and major events in the story. After reviewing...

It's time to make a movie! Kids follow 15 steps to take their movie ideas from concept to script, following clear examples. The resource includes creative ways to guide learners into developing a few words and concepts into fully...

Excuse me, can you give me directions? Scholars examine and practice technical writing to increase their ability to write directions. They participate in discussion, watch videos, and complete an assignment to create their own directions.

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

Individually, words have power, but when added together, they can take on a whole other level of meaning. Readers learn about compound words in the 10th of 17 lessons of the Word Recognition and Fluency series. A script provides guidance...

Ready, set, write! Every great film begins with a script, and every presentation starts with a plan. Directors use their research and experience to compose an essay explaining the rationale behind their film's musical and visual choices...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

Should students be paid for doing well in school? That is the question at the heart of an argumentative writing unit that walks writers through the steps of crafting a persuasive essay. The carefully scaffolded scripted plans provide...

If your class loves movies, this activity is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go see a film. The...

Having a diverse and well-developed vocabulary make for both good readers and good writers. The class discusses basic grammar, such as nouns, verb, and adjectives. They then view a series of pictures and work as a class to create simple...

Students read William Melvin Kelly's, Brother Carlyle and write a short movie script based on the story. They either write the opening scene or a scene that could appear after the original story is over.

Students write their own radio plays. In this writing process lesson, students script their own scary radio plays based on the radio plays they read in class in previous lessons. Students also perform the plays for their classmates.

In this writing a podcast lesson plan, 7th graders create a podcast involving Ancient Greece. Students follow a rubric and outline to create their podcast. Students present their podcast to their fellow students.

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...