Lesson Plans on Writing a Script

If you are teaching a screenwriting class then you will need a few lesson plans on writing a script. Many actors, and writers alike enroll in scriptwriting classes to better learn how to write their own material. Scriptwriting is quite different than any other style of writing and it requires that you as the teacher have an airtight lesson plan or your students may not grasp the concept.

The key to scriptwriting is of course in the character development but also in the formatting of the script. Much different than a novel, a script is character-centric. Conveying this notion in lesson plans on writing a script may prove to be a bit challenging. Nonetheless any good teacher could pull it off and do it in such a way that the students will be motivated to write several scripts. Below are a few lesson plans on writing a script. 

Sample Lesson Plans on Writing a Script

“Write a Batman Script”

Grade Levels: 7-8 

Objectives    

• Students will write a script
• Students will develop characters
• Students will develop situations for the characters to go through

Materials

• “Throw Mama From the Train” script (first three scenes)
• Screenwriting for Dummies book
• “Throw Mama From the Train” DVD

Procedures

• Pass out photocopies of select sections in the Screenwriting for Dummies book to the class.
• Pass out the “Throw Mama From the Train” script (first three scenes only)
• Turn on the first 20 minutes of “Throw Mama From the Train”
• Have students identify the characters and their motives
• Have students analyze what the characters are going through
• Have students write their own scene four of “Throw Mama From the Train”

Other Script Writing Lesson Plans

The above mentioned is an example of a lesson plan that can be implemented in a scriptwriting class. One way that this can be done is by having the students go to a fiction-based blog and write their own version of a script from what they read on the blog. You can also assign a book like The Great Gatsby to the class to read and then have them write a script scene based on one of the chapters of the book. Other examples may include forming a script out of real life experiences. If you plan to have students pull material from real life experiences you may have to follow a specific lesson plan.

Character Development

You will need to write out on strips of paper dialogue lines. Put them in a shoebox and shake them around. Have a few students select no more than two lines of dialogue. After the students look at the line(s) of dialogue, you can have them brainstorm on a character that actually might say that line of dialogue. From inception to conclusion they will have to come up with a clear character profile.  After that their task will be to write a monologue that answers the questions,

• What does the character treasure the most?
• When did they laugh or cry last? Why did they do this?

Prior to writing the monologue you should probably give your students a character profile list that will better enable them to develop the characters. Alongside of that, as the students write their monologues, their characters must use the line of dialogue that they initially selected at either the beginning or the end of the monologue. Having the students prepare the monologue will better enable them to write and understand character profiles.  

The aforementioned lesson plans on writing a script will give teachers a better idea of where to begin and what objectives they should have when teaching students this most valuable aspect of writing. Additionally, teachers will have a better idea of how to structure their lesson plans on scriptwriting. Furthermore the abovementioned lesson plans shows teachers how to infuse creativity in the classroom, while be proactive in the learning process by encouraging creativity.