Being a Screenwriter1 Preview

Part I: Generating Ideas for a ScreenplayR’S GUIDE Being a SCREENWRITERINSTRUCTO 6tGh–R8thADE

Table of ContentsIntroduction...................................................................................................... viLesson 1: e Kinds of Movies We Love An Introduction to Genre and eme ............................. 1Lesson 2: How Movies Work e ree-Act Structure ........................................................ 9Lesson 3: e Story YOU Can Tell Writing from the Heart ...................................................... 17Lesson 4: e Brainstorm Coming up with an Idea......................................................... 25Lesson 5: Bringing It All Together Making Your Ideas Work ...................................................... 37Lesson 6: Developing Characters Who Will Your Story Be About? ......................................... 47Lesson 7: Understanding Con ict What Will Your Story Be About? ........................................ 53Lesson 8: e Hero/Heroine’s Journey Merging Con ict and Character........................................... 61Lesson 9: inking Cinematically Showing Rather than Telling ................................................ 73Lesson 10: e Pitch 81 Writing Your Logline and Treatment ................................ 91Glossary .....................................................................................................Appendix: Standards Alignment ........................................................... 92Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide i

Preface Being A ScreenwriterWelcome to Being A Screenwriter been included to invite “screenwriters” to the showing.Being A Screenwriter is the second course in Simply add the location, date and time. is will be theCommunity Learning’s “Being” series (Being an beginning of a fun adventure, as you and the studentsArtist). Our goal is to demystify creative pursuits for discover the stories they can’t wait to tell!instructors and students alike by providing a step-by-step fun learning process. is course is Part I of a e lessons and activities in this unit are aligned to thethree-course unit (developing a screenplay idea, writing Common Core State Standards for English Languagea screenplay, and lming a screenplay). Arts and Literacy in grades 6-8. Each lesson contains speci c information in the Notes to the Instructor e course consists of 10 action-packed lessons, section detailing the speci c standards addressed inencouraging the understanding of lm and the creative that set of activities. For more information on thewriting process. Students are introduced to the lm standards please see the Standards Matrix included onindustry and screenwriting as a career. Learners will pages 92-93.start from the ground up exploring lms and genres, About the Organization of This Coursethe three acts of a movie, and the “journey” of thehero/heroine. Students will embrace a step-by-step e step-wise presentation of each lesson makesprocess in developing their own ideas for a screenplay: Community Learning materials and activities easy tobrainstorming, playing games, writing headlines and follow for any instructor.even pretending to be psychiatrists in order to gure Each lesson in the the Instructor’s Guide contains theout the who, what, when and where of their best following helpful elements:idea. By the end of the course, students will have ashort description of their movie idea (a logline) and a Objectivessynopsis of what is going to happen (a treatment). What students can be expected to learn from thisTo help make the learning adventure rich, fun and activity.clear for students and instructors, this course focuseson concrete examples. For the instructor, examples Materials Listfrom the Wizard of Oz are cited to reiterate concepts. Clear identi cation of the materials required from theA copy of the DVD Home Alone is included in the Course Kit (provided) for each lesson.kit for the students to experience examples of literaryconcepts. e instructor needs to obtain a DVD player. Preparation Notes (set-up)To encourage idea development, personal journaling Easy set-ups that ensure learner engagement is on taskkits have been provided for the students. ese and on time.materials are theirs to keep during and a er the course. Notes for the Instructor ese journals represent a personal, non- threatening A brief introduction to the subject matter andmode of communication. Students will have the challenges presented in each lesson, o en with real-lifeopportunity to write in their journals using a variety examples from history, popular culture, and, of course,of fun marking tools. ey are encouraged to draw in movies.their journals (explore a 6B drawing pencil) or clip andtape in photos, headlines or articles that inspire them. Notes for the StudentsIt is important that students bring their journaling (including new vocabulary)kits back and forth from home to class. Journaling Introductory material for the students to read, discuss,materials are o en required for class time use and watch or listen to in order to “set the stage” for eachstudent journals are referenced in each lesson. lesson.Encourage students to view Home Alone in its entiretybefore the second lesson begins. A sample ticket hasii Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Being A Screenwriter Introduction Activity Descriptions t
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NBUFSJBMT Wrap-up About Community LearningQuestions designed to summarize learning objectives, Our mission is to provide interactive course kitslead a discussion, and encourage journal entries. created around high interest, thematic topics that engage students in expanded learning through hands- Clean-up Notes on activities and projects. Developed by subject expertsWrap-up and storage instructions for the most cost with decades of teaching experience, our coursese ective use and preservation of materials. provide full support for administrators desiring an engaging, academically enriching program for their Other Directions, Discussions sta and students. and Destinations We need your input!Helpful links to media, books, and internet resources We look forward to working with you and yourthat extend lessons and help learners understand new colleagues to create a memorable program for children.concepts across disciplinary and cultural divides. We consider you our treasured partners in makingStudent Activity Books (Optional) are companions these classroom-tested activities even better. To thisto the Instructor’s Guide, and provide worksheets and end, we invite you to complete a short evaluation aboutsupplemental information for learners’ knowledge. your experiences with Being a Screenwriter. Here are ese are designed for students to keep, so they add to three easy ways to participate:and refer back to the information the students learn inthis course. 1. Online: Go to http://www.commlearning.com/Student Journaling Kits (Optional) are individual instructor-evaluation/ and ll out the evaluation.packages for each student in the class. ese materialsare provided for the students to keep during and 2. Email: e evaluation form is located on youra er the course. ey are designed to motivate and Teacher Resource CD. Fill out the pdf form, saveencourage students to keep a creative journal. Students and email it to us at [email protected] write and draw in their personal journals, as wellas tape in photos and clippings. ese journals will 3. Fax: Tear out or copy the form on the followinginform the students’ screenplay ideas. pages and fax the completed form to our toll-freeCourse Kit Materials include materials needed to fax at: 1-888-675-0238.complete each activity outlined in the Instructor’sGuide. Your feedback will be used to take Being a ScreenwriterA Note about Volunteers to the next level in interest and relevance for our youngBeing A Screenwriter has a variety of responsibilities learners.that can be shared with a volunteer, or other adult, As a thank you for completing the evaluation, we’llwilling to assist in the preparation and implementation send you a $50.00 coupon good for any Being aof the lessons. ese responsibilities include but are Screenwriter resupply items. Valid for one year.not limited to:t
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experience! Share your thoughtsCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide iii

Being A Screenwriter Being A Screenwritervi Instructor’s Guide Welcome to part one of “Being A Screenwriter.” Undoubtedly, you’ve seen tons of movies in your life. Maybe you’ve even wanted to make one yourself! Well, here’s your chance. In this course, you’ll learn everything it takes to write a screenplay from the ground up. The great thing about screenwriting is that you don’t need any special tools or technology—just your imagination and something to write with. Anyone can do it. At the end of this course, you will walk away with a screenwriting journal filled with all the ideas you need to write your own movie! You will also have written a one-sentence description of your movie, which is called a “logline,” and a summary of what happens in your movie (called a “treatment”). Professional screenwriters use loglines to sell their ideas. This course will also teach you to look at movies in a whole new way. You’ll be able to watch movies the way critics do. You’ll be able to identify exactly what it is that makes a good movie good and a bad movie bad. When you go to the movies, you’ll find yourself commenting to your friends about the story like an expert. And, more often than not, you’ll even be able to predict what will happen in a film before it happens, because you will know how a screenplay works. If you’d like to see what a screenplay looks like, check out your local library. Most libraries have a film and television section with published screenplays available for you to borrow. You may also want to see if there are any local film festivals near you. Many cities hold festivals where filmmakers (and screenwriters) get together and show their work. Festivals are a chance to get to speak with professional screenwriters who live and work right in your backyard. Perhaps you may be interested in becoming a professional screenwriter yourself. Maybe you want to write the next big Hollywood blockbuster! There are also plenty of jobs for screenwriters outside of Hollywood. Everything you see on television required somebody to write it. Screenwriters write commercials, television programs, public service announcements and the news. Even reality television shows have screenwriters! Have you ever had to watch an educational video in school? Or used an exercise video at home? Screenwriters had to write those, as well. In this course, though, we’ll be focusing on what screenwriters are most famous for: movies. So grab your pencil and your imagination! Let’s get writing! Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 1 The Kinds of Movies We Love:An Introduction to Genre and ThemeObjectives Notes for the InstructorStudents will: e ultimate goal of this course is for the students to develop a cohesive idea for a screenplay and to t
Be able to identify genre, including write a logline (a succinct sentence that describes combinations of genres, in their favorite the overall story of a movie) and a treatment (a movies short summary of the movie) describing their screenplay. rough the course activities, you will t
Be able to identify theme in their favorite help the students lay down the building blocks of movies the screenwriting process and help them begin to understand exactly what they love most about t
Begin to think about which genres they may movies as they start the process of developing ideas want to use in their own lm for their own screenplays. Today’s activities will be centered around making students familiar with theMaterials two most basic elements of a screenplay: genre and t
chalk theme. With today’s lesson, they will begin their t
television screenwriting journeys. t
DVD player A lm’s genre refers to its broad classi cation. You t
Being A Screenwriter DVD may have seen genres posted in the video store: t
2 bells action/adventure, comedy, drama, family, etc. t
1 timer emes are a little trickier. A theme is a one-or t
1 dry erase scoreboard two-word description of the underlying emotion t
1 dry erase marker and eraser of a movie—faith, love, revenge, heartbreak, etc. t
20 student activity books O entimes it will be easy to come up with more than t
20 journaling kits one theme for a movie. t
20 pencils In today’s lesson, you’ll review parts of several example movies with the students when you playPreparation the “Name at Genre” game. To warm up for the1. Arrange the desks or tables to accommodate game, students will attempt to identify the genres and themes of several contemporary movies. You groups of four students. is arrangement will nd the list of these movies and their correct can be used throughout the course unless genre and themes in the activity section of this lesson, otherwise stated. activity number three. As the students learn to2. Arrange the television and DVD player for recognize genre and theme, it’s important for you to optimum viewing. be encouraging. If a student is having a tough time3. Locate the “Name at Genre” chapter on the coming up with the answers in activities two and DVD. three, feel free to help. And if the students are coming4. Make arrangements for a time to show Home up with answers that don’t necessarily match your Alone to the students before the next lesson. answers, discuss it as a class. Movies o en play with5. Set up the dry erase board vertically for keeping several genres and themes. To keep things simple, score in the game (activity 3). Draw a line down your list contains only the most obvious themes, but the center. Label: Team One and Team Two don’t be afraid to let your students get creative! Have students bring journal to every class.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 1

Lesson 1 The Kinds of Movies We Love: An Introduction to Genre and Theme roughout today’s lesson keep the students focused one- or two-word phrase that describes the dominanton how genre and theme t into the bigger scope of feeling of a movie. ink again about some of yourthe course. As you walk around the room during the favorite movies. Are they about love? Revenge? Greed?workbook activity, ask students about their favoritegenres and themes and if they know which ones they ese are all examples of themes. Since there are manymay like to use in their own screenplays. is is the more themes than genres, we won’t attempt to listbeginning of a great adventure! Let your excitement them all. But it will be helpful for you to spend somebe contagious! time thinking about the themes that you enjoy before you start the process of writing your movie. e activities in this lesson address the following VocabularyCommon Core State Standards in English Language Genre: e category of a movie, such as action,Arts and Literacy: CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.7, CCRA. comedy, horror, science ction, etc.SL.1, CCRA.SL.2, and CCRA.L.6. See the Standard Logline: A succinct sentence that describes theMatrix included on pages 92-93 for more detailed overall story of a movie.information. eme: A word or phrase that sums up the main Notes for the Student emotion of a movie, such as love, revenge, greed, etc.In the next ten lessons, you will be learning everything Treatment: A summary of a screenplay idea thatyou need to know to come up with an idea for your includes the movie’s genre, theme, main characterown movie. Before you can begin to think about your and important scenes.movie, though, it will be helpful to think about whatkind of movies you like. ink about some of your Activity 1: Our Favorite Genresfavorites. Are they funny? Are they romantic? Are they (5 minutes)full of adventure? ere’s a word we use to refer to the Hand out pencils and activity books. Ask students toclassi cation of movies, or any story, into categories. write their names on the front of their activity books.We call these categories genres. As a class, brainstorm your favorite genres. Ask theIf you take a moment to think about the genres of students if they are familiar with any genres andyour favorite movies, you may notice that some which are their favorites. Keep track on the board.movies t into more than one genre. In this class, the When the students run out of genre ideas, have themmovie we’ll use as an example to demonstrate the turn in the activity books to “List of Genres” (lessonmany elements of a screenplay is the comedy Home 1, activity 1), and check the list on the board againstAlone. We call Home Alone a comedy because, more the list of genres in their activity books. Concludeo en than not, it’s funny. Comedy is the “dominant” this activity by answering any remaining questionsgenre, meaning it’s the genre that we see the most in students may have about genre.the movie. But if you look carefully, you’ll probably Give students an opportunity to look through theirbe able to see several other genres in Home Alone. For student activity books. Explain that these will stay inexample, Home Alone is also a family lm. It also has the classroom during the duration of the course.some action in it. ere are even some scary momentsin Home Alone. Sometimes screenwriters blendgenres. You may want to do this in your own lm.Genre is the most popular way to classify lms, but What’s Yourscreenwriters have a second, more speci c system of Favorite Genre?classifying movies. Good screenwriters know how toidentify a movie by theme. e theme of a movie is a2 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

The Kinds of Movies We Love: An Introduction to Genre and Theme Lesson 1 Activity 2: Identifying Genre t
A team can win an extra ve points if, once it and Theme has guessed the correct genre, it can correctly (15 minutes) identify the theme of the movie.1. Ask groups of four students to split into sets of t
If one team correctly guesses the genre, but not partners. Have students turn to activity sheet the theme, the other team again gets a chance “Identifying Genre and eme” (lesson 1, activity to steal. 2) in the student activity books. t
e team with the most points a er een2. Partners should work together to match each movie minutes wins. (NOTE: e score-keeping dry in the center column to the genres and themes in erase board should have two columns, Team the le and right columns. Each student should One and Team Two. Tally the points as the write in his or her own activity book. teams earn them.)3. Walk around the room and ask students how “Name That Genre” they’re doing. If they’re stuck or haven’t seen a particular movie, tell them to move on to the Clip Genre Theme next one. Don’t let anybody get frustrated. And if they think they can identify more than one Clip 1 Romance Love theme or genre for each movie, let them draw Clip 2 Comedy Suspense, Love two lines for that movie. Clip 3 Children’s Caring for Others Clip 4 Horror4. Once everybody has nished, go over the Clip 5 Drama Fear answers as a class. Clip 6 Western Death, Loss Clip 7 Sports Friendship, Justice Activity 3: Name That Genre! Competition, (20 minutes) Clip 8 Sci-Fi Overcoming Odds Suspense, Spies1. Divide the class into two even teams.2. Give each team a bell. Wrap-Up3. Place the timer where both teams will be able (10 minutes) Pass out the students’ journaling kits. Explain that to see it. the journals (and supplies) are theirs to keep and that4. Explain: they will use the journals to help develop ideas for their own screenplays. Ask them to take ve minutes t
I will play a clip from a movie. to re ect on their favorite genres and themes and jot t
As a team, see if you can identify the genre of down any ideas they may have regarding genre and theme in the screenplays they want to create. the lm. If you can, ring your bell. Additionally, encourage them to decorate the cover t
e rst team to ring its bell will be allowed between class periods and to write their name and the date on the inside cover. ey can see examples to answer. If the team answers correctly, it will of this in their student activity books. win the round. If the team answers incorrectly, the other team will be given twenty seconds to answer (for ten points). t
Points will be awarded based on how quickly a team answers. If you can identify the genre in ten seconds, you will be awarded twenty points; in twenty seconds, een points; in thirty seconds, ten points. Anything a er thirty seconds will be worth ve points.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 3

Lesson 1Activity 1: List of Genres Comedy Romance Horror Science fiction Animated Action/Adventure Drama Western Musical Historical Children’s Crime Silent filmCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 2 Instructor’s Guide 5

Lesson 1Activity 2: Identifying Genre and Theme Student ActivityDirections: Draw a line from a genre to the correct movie title. Draw a line from a movie title to the correcttheme. If you have not seen a particular movie, take a guess.Genre Movies Theme Science Fiction Miracle Love Horror Lady and the Tramp Revenge Comedy Napoleon Dynamite Overcoming odds Romance Pirates of the Caribbean Growing upAction/Adventure Signs Fear Drama e Ring Family Genre Answers Theme Science Fiction Movies Family Horror Fear Comedy Signs Growing up Romance e Ring Love Napoleon Dynamite Revenge Action/Adventure Lady and the Tramp Overcoming odds Drama Pirates of the Caribbean Miracle6 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 3 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 1Journal of IdeasCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 7

Lesson 1 Journal of Ideas8 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3The Story YOU Can Tell: Writing from the Heart Objectives Writing your rst screenplay can be di cult. ere’s Students will: a lot to remember and a lot of thought needs to go t
Learn the importance of writing stories from into it. Encourage your students to pursue a subject close to their hearts rather than a story they come up the heart, then rewriting with the head with out of thin air. It will make the learning process t
Generate ideas for movies based on personal easier if they’re pursuing a story they won’t tire of easily. Additionally, it will be important in the next few class experiences periods that students feel completely comfortable to Materials express themselves. Beginning writers are o en shy t
student activity books or unsure of themselves. Be extra encouraging as t
1 pair of scissors you walk around the room during student activities. t
20 pencils Ask students if they need help or if you can answer t
20 highlighters any questions for them. Be sure to o er as many t
60 red dot stickers compliments and kind words as you can, and Preparation encourage con dent students to keep thinking one 1. Arrange the desks or tables to accommodate step further. One thing you may try is to refer to the students as “screenwriters” rather than “students” or groups of four students. “kids” or “boys and girls” throughout the duration 2. Cut the red dot stickers into sections of three dots. of the course. It will be fun for them and will show 3. Assemble the supplies and place them at each them that you take them seriously as they begin work on their screenplays. group (4 pencils, 4 highlighters and 4 sets of stickers). e activities in this lesson address the following Common Core State Standards in English Language Notes for the Instructor Arts and Literacy: CCRA.W.3, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.5, and CCRA.W.10. See the StandardIn the next lesson students will o cially begin the Matrix included on pages 92-93 for more detailedwork of writing the treatment for their screenplay. information.Before they can do that, though, they have to comeup with an idea. is can be an incredibly daunting Notes for the Studenttask for the beginning screenwriter, so in this lesson Writing a movie is no small task. e average moviewe will focus on where ideas come from. script is between 130 and 150 pages and featuresScreenwriters—as well as novelists, poets, dozens of characters, settings, plot twists, and sideplaywrights and most other types of writers, for stories. And there are so many genres and themes tothat matter—generally agree that the best writing is choose from, it’s hard to know where to start! If youthe kind that comes from the heart, rather than the choose to go on to part two of Being A Screenwriterkind that is written for a speci c audience. A lot of and write your own screenplay for a short lm, you’llbeginning screenwriters aspire to write the next great only be writing ten to een pages. But some mightHollywood blockbuster. ey want to be famous and say you face an even greater challenge: you have tomake lots of money. But the reality is that making tell all three acts of your story in a short period ofa screenplay into a blockbuster can be a grueling time! e challenge will be exciting because the storyprocess for a screenwriter. is process will be most will come from your life. It is a story you cannot waitrewarding if the writer is writing about something he to tell, especially as you imagine it in movie form!or she loves. e same goes for your students.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 17

Lesson 3 The Story YOU Can Tell: Writing from the HeartWhile there’s no shortcut to actually sitting down Activity 1: The Memory Mapand writing your screenplay, there is one shortcut (30 minutes)to getting started. It’s what professional screenwriterViki King calls “ e Inner Movie Method.” To use 1. Hand out student activity books.the Inner Movie Method, simply write from your 2. Have each student turn in their activity books toheart. Many screenwriters choose to write abouttheir own personal experiences. Steven Spielberg, “ e Memory Map” activity sheet (lesson 3,who directed E.T., +VSBTTJD
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activity 1).Jones movies, once said, “All those...years I spent as a 3. Instruct each student to draw a map of his or herkid became what I draw from creatively today.” neighborhood on the paper. eir maps should include their homes, their friends’ and neighbors’ ere are many ways to write from your heart. homes, playgrounds, neighborhood businesses,You may want to write about an event that actually and any place that makes their neighborhoodhappened to you or someone you know. Or maybe unique. Give them time to make the map asyou want to start with a character or a place you detailed as they’d like and to color it inknow well, but create an entirely ctional (or made using their personal journaling tools.up) world around them. Perhaps it’s not a person 4. Once they’ve drawn their maps, ask them to labelor place that is closest to your heart, but a genre or any signi cant landmarks, like their homes, theirtheme. Or maybe there’s a movie or book that you friends’ homes, and any playgrounds, woodedlove that you always wanted to borrow a character areas, elds or businesses that are important tofrom or write a sequel to. A sequel is a literary work them.or a movie that is complete in itself but continues 5. Next, have the students select three places ona story begun in an earlier book or movie. For their maps where something memorable hasexample, Home Alone is followed by the sequel Home happened—something fun, something sad,\"MPOF

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:PSL something scary, etc. Ask them to place a red dotToday we’re going to tap into the goldmine of ideas sticker on each of these places.locked inside of you. We’re going to dig up the stories 6. Finally, ask the students to open their screen-you forgot existed, revisit the settings you haven’t writing journals. Ask them to write a shortseen in a while, and reunite with the characters paragraph about their favorite (or strongest)you’ve long forgotten. Take special note today of the memory in the journal.stories, settings and characters that excite you themost. It may just be your heart’s way of telling you Activity 2: A Photographicthat this is the movie you were meant to write. Memory (20 minutes) VocabularyInner Movie Method: e process by which a movie 1. Ask the students to take out the photographsidea is rst developed from the heart. or objects they’ve brought from home. If theySequel: A book or movie that is complete in itself but weren’t able to bring something, have them thinkcontinues the narrative of an earlier work. of a photograph or an object at home that has some sentimental value. 2. In their activity books, have them turn to “A Photographic Memory” activity sheet (lesson 3, activity 2). 3. Ask them to write a paragraph about why this photograph or item is special to them.18 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

The Story YOU Can Tell: Writing from the Heart Lesson 34. Next, have them put aside their personal as many new ideas as possible. It will be helpful for feelings. Ask them to write a brief description students to keep their ideas somewhat organized. of the photograph or object—not about what it Remind the students that it’s incredibly important represents to them, but the photo/object itself. that they bring their screenwriting journals with What does it look like? If it’s a photo, what is them to the next class. ey will be using them for featured in it? Was it taken inside or outside? If every activity. Don’t let them forget! it’s an object, what does it do? Clean-Up5. Finally, have them come up with three stories from the photo or object. ese can be from their 1. Ask one student from each group to return the actual memories about the photo/object or they pencils and highlighters. can be entirely new. Have them write a sentence describing each story. Example: 2. Remind students to organize their own journaling tools. 3. Collect the student activity books. Other Directions, Discussions and Destinations1. When her family moves to a new town, 1. Encourage the students to dig through their lives Samantha relies on her oldest friend, her horse for screenplay ideas between class periods. Have Juniper, as she learns to deal with her new them take notes in their journals on settings surroundings. and characters that inspire them. Perhaps funny things always happen when they are at a certain2. Despite Juniper’s reputation as a hard horse to friend’s house. Or maybe there’s a homeless man ride, she and Samantha work together to win the or woman they o en see in town who makes state riding competition. them think. Or maybe they have a grandfather who has a great war story he tells. Have them3. When Samantha nds that a local circus is abusing record it all. If they don’t use the idea in this its prize-winning horse Juniper, Samantha sets out class, maybe they will in the future. to rescue the horse from its captors. 2. Encourage the students to turn their screenwriting Wrap-Up journals into a scrapbook of inspiration. If they (5 minutes) nd a photo, a magazine article or a picture that inspires them, they should tape or glue it into theirGive a highlighter to each student. Ask the students to journals. ey can draw, doodle, sketch, color,go through their screenwriting journals and highlight paint (if they really want)—anything to get theiranything that jumps out at them as being something brains working.they’d potentially like to expand upon. e next classsession will be dedicated solely to coming up with 3. A great resource for inspiring screenwriting ideas is Screenwriters Utopia at www. screenwritersutopia.com. eir front page always has great prompts, advice and tips on making a good script idea great.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 19

Lesson 3 Activity 1: The Memory MapIn the space below, draw a map of your neighborhood including your house, your friends’ houses andany other notable landmarks. Feel free to color, label and decorate it however you see t.20 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show e Wonder YearsCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 11 Instructor’s Guide 21

Lesson 3Activity 2: A Photographic MemoryUsing the photograph or object you brought from home, follow the instructions below.1. Write a few sentences describing why this photograph or item is important to you.2. Describe the item or photograph.3. On the next page try to come up with three storylines using the photograph or object you brought from home for inspiration. ese can be stories that actually happened or totally new ones. Here’s an example to get you started. 1.When her family moves to a new town,Samantha relies on her oldest friend, her horse Juniper, as she learns to deal with her new surroundings. 2.Despite Juniper’s reputation as a hard horse to ride, she and Samantha work together to win the state riding competition. 3. a local circus is abusing its prize-winning horse Juniper, Samantha sets out to rescue the horse from its captors.22 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 12 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3Activity 2: A Photographic Memory1.2. 3. Student Book Page 13 Instructor’s Guide 23Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3 Journal of Ideas24 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 5Bringing It All Together: Making Your Ideas WorkObjectives e story stars the students will create today willStudents will: have a bit of a twist. Students will complete severalt


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Preparation e activities in this lesson address the following1. Arrange desks in groups of four. Common Core State Standards in English2. Place one roll of cellophane tape, four highlighters Language Arts and Literacy: CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.W.3, CCRA.W.5, and CCRA.W.10. See the and four pencils at each group of desks. Standard Matrix included on pages 92-93 for more Notes for the Instructor detailed information.In the last class session, students brainstormed as Story Star Whenmany ideas as they could—focusing on quantity, not Howquality. In today’s lesson, the students will hone in on Whattheir best ideas and begin to develop them further. WhoA lot of what will be done in class today will revolvearound several headlines the students will write from Whereideas generated in the last class session. While at rstglance a headline may not seem very pertinent to thescreenwriting process, a headline is in many ways verysimilar to the loglines the students will write in the nal class period. Writing headlines will help studentslearn to succinctly capture the essence of the storythey want to tell. e nal activity in today’s lessonwill revolve around a story-mapping method called“Story Stars.” Story stars are o en used in Englishclassrooms to help students prepare to write ction. Inthe center of each story star the student writes the title,or in this case, the headline, of his or her story. In the ve points around the star the student writes the who,what, when, where and why of the story. (See exampleof Wizard of Oz Story Star.)Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 37

38 Instructor’s Guide What Story Stars Why Lesson 5 Wizard of Oz Joins Dorothy Example Because he loves his friends Who 2 Where When 3 Where Tin Man Oz In search for Oz broomstick Wants a heart While following Lion Enters witch’s yellow brick road castle Why Who When What While following Lion Bringing It All Together: Making Your Ideas Work yellow brick road What 4 Where When 5 Why Because he Meet Scarecrow Oz A er second fought monkeys meeting withCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. wizard He tries to Dorothy When Oz Realizes he’s brave scare her Who A er tornado Where What Why Dorothy 1 Oz Lost Wants to go home Why What

Bringing It All Together: Making Your Ideas Work Lesson 5Notes for the Student VocabularyIn our last class our goal was to come up with Headline: e title of a newspaper or magazine story.as many ideas as we could without focusing too Revision: Change made to a script or story.much on how they’d t into our screenplay. Todaywe will go back through our journals and try to Activity 1: Brainstorm Reviewmake sense of the things we came up with. Now is (10 minutes)the time to remember everything we’ve discussedthus far in our classes together and put it together 1. Hand out student activity books.with our own ideas. In the rst class we discussed 2. Give the students ten minutes to go throughgenre and theme. Which genres and themes mostinterested you? Did you come up with anything in their screenwriting journals and highlightthe brainstorming sessions that goes along with your anything that jumps out at them as somethingfavorite genres and themes? they want to expand upon.We’ve also discussed characters and settings. Which 3. If they choose, students can use the red pens tocharacters and settings did you like most from your circle items or make notes in their journals.brainstorming sessions? Can you see any that ttogether well? And how do they work with your Activity 2: Headlinesfavorite genres and themes. (10 minutes)Today you will play with headlines, like the kind innewspapers and tabloid magazines, to generate some 1. Ask students to turn to the “Headlines” activitymore story ideas. You will be mixing and matching sheet (lesson 5, activity 2).headlines to multiply story possibilities. A writer canchange the who, what, when, why or where of any story 2. Using the ideas highlighted in their journals,to make a screenplay even more interesting. Hollywood have the students write several headlines, eachexecutives might ask a screenwriter questions like, including a character and a con ict.“What if Dorothy has a boyfriend?” or “What if Kevin,while he’s home alone, learns how to drive?” 3. Read these examples to give the students aIf this all seems like a lot to think about, don’t reference point:worry. Today’s activities will help you bring all of 4FSJBM
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screenwriters couldn’t have come up with a Williams Sisters Play in Wimbledonscreenplay this fast! e average screenplay goesthrough countless revisions (or changes) before

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it goes from a good idea to an actual movie. Just 4. Ask a student for a headline idea. Together as aremember, the best screenplay you can write willbe one that comes from your heart. So as you go class brainstorm several other headlines, mixingthrough your activities today, keep asking yourself, and matching the possibilities.“Which of these ideas inspires me? Which ones 5. Give them ten minutes to write as manydo I get excited about?” ose are the ones that headlines as they can.you’ll want to keep coming back to. Not only willit keep the process fun, but your excitement will be Activity 3: Extra! Extra!contagious. Your excitement will make people want (10 minutes)to come see your movie. 1. Have the students open their activity books to the “Extra! Extra!” activity sheet (lesson 5, activity 3). 2. Read to the students the example provided. 3. Ask the students to choose their three favorite headlines from the last activity and write themCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 39

Lesson 5 Bringing It All Together: Making Your Ideas Work into the graphic organizer in the far le column, Wrap-Up labeled “Headline.” (5 minutes)4. Ask the students to alter the headline for each genre listed. Make sure to point out that the Give the students ve minutes to re ect in their “other” category is for any additional genre they screenwriting journals. Ask them to write a few may want to explore. sentences about the best story they came up with today and about how they see this story translating Activity 4: Story Stars into a screenplay. en, ask them to identify a (20 minutes) main character that they want to focus on for their screenplay. If they can’t identify one now, encourage1. Pass out the “Story Stars” handouts. Students them to have one selected by the next class period. will nd a copy of the following directions in their activity books (“Story Star, Directions” Clean-Up activity sheet, lesson 5, activity 4). 1. Ask one student from each group to collect2. Ask the students to open their activity books to pencils, red pens and highlighters. the “Extra! Extra!” activity sheet (lesson 5, activity 3) and select their very favorite headline. 2. Collect the student activity books. 3. Remind students to collect their journaling3. Ask them to write this headline, in pencil, in the middle of story star number 1. materials and remember to bring them to the next class.4. Next, have them select their second and third favorite headlines from the “Extra! Extra!” activity Other Directions, Discussions sheet. Students should record these headlines in and Destinations the center of story stars number 2 and 3. 1. Organizing ideas not only helps screenwriters5. Finally, in the last two story stars (number 4 keep track of the things they come up with, and 5) students will come up with two entirely but it can also be useful when trying to assemble new headlines based on the graphic organizer bits and pieces of a story. ere are many overlap. For example, in the center star on the di erent ways to organize ideas and di erent right side of the page (number 5), students will things work for di erent people. Have the create a new headline that happens in the same students experiment with organizing their ideas. place (where) as the story in star 1 and features ey can try writing separate ideas on slips of the same main character (who) as the story in paper or 3 x 5 cards. is way they can create the top right star (number 3). piles or les of like ideas or ideas that seem to t together. Or they can try pinning ideas to a6. If time allows, select several students to share bulletin board or perhaps writing on a white their favorite story star. Perhaps other students board or a big sheet of paper at home—anything want to comment or play with altering the idea. that will help them look at all of their ideas more clearly and nd new ways to arrange them.7. When students have completed their graphic organizers, they should fold them carefully in 2. ere’s a great online organization tool at half and tape them to the inside back cover of www.bubblr.us. Similar to the story stars, this their student activity books. application allows users to record an idea and connect it to other ideas in bubbles, or create entirely separate systems of bubbles once a train of thought has ended.40 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 5 Activity 2: Headlines Example Headlines: Serial Killer Engaged to Marry Popular Gospel Singer Hurt in Crash Williams Sisters Play in Wimbledon Doubles Tournament Write your headlines below:42 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 23 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

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Other (Science Fiction) Popular Gospel Singer Develops Psychic Abilities in Crash Action Popular Gospel Singer Hurt in Crash Searches for the Man Who Hit Him Horror Popular Gospel Singer Bit by Vampire During CrashActivity 3: Extra! Extra! Romance Popular Gospel Singer Falls in Love with Paramedic Comedy Popular Gospel Singer’s Tour Bus Hit by Circus Caravan Example Headline Popular Gospel Headline #1 Headline #2 Headline #3 Singer Hurt in CrashCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 24 Instructor’s Guide 43

Lesson 5 Activity 4: Star Story Directionst

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carefully fold the sheet in half and tape it to the inside back cover of your student activity book.44 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 25 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. What Why Falls in love with e vampire was paramedic in love with her When 2 Where 3When Where Lesson 5 A er car crash Hospital During car crash In the woods Activity 4: Story Star Examples He saves her life Gospel Singer Gospel singer Bit by vampire Why Who Who What Gospel singer Gospel singer What Where When 5 Why Her tour bus 4Tries to reunite a Shopping mall Summer breaks down lost child with his parents He got separated Who from his mom Christmas Highway Performs a concert and dad Gospel singer What Why When 1 Where Student Book Page 26 Christmas HighwayInstructor’s Guide 45 e road was icy Killed in crash Why What

Lesson 5 Journal of Ideas46 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

GlossaryAntagonist: e enemy of the movie’s hero/heroine. Logline: A succinct sentence that describes theApplication of the goal: e way in which the overall story of a movie.character is changed by his or her journey. Low point: e point in the lm in which the hero/Attainment of the goal: e moment when a hero/ heroine seems farthest from his or her goal.heroine resolves the central con ict of a lm. Pitch: A presentation of an idea for a lm orBrainstorm: A process in which new ideas are screenplay.created. Protagonist: e hero/heroine of the movie.Call to adventure: e moment in a hero/heroine’s Resolution: e point in the lm when the con ict isjourney when he or she is removed from his or her nally worked out.everyday life.Central con ict: e dominant problem in a movie Return to the ordinary world: e point in a lmthat propels the action from start to nish. when a character returns to his or her everyday life.Character arc: e change in a character Revision: Change made to a script or story.throughout the character’s life. Road of trials: e events that occur as a hero/Cinematic: e visual aspect of movies that makes heroine attempts to reach his or her goal.them unique from other types of art. Sequel: A book or movie that is complete in itself butClimax: e emotional high point of the movie. continues the narrative of an earlier work.Complication: A con ict arising in a movie that Setting: e place and time a story occurs.requires immediate attention. Storyboard: A visual representation of the scenes ofCon ict: e problem the hero/heroine is trying to a movie.solve and/or tension in a story. Subplot: A side-story in a movie.Genre: e category of a movie, such as action, Tagline: A sentence or phrase used to market (orcomedy, horror, science ction, etc. sell) a movie.Headline: e title of a newspaper or magazine eme: A word or phrase that sums up the mainstory. emotion of a movie, such as love, revenge, greed, etc.Hero/heroine’s journey: e events that in uence a ree-act structure: e structural system for mostcharacter’s arc in a given movie. Hollywood lms composed of the setting, con ictImprovisation: To spontaneously perform, or to and resolution.perform without any preparation. Treatment: A summary of a screenplay idea thatInner Movie Method: e process by which a movie includes the movie’s genre, theme, main characteridea is rst developed from the heart. and important scenes.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 91

AppendixBeing a Screenwriter Standards Matrix research, re ection, and revision) and shorter is unit meets Common Core State Standards time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.(CCSS) in English Language Arts and Literacy. Speaking and Listening e lessons and activities in this unit address the
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for and participate e ectively in a range ofCommon Core Anchor Standards for Reading, conversations and collaborations with diverseWriting, Speaking and Listening, and Language. partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. e activities are designed for students in grades6-8. Speci c CCSS addressed include:Reading
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central ideas or themes of a text and analyze and evaluate information presented in their development; summarize the key diverse media and formats, including visually, supporting details and ideas. quantitatively, and orally.
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and interact over the course of a text. use accurately a range of general academic
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and domain-speci c words and phrases and evaluate content presented in diverse su cient for reading, writing, speaking, and media and formats, including visually and listening at the college and career readiness quantitatively, as well as in words level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering anWriting unknown term important to comprehension or
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expression. narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using e ective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
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clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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routinely over extended time frames (time for92 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Being a Screenwriter Standards Matrix Appendix Standards Matrix Standard Lesson 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Common Core Learning StandardCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2: tt ttDetermine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development;summarize the key supporting details and ideas.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3: t ttAnalyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over thecourse of a text.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: tt t tttttIntegrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including ttvisually and quantitatively, as well as in words tt tCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1:Prepare for and participate e ectively in a range of conversations andt tcollaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing theirown clearly and persuasively.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2: ttIntegrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats,including visually, quantitatively, and orally.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6:Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-speci c words ttand phrases su cient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the collegeand career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabularyknowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension orexpression.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3: tWrite narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using e ectivetechnique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4: t tProduce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, andstyle are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5: ttttttt ttttttttDevelop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,or trying a new approach.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10:Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, re ection, andrevision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range oftasks, purposes, and audiences.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 93