by Alex Taylor
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
Students will demonstrate their increased ability to be creative with brainstorming story ideas by writing their own story synopsis.
STANDARDS:
Utah Standard L1.T.P.6: Use imagination to inform artistic choices.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Blank sheet of paper for each student, whiteboard, quote printed or displayed on screen
TEACHING PRESENTATION:
WARM UP/HOOK:
Pass out a piece of paper to each student and have them make a paper airplane with it. While they do this, put a bull’s-eye target on the whiteboard and a line marker on the floor with masking tape. Once the paper airplanes are made, have each student take a turn throwing their airplane at the target while standing on the line marker. Students are allowed one opportunity to test fly their planes. Reward a prize for the student whose planes gets the closest or in the target.
STEP 1: Transition
Discuss/reflect with students: How did they like their plane? Did they care if they hit the target or not? What resources did they use to help them make a good plane? What changes would they make in a second plane? Would testing the plane before the contest have helped or did testing help? What would they have done differently if they had been offered a million dollars to hit the target? Relate this activity to playwriting – it envelopes creativity, originality, revision, prioritizing, thought, etc.
STEP 2: Instruction
Introduce playwriting. Write the word on the board, break it apart, and define each part of the word.
PLAY – to be performed on stage WRITING – dialogue and action.
Create a Venn diagram on the board asking students to compare and contrast plays vs. other literature (novels, essays, screenplays, etc.). Pass out examples of play scripts and ask them to describe what they notice about content and format. Help them understand that playwriting uses people to speak and move on one confined space in order to portray a story.
STEP 3: Individual Practice
Conduct the Countdown Activity: have the students unfold their paper airplanes and, on the back, write down ANYTHING that comes into their mind connecting to ONE of the following topics: Beaches, mountains, or rivers for 60 seconds, writing continuously the entire time. The teacher will mark each ten second interval and count down the last ten seconds. Prompt them with, “Keep writing! Don’t think about it, just write. Write anything! Etc.” Repeat if necessary.
STEP 4: Discussion
Story ideas can come from anywhere. Explain that sometimes it’s best to just jot down any old thing to start a play idea from. Share playwright’s inspiration for Sure Thing from page 63 in McLaughlin’s The Playwright’s Process. (Quote listed under supplements.) Assign students to bring a writer’s notebook to class next time. (Provide several 3x5 flip notebooks for those who forget.)
STEP 5: Modeling
Pick a random sheet of paper from a student, pick a word/phrase from that list, and describe a story that could be written from that word/phrase inspiration. Demonstrate how stories can be taken from something as simple as a word.
STEP 6: Guided Practice
Have each student circle two of the words/phrases on their paper, then pass it to a neighbor and have them star another two words/phrases and hand it back. Instruct students to write a paragraph story synopsis for one circled and one stared word/phrase.
STEP 7: Checking for Understanding
Have students share their paragraph with a partner and then have some pairs read their story synopsis. Talk with them about how they came up with their story idea from their words/phrases. Remind the students that there are limitless ideas to creating stories.
STEP 8: Guided Practice
Have students write a short monologue explaining why they can’t come to rehearsal tomorrow. Have a few students share with the class and as needed, provide feedback about providing more specific detail, or increasing the severity of conflicts, etc. Revise and reshare. Keep these monologues for use in class next time.
CLOSURE: REINFORCING THE LEARNING
End the class by having students partner with a fellow classmate and share one new thing they learned
ASSESSMENT:
Students can be assessed through turning in their story idea papers, monologues and dialogues.
HOMEWORK:
Bring a writing journal and “late to rehearsal” monologues to class.
SUPPLEMENT:
Keeping a Journal by David Ives
David Ives recounts his habit of jot down all the ideas that come to him, including the one for “Sure Thing” a one act that is part of his play All in the Timing:
“When I get an idea for a play, it goes straight into the notebook. I write down whatever hits me… One day I got this idea while I was standing at a bus stop. I said to somebody, “Does the M14 bus go up to the street?” and this person said, “Yes, I mean, no.” I thought, “Well, that’s kind of interesting. There’s a little play here.” I started wondering: “What if you wrote a play in which all the possible things that could happen from asking ‘which way does this bus go?’ happened?” Then I asked myself, “How can I limit the plate to encompass all the possible answers?” I also knew that it had to be a love story about two people getting on the bus or not getting on the bus so I just wrote down this idea that went as I remember: two people having all the possible conversations I can follow from one question.