1. Topic-
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| Analysis of the Assigned Novel |
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2. Content-
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| After completing the novel as a class, students will be split up
into groups. Within these groups, each student will be assigned a
major character from the novel. Each group will be assigned an important
scene from the novel and will write a script based on the text. After
rehearsing, each group will use a smart phone to film their scene
and present it to the class. Next, the students will set up Twitter
accounts for their assigned characters. The students will tweet from
the perspective of their characters and to other characters, during
both the class day and at home. After one week of tweeting, each student
will write a short story from the perspective of his or her character.
The students can write about what happens to their characters five
years after the novel ends, five years before the novel begins, about
a scene that was not written in the perspective of their characters,
etc. |
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3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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1. Students will better understand the components of fictional writing.
2. Students will engage with the art of script writing and film making.
3.Students will explore and expand their creative writing skills. |
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4. Objectives-
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1. Students will understand how authors construct novels, from the
literary devices the author uses to how the author develops his or
her characters.
2. Students will write a script based on the assigned text and produce
a short film of the performance, demonstrating their understanding
of both the text and how to make a film.
3. Students will write short stories that demonstrate their creative
use of the experience they gained from their characters' Twitter accounts. |
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5. Materials and Aids-
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1. The novel
2. A smart phone for each student that has a video camera and Internet
access
3. A computer for each student to write his or her short story |
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6. Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-
1. While reading the assigned novel, the teacher will engage his
or students in discussions about literary tools, character development,
plot structure, etc.
2. The teacher will split the students into groups and assign each
student a character and each group a scene. |
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B. Development-
1. The teacher will demonstrate how to create a script based on
a novel.
2. The teacher will explain how to use the video camera on the smart
phones.
3. The teacher will offer tips on how to rehearse a scene, how to
memorize lines, etc.
4. The teacher will explain how to set up a Twitter account, how to
make tweets, and how to tweet to other people.
5. The teacher will read aloud examples of creative short stories. |
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C. Practice-
1. The students will spend the class period filming various things
in the classroom to get acquainted with the cameras on their phones.
2. The students will write their scripts in class.
3. The students will rehearse their scenes in class.
4. The students will film their scenes in class. |
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D. Independent Practice-
1. The students will spend 2 days tweeting before the actual period
of tweeting as their characters begins.
2. The students will write their stories at home with additional time
spent in class going over what they wrote with the teacher. |
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E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-
1. Students who had trouble memorizing their lines, feeling confident
in front of the camera, shooting the scene, etc. will get time in
class to ask the teacher questions and gain more practice.
2. Students who were confused about tweeting will have a special tutorial
with the teacher to go over any concerns and questions.
3. The teacher will create a private Twitter group so that the students
cannot access other Twitter accounts and so that no other Twitter
users can view the content produced by the class. |
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F. Checking for understanding-
1. The teacher will grade each group as a unit based on teamwork,
the quality of the script, the creativity of the scene, and the execution
of the film.
2. Each student will be graded individually on the frequency and creativity
of his or her character tweets.
3. Each student will be graded individually on the creativity and
grammar of his or her short story.
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G. Closure-
1. The students will view all of the scenes filmed.
2. The teacher will lead a discussion about the experience of getting
inside a character's head through tweeting and using that experience
to write a thoughtful story. |
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7. Evaluation-
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1. Did the students become more comfortable with the given technology
(smart phones, video cameras, Twitter, computers)?
2. Did the students better understand how to analyze text and character
development?
3. Did the students expand their creative writing skills? |
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