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...

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...

Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...

High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...

Young thespians can try their hand at writing a script and acting out a scene, while gaining a deeper understanding of the universal topics presented in Shakespeare's wide array of plays. Begin the activity by conducting a compare and...

Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...

Students research why immigrants came to America and the processes involved in the settlement. They write a script for a short play explaining the causes for immigration and situations that immigrants found themselves in.

Students create a historical minute based on a hero. They research the hero of their choice and write a script for two or three scenes with depict significant events from their heroes lives.

Fifth graders examine significant events in fur trade history. In small groups, they conduct research, develop and write a script, and create a videotaped "Heritage Moment."

If your class loves movies, this lesson 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...

Students research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...

History comes alive as groups work cooperatively to create short iMovies about a specific historical period of their choice. Ideal for late elementary grades, the lesson includes a video demonstration and a short materials list.

Young scholars look at popular media presentations to determine what type of messages they convey about class and class-linked behavior. They listen to contemporary music to explore how the songs touch upon social class issues. They read...

Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White. They create a comic strip based on the characters, setting, and plot of the story, and examine the author's writing process. In small groups...

Students use their imaginations to write about an imaginary trip. In this creative writing instructional activity, students write about an imaginary trip. Students brainstorm writing ideas as a class and use past...

Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...

Young scholars examine the three dimensions of health, wealth, and happiness from both emotional and social perspectives. Among the week-long activities are discussions about good and poor habits, minimizing risks by proper planning and...

Students investigate the June 2004 Transit of Venus, write a screen play, and produce a movie or animation of the transit including a narration. The difference between storytelling and storyboarding is made clear in this lesson.

Learners examine the ways poetry has been used by actors. After reading a poem, they discuss the characters and the differences in how the male and female students view them. In groups, they read a few of Shakespeare's sonnets and write...

Students research and create an aspect of a war. They practice on writing a bibliography and essays.

Third graders create a travel commercial for an eastern state. They form small groups to do internet research on the state using guide questions. They use this information to write a script for the commercial. Then all group members...

Students investigate World Water Day in relation to clean water that should be used responsibly. They create lists of ten things they use water for and compare their answers in small groups. They research a documentary for World Water...