What genres do you typically teach in writer's workshop?

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INT. CLASSROOM - DAY

From Script to Screen to Script:TV Writing in the Classroom

Drew TimmonsSWP SI 2009

Chapman High School

Why television writing?

The National Institute of Media and the Family says that teenagers spend more time watching television than any other activity, except for sleeping (2002).

Instead of condemning students for this, why not embrace it and use it?

TV writing provides students the opportunity for cooperative learning in a way other writing exercises may not.

“Television writing is collaborative medium in which many different disciplines and departments work together to create a final show. … Forget the romantic image of the lonely writer working away in a little room, closed off from the rest of the world.” - Larry Brody, Television Writing from the Inside Out

To expose students to one of the most prevalent forms of writing in their lives, even though they don't always know it. According to Ray (2006), “[O]ne of the purposes of genre study is to expose students to a range of writing that people use to serve different human intentions.”

Goals for TV Writing Study

To provide an opportunity for collaborative learning, one “of the most efficient social learning activities” (Zemelman, Daniels, Hyde 2005).

To promote performance-based projects where students “demonstrate a richer level of understanding and application of process and learning skills in a broader context than traditional testing would allow” (Luongo-Orlando 2000).

To provide the opportunity for authentic assessment. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), these “assessments are meant to do more than 'test': they should teach students (and teachers) what the 'doing of' a subject looks like and what kinds of performance challenges are actually considered important in a field or profession.” You'll see this when you set up your writers' rooms.

Gathering texts. The best resource available on the internet for TV scripts (or teleplays) is http://tvwriting.googlepages.com/ but other sites, such as http://www.tvwriter.com and http://www.script-o-rama.com may be beneficial. If possible, choose episodes that you can show clips of in class, so that students can see the writing in action.

TV Writing Using Inquiry Process

Setting the stage. Explain to students that at the end of the study, they will be required to turn in a sample scene (or, if you have the luxury of time, an entire script).

Immersion. Read, read, read. You'll probably have to settle for excerpts since scripts can take a while to get through. Have students note what they have learned. As you read excerpts, show the clips (the script-to-screen changes provide a great mini-lesson on revision).

Close study. Now, take a look at what you and the class have noted. It's crucial that teachers and students use proper language when writing and discussing teleplays. It's part of the business, and when we want this to be an authentic experience.

Writing under the influence. Now is the chance for them to write their own scripts. You'll break your class into groups and have them brainstorm ideas for a possible show. You'll need screenwriting software. The best free program is Celtx. If you want your students to have more practice, have them write a scene from their favorite show before moving on to their own original idea (these are called “spec scripts” and are used in the real world).

The most successful television shows are “thanks to the dynamic of a good writers room, in which everyone is free to throw out dozens of ideas, [and] 'scenes go to this place you never could have gone to alone.'” - Justin Spitzer, The Office

The Writers' Room

One of the keys to successful cooperative learning is “Positive Interdependence” (Stahl, 1994), which means that students must rely on each other to complete a task, which is perfect since television is such a collaborative medium.

Creating a Writers' Room

Television rooms are organized by levels of experience, which gives you the chance to practice heterogeneous grouping. If “groups are maximally heterogeneous … (students are more likely to) interact and achieve in ways and at levels that are rarely found in other instructional strategies” (Stahl, 1994).

Head Writer/Executive Producer (1): Oversees all writing and stories. Settles arguments and ensures team is working together. Has final say over what is eventually turned in. Will type the final draft.

Staff Writers (3-4): Responsible for coming up with story ideas, running them by the executive producer, and keeping a copy of the script for themselves.

Writers' Assistant (1): Responsible for keeping a copy of the script, looking up definitions and spellings, keeping track of how many times each person has made a contribution to the group, coming up with ideas, etc. Big and little things.

Assigning Roles

Your Role

One of the goals of the study is to give students an authentic look at what it means to work in television. Thus, they'll have to encounter the Head of the Network.

As students work through their writing, you can check in and give your feedback and help. This way, your writing conferences are reflective of real-life situations.

Plus, you can have some fun...

One of the joys of being the man in charge in television is that you can make ridiculous suggestions. During the early days of ER, someone from NBC asked the writers if there needed to be so much medicine.

Okay, so you don't want to inhibit creativity, but you might say, “Hey, this is great: What if you add a monkey? Monkeys are awesome.”

Just remember that sometimes, networks have good notes, too.

Read Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother excerpts aloud

Jot down any noticings about script formats

View How I Met Your Mother clip

Assign roles for your table

Create a premise for your own show

Write an introduction to your own show, showcasing your ability to set up a show in proper format.

You Try It

Publishing with a Purpose

Once the script is complete (i.e., typed and copied), you may find it useful to read each script aloud (these are called “table reads”). As each group reads, they are gaging the class's reaction, making notes about what is good and what isn't. They can ask questions once it's over, and using that feedback, they'll return to the writers' room.

You may also consider using your school's drama class. Make copies of the scripts and have the drama class do their own table reads, this time with the writers listening to their works being performed. More notes, more revision. And it's real revision.

You may consider having either your class or the drama class perform what you've written. Video it and play it back for the class. Now, it's like a real production.

“And the room can be fun, too. Imagine the thrill of seeing one of your cherished ideas for a character or a piece of action suddenly coming to life, becoming better than you could have imagined, thanks to input from half a dozen smart people—people who very likely will become friends for life.” - SciFiWire.com

Luongo-Orlando, K. (2000). Authentic assessment: designing

performance-based tasks. Stenhouse Publishing.

Ray, K.W. (2006). Study driven: a framework for planning units of study in the writing workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Stahl, R.J. (1994). The Essential elements of cooperative learning in the classroom. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social

Science Education Bloomington IN. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from ERICDigests.org.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (2005). Best practice: today's standards for teaching & learning in America's

schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Works Cited