Script Writing in Education
Retention of information learned and communicated through creative outlets wins out over information learned through straight memorization and recitation. The added benefits of creativity helps students to think deeper and explore for insight on their own. Script writing added to a curriculum for any age or subject raises the bar of your educational environment. Helping your students learn to develop characters and write lines will make learning fun and enlightening.
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Characters
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Get students excited about the process of script writing step-by-step. Scripts have a list of characters that are well-developed and defined by their actions. In history and literature classes, the characters come easily from reading of texts or lessons. For science and math or more abstract concepts, characters get created through personification.
Environment
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Environments, or settings, encompass any place or space the story takes place. Scripts have as many environments as the scriptwriter can feasibly support with their characters, dialogue and action. Settings need to be specific so that recreation is made possible. This happens through description of colors, scents and feelings present in the environment. Most settings done for educational purposes come fairly easily (e.g., Abraham Lincoln's desk in the White House, a chemistry lab, Holden Caulfield's bedroom). A good development of environment includes any period or geographic specific features that would be known or discovered through research.
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Dialogue
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One page of dialogue covers about one minute of speaking time when done correctly. Deciding how long the scenes need to be helps students to create more specifically and efficiently. Each character's name needs to be centered and all caps on the page when he is speaking. On the next line, his dialogue appears. A line of blank space follows when the character finishes speaking. The next character's name appears on the next line, centered and all caps. This format continues throughout the entire scene.
Action
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Scenes have the characters doing actions, but not to excess. The focus needs to remain on the dialogue. The proper format for noting an action for a character appears in parentheses when the character performs the action in the script.
Acting It Out
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Completing the educational experience of scriptwriting requires a good showing-off of what the students have accomplished. Holding auditions for parts allows students the opportunity to learn more about a theatrical experience in addition to digesting the class lessons. Assigning roles is a quicker way to get the scripts up and running. Giving students a week to prepare for the acting of their scenes after roles have been assigned or cast is a good idea.
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