Exercises
- Take a joke with a story and try to write it in script format. It’s okay to change the story
to make it better or more visual. - Teachers, relate an anecdote about your day, and ask for a volunteer to write the story in
script format on the board. Discuss the formatting. - Read a fairy tale or children’s picture book out loud. Ask for two volunteers to write the
story in script format on the board. It’s okay to improve the story, make it more visual,
and give it more action. How are the two new versions different from each other and
from the original? Discuss. - Bring in an intriguing picture. Ask for a volunteer to start a story about that picture in
script format on the board. Change off to a new volunteer, and keep changing through-
out the class session so this script becomes a group effort. - Watch an animated videotape or DVD. Critique the structure in class. How could you
improve the story? - Start with this sentence: “Amanda’s dog Tom Boy chased Ms. Fluff the cat up a tree.”
Each student adds one sentence to the story in turn. Try to include some structure with
goals, game plan, twists, crisis, critical choice, battle, and resolution. Discuss how the exper-
iment worked and how the story could have been better. - What’s the most important part of any story? Why? Discuss in class.
- Take the premise and outline that you did earlier and write the script.
The Script 259