_______________________________________________________________________
STORY / PLOT / SCREENWRITING SERIES
Write a Logline and a Scene
Grades 4-12 • Subject areas: English, Art, Creative Writing, Media Literacy, Critical Thinking • Lesson time: 40 minutes
Lesson Overview
Students develop their own story ideas, and translate them into the conventional formats used in screenwriting.
Lesson Objectives
1.
2.
3.
To learn about writing for film, TV, and media.
To analyze conventions and formats in scriptwriting.
To develop creative thinking and work toward a creative product.
Materials
1.
Pencils and paper.
Starter Discussion


In a group discussion, define a logline, and
write loglines several popular films.
How does a logline help filmmakers and
screenwriters pitch an idea to studios and
production companies?
Activity
Imagine a Premise and Write a Logline:
Students come up with their own idea for a movie and, in no more than two sentences, write a
logline for their movie idea. A logline is one of the most important tools a writer has to promote
his/her script to a studio or production company. It is a brief statement of a film’s premise,
succinctly identifying the main character(s), the setting, the central conflict of the plot and
perhaps the central theme. Loglines should be punchy and compelling; Hollywood executives
often decide which scripts to consider based on the strength of their loglines.
Example: A team of scientists is deployed to a remote island to appraise a prehistoric theme
park, a zoo of dinosaurs that an eccentric mogul has managed to bring out of extinction. The
scientists’ tour of this groundbreaking facility becomes a desperate fight for survival as a tropical
storm and a traitorous employee knock out all of the park’s safety measures.
Write a Scene Based on Your Logline
Imagine students were to write the feature script for the movie for which they’ve written a
logline. What would the most important scenes be? Students choose one scene from their
movie idea and write a draft, including all dialogue, pertinent character action, narration (if
any), sound effects, props, etc. Camera directions should not be included in any scene script.
Follow-up Discussion
●
●
●
How are film scripts different than other forms
of creative writing that you have seen in your
English and Language Arts classes?
What is the purpose of the formatting
conventions used in screenwriting?
What do you think makes a good screenplay?
Follow-up Activities/Homeworks
●
●
You may choose to encourage students to act out their scenes or to film their scenes in
the classroom or at home.
Journaling Activity: ask students to reflect on their writing experience. How is writing a
screenplay different than other creating you have done in school and on your own?
Would you like to write more screenplays? Why or why not?
Framework For Assessment
Students may present individual work to the class to demonstrate that they have engaged with the assignment and grasped
the learning goals. You may choose to supplement discussion with a short writing assignment to encourage quieter
students to articulate their experience with the lesson. You may choose to assign formal grades to student screenplays or
follow-up activities.
Common Core Standards
in this Lesson
●
●
Filmmaking lessons may provide an entry
point to the Common Core’s framework of
creativity, collaboration, critical thinking,
presentation and demonstration, problem
solving, research and inquiry, and career
readiness.
The Story/Plot/Screenwriting series equips
students to analyze the “extensive range of
print and nonprint texts in media forms old
and new,” as outlined in the Common Core
definition of workplace readiness.