Create a Documentary Clip: Draft a Documentary Script | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M4:U3:L4

Create a Documentary Clip: Draft a Documentary Script

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • W.7.4, W.7.5, SL.7.1, SL.7.4

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • W.7.1, W.7.2, W.7.3, L.7.6
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can collaborate with my group to strengthen our documentary script by planning and discussing how to focus on purpose and audience. (W.7.5)
  • I can write my documentary script with claims and findings, emphasizing important points in a focused, clear manner. (SL.7.4) 
  • I can write my documentary script with key descriptions, facts, details, and examples. (SL.7.4)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Action Plan Progress anchor chart (SL.7.1)
  • Work Time A: Documentary Script planner (W.7.5)
  • Closing and Assessment A: Documentary Script draft (SL.7.4)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - SL.7.1 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Triad Action Plan - W.7.4, W.7.5 (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Draft a Documentary Clip Script - SL.7.4 (25 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Action Plan: Students continue to work on their personal action plans. Students record their plans, research, and actions they've taken in their action plan journals, including at least one new note in the final research or results section.

B. Complete the Script: Students complete their script as necessary.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • SL.7.1 – Opening A: In an opening activity, students evaluate their progress on their action plan and share their progress and plans in a collaborative discussion with their documentary triad.
  • W.7.4 – Work Time A: Students work collaboratively to strengthen their documentary script writing by focusing on addressing purpose and audience.
  • W.7.5 – Work Time A: Students work to strengthen their documentary script writing by planning and collaborating with peers.
  • SL.7.4 – Closing and Assessment A: Students draft a section of the documentary script, including descriptions, facts, details, and examples.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners by collaborating to share their progress and work with their triad to make a better product and persevering independently on drafting their section of the documentary script. These activities also involve working to become ethical people as they practice compassion and respect listening to one another’s action plans.
  • If homework is not an option for students and they don’t finish their portion of the script in this lesson, then in Closing and Assessment A of Lesson 5, they can work with their triad to finish their script as they piece it together.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Invite students who finish drafting early to
    • consider which kind of writing their section is, and use a narrative, informational, or argument checklist to revise their writing;
    • find a documentary clip and/or transcript exemplar of each kind of writing (narrative, informational, and argument) to share with the class and explain what makes it effective, and
    • create a visual poster of important elements to include in the script.
  • Encourage those students who excel at writing to
    • share their documentary script with classmates and invite feedback, and
    • mentor and coach peers.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students focused on using their narrative lead drafts to create one strong narrative lead for the triad podcast. In this lesson, they draw on their experiences with their personal action projects to draft one section of the collaborative documentary script.

Support All Students

  • Students may need additional support drafting their section of the documentary scripts. Consider providing extra support by grouping these students together and working with them by providing scaffolding and supporting questions. Also provide the informational and argumentative checklists for students who may need extra support. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ drafts as they work on them. Ask students to compare their drafts to the Model Documentary Script and identify what elements they are missing or would like to change.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will work in their triads to piece together their sections of the documentary script to make a complete script. Students then present their scripts to another triad in a Tuning protocol focused on the content of the scripts.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a sticky dot or a sticker at each student’s workspace.
  • Display the Action Plan Progress anchor chart.
  • Determine whether students will choose the section of the documentary script they will each write or whether they will be assigned a section. Note that the conclusion section is likely the easiest to write, as it is the shortest and simplest. Therefore, it may be necessary to assign this section to students who need more support with writing. ▲
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Closing and Assessment A: Students may use a document-sharing platform (such as http://eled.org/0158) to share their sections of the documentary script.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.B.5, 7.I.C.10, 7.I.C.12, 7.II.B.5, 7.II.C.6, and 7.II.C.7.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson allows for collaborative planning in triads before independent writing of one section of the documentary script.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to draft another portion of the documentary script. In addition to the suggestions below, assign sections according to students' language abilities. For example, newcomers or beginning students can work in pairs on the conclusion, as it requires the least amount of language but still allows students to stretch their cognitive abilities by determining the overall message and a call to action.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Documentary Script Planner (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Action plan journal (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Homework A)
  • Documentary Script Planner (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Texts from Module 4, Units 1 and 2: A Plastic Ocean, Trash Vortex, "Five Weird Materials That Could Replace Plastic," "Five Things You Can Do to End Plastic Pollution," and "Boyan Slat: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Kid" (one of each per student)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Action Plan Progress anchor chart (one for display)

  • Sticky dots or stickers (one per student)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner - SL.7.1 (5 minutes)

  • As they enter class, invite students to place their sticky dot or sticker in the correct place on the Action Plan Progress anchor chart. Then have students join with their documentary triads to discuss their action plans. Post the following prompts (also found on the Action Plan Progress anchor chart) and ask students to discuss them in their triads:

"Share with your triad where you placed your sticker on the Action Plan Progress anchor chart." (Responses will vary.)

"Given that there are two more lessons and days of homework on this assignment, discuss whether or not you are behind schedule, on schedule, or ahead of schedule." (Responses will vary.)

"What strategies do you have for completing the steps in your action plan if you are behind schedule?" (Responses will vary, but may include doing additional work on the project in the next two nights.)

"What ideas do you have for extending the work of your action plan if you are ahead of schedule?" (Responses will vary, but may include trying out another action plan that is related, such as giving up plastic straws and plastic bags.)

"What work do you plan on doing on your action plan for the next two nights?" (Responses will vary, but may include interviewing a restaurateur and journaling about how it felt to use less plastic.)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • For the opening activity, students may be reluctant to self-assess in public. Allow those students to respond privately by recording their self-assessment on a sticky note.

For Heavier Support

  • For the opening activity, ensure students understand the task before asking them to complete it. Use mime and repetition to explain the task. Allow students who are reluctant to self-assess in public to respond privately by recording their self-assessment on a sticky note.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Triad Action Plan - W.7.4, W.7.5 (15 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can collaborate with my group to strengthen our documentary script by planning and discussing how to focus on purpose and audience."

  • Inform students that in this lesson they will work in triads to plan the rest of their documentary script and then each independently write one part of the script.
  • Ask students to remain in their triads and retrieve their copies of their action plan journal, Documentary Script Planner, and the texts from Module 4. Explain to students that during this planning period, they will continue to draw information from their journal and texts to record their ideas on their planner.
  • Inform students that, in order to write the script, they must discuss their action plan, the information they have gathered from their research, the conclusions they have drawn, and the message they wish to convey in their documentary. As necessary, remind students that their triad action plan is similar to the personal action plans they have been working on outside of class. They will need to share what they have been researching and doing outside of class to make sure they can combine everyone's experiences and ideas into one triad action plan for the script.
  • Ask triads to continue planning their documentary script. As necessary, prompt with the following questions:

"What information about the action plan will you include in your documentary film script? What key ideas and details will you include to explain your action plan?"

"What is the argument your are making in this documentary film clip about how to solve the problem of plastic pollution? What information from your research do you need to include to make your argument strong?"

"What key ideas and reflections do you want to include in the conclusion?"

  • Circulate to ensure students are focused and planning their script effectively, using sample responses in the Documentary Script Planner (example for teacher reference) as necessary. Also, encourage those students who are struggling to reread the Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" for ideas on what to include and why.
  • Refocus the class and ask students to Think-Triad-Share about the following questions:

"What is the purpose of the documentary film clip?" (To convince others to take an action to stop plastic pollution.)

"How and where should the purpose be addressed in the documentary film script?" (Responses will vary.)

"Who is the audience for our documentary film script?" (Responses will vary.)

"How and where should the audience be addressed in the documentary film script?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Invite students to consider where in the discussion they had the most ideas: about the information, argument, or conclusion? Encourage students to decide among their triads who will write the script for each part, preferably with students taking the section they are most interested in discussing. Remind students that their writing choices are the following:
    • An argument section about how the action research project can impact change with plastic pollution
    • An information section about the action research project
    • A conclusion reflecting on the project and leaving the viewer with a strong feeling and sense of social action
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A, encourage students to use some of the triad action plan time to discuss their ideas for each section of the rest of their documentary script, recording their ideas on the Documentary Script Planner. Oral rehearsal ensures students can articulate their ideas.

For Heavier Support

  • See For Lighter Support. Additionally, for students who require heavier supports, provide the sentence frames from the Closing and Assessment A support below for them to use as they discuss their ideas. 

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Draft a Documentary Clip Script – SL.7.4 (25 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can write my documentary script with claims and findings, emphasizing important points in a focused, clear manner.”

“I can write my documentary script with key descriptions, facts, details, and examples.”

  • Inform students that, together, they will now draft the other three sections of their documentary script: the argument section, the action plan section, and the conclusion. Remind students that they just discussed ideas about each of these sections and took notes on their Documentary Script Planner to plan their writing. Explain that each member of the triad will use this information to write one section of the documentary script. If students need more support, encourage them to orally rehearse with a partner what they will write in their section. They may also study the Model Documentary Script for ideas. ▲
  • Circulate and provide support to students as needed, directing them to the Documentary Script Planner as well as the language and structures used in the same section of the Model Documentary Script.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.
  • Invite students to reflect on the learning target and habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • N/A

For Heavier Support

  • Encourage students to use the corresponding section of the Model Documentary Script as a template for their own writing. Provide sentence frames from the model script for students to form the sentences for their own script. As necessary, work with students to identify which sentences would work in their own script, or provide sentence frames such as the following:
    • Argument: 
      • Do you know . . . 
      • According to . . .
      • There are many forms of plastic pollution, but let's just focus on . . .
      • . . . writing for . . . reports that . . .
      • Also, . . . 
      • It is clear that . . .
    • Action Plan:
      • Thinking about what to do about plastic pollution can be . . .
      • But the more I researched, the more it seemed the best way I could start to reduce plastic pollution was by . . . 
      • I knew from my research that . . . 
      • So here's what I did . . . 
      • In fact, I even found . . . 
    •  Conclusion:
      • It felt good to . . .
      • In order to keep myself motivated, I . . . 
      • It also helped to . . . 
      • According to . . . 
      • In my research, I found that . . . 
      • I will continue to . . . 
      • I will . . . 

Homework

Homework

A. Action Plan

  • Students continue to work on their personal action plans. Students record their plans, research, and actions they've taken in their action plan journals, including at least one new note in the final research or results section.

B. Complete the Script

  • Students complete their section of the script as necessary.

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