Play Y5 T1 Writing playscripts and annotating for performance - PGCE

department foreducation and skillsPlay Y5 T1 Writing playscripts andannotating for performanceThe National Literacy Strategy1ObjectivesY5T1T18 to write own playscript, applying conventions learned from reading, including production notes.Y5T1T19 to annotate a section of playscript as a preparation for performance, taking into account pace,movement, gesture and delivery of lines and the needs of the audience.Principles and explanationThe writing of playscripts should be taught as part of a longer block on the reading and writing of playscripts(Y5T1T5,T20). Preferably, this would follow a block focusing on characters (Y5T1T3,T15).Conventions as for Year 4 Term 1, plus:Technical terms included, e.g. stage directions, aside, stage right.Characters are clearly distinguished through dialogue, i.e. dialogue well matched toindividual character.Characters, and their relationship to each other, developed beyond the stereotype where appropriate.Standard and non-standard English used as appropriate to character, e.g. distinguishing betweenlanguage used by a judge talking in court and a judge talking at home.Punctuation used effectively to indicate pausing and pacing, e.g. use of commas, ellipsis.Narrative told mainly through dialogue without overuse of narrator figure to move plot forward.CapturingChildren, in pairs, form a ‘still photograph’. This could be an actual photograph or painting, or a situationsuggested by a teacher, e.g. two people looking up into the sky/pointing at the ground, a shopkeeper and acustomer, the delivery of a letter.The pairs bring the photograph to life and improvise some dialogue.They choose the best three consecutive speeches in their playlet, writing these down on whiteboards,without revealing who the characters are or including any stage directions.The boards are passed to another pair.The scripts are then acted out by the new pair, adding in any actions, interpretation or expression, but noextra words or punctuation.© 2001 Crown Copyright Play Y5 T1 Writing playscripts and annotating for performance www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/literacy

2DemonstrationTeacher shows own three-line script on flipchart or OHT.Teacher talks through the transformation of this dialogue into playscript form. Links should be made withsentence level work on proofreading and editing (Grammar for writing, Unit 34), use of punctuation (Unit 34) thedifferences between spoken and written English (Unit 41) and the use of present tense for stage instructions (Unit37)..© 2001 Crown Copyright Play Y5 T1 Writing playscripts and annotating for performance www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/literacy

The children draw up a chart showing the differences between a story and a playscript, e.g.3StoryCharacters introduced at different points inthe storySetting described in textPlayscriptCharacters listed at beginning of scriptSetting given by narrator or described instage directionsShared compositionTeacher takes one pair’s ‘three speech’ playlet and transforms this into a script with reference to the chartabove. Children participate by rewriting speeches in playscript form, adding appropriate stage directions,punctuation, etc.Children decide where this scene appears in the play. What might have gone before, what might happensubsequently?Independent/guided writingWorking in pairs, children produce playscripts based on their original drama activity. These can then be expandedinto longer scripts and subsequently published for performance or recording.© 2001 Crown Copyright Play Y5 T1 Writing playscripts and annotating for performance www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/literacy