Education Blog
Posted on by Courtney Meznarich

Story Writing Lesson Plans Using SoCreate Writer Software

Teaching story writing is a crucial part of the language arts curriculum, yet it often presents unique challenges. From sparking creativity to teaching the intricacies of narrative structure that result in a captivating story, educators constantly seek innovative ways to engage their students.

Enter SoCreate Writer, a revolutionary screenwriting software designed to make story writing more accessible and engaging for students of all ages.

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SoCreate Changes Everything!

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In this blog, find three story lesson plans utilizing SoCreate Writer. Prepare to be amazed at the level of engagement you'll receive from even your quietest students!

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Story Writing Lesson PlansUsing SoCreate WriterSoftware

Introducing SoCreate Writer for Education

SoCreate Writer is a cloud-based screenwriting software that offers a user-friendly platform for teaching story writing and story-writing activities. 

Its key features include visual story creation, automated formatting, and the ability to write anytime, anywhere, on any device without ever using a pencil or a piece of paper.

These features enhance the story-writing process and make it more enjoyable for students, fostering a love for creative writing.

SoCreate also makes it much more challenging for students to plagiarize or find workarounds for putting in the hard work. This accountability to student work is built in, giving teachers peace of mind that their students are learning the important writing lessons. 

SoCreate encourages creative expression over mindless scrolling and helps educators win the war against divided attention. 

Storytelling Lesson Plans Using SoCreate Writer

Dive into the world of storytelling with your students using our comprehensive lesson plans designed specifically for SoCreate Writer. Each of these mini - lessons aims to harness the unique features of SoCreate Writer to enhance your language arts curriculum and engage students in creative writing.

These lesson plans can be expanded upon or simplified based on the grade level you're teaching. 

From visual story creation to understanding screenplay format, these lesson plans offer a dynamic approach to teaching story writing utilizing the latest technology. 

For less advanced students, provide story ideas or have all students work from the same example storyline. Using a personal narrative about something that happened to that student earlier in the day is also an easy way to start. For example, start with "I woke up and ..." and then allow students to fill in the blanks using SoCreate. 

For more advanced students, delve into narrative structures like acts, sequences, and scenes. Consider making time for peer review to allow students to critique each others' stories. 

The time for students to write can vary based on the lesson's complexity. 

Lesson Plan 1: Visual Story Creation

One of the standout features of SoCreate Writer is its visual story creation tool. This tool allows students to use visual aids to represent story structure, characters, and locations, creating an engaging and immersive learning environment.

For instance, a lesson plan could involve students visualizing how their story stacks up by using the Story Structure elements to build an outline that acts almost as a graphic organizer. Then, they can create their characters and settings using the visual aids and write a short story based on these elements.

This hands-on approach to story writing can help students better understand the connection between their characters, settings, and the overall narrative while improving their writing skills. 

  • Objective

    Students learn to use visual aids to create characters and locations for a short story.

  • Materials

    SoCreate Writer software, computers or tablets

  • Procedure
    1. Introduction (10 minutes): Introduce the SoCreate Writer software and its visual story creation feature. Explain how visual aids can enhance story-writing by making students feel more creative.
    2. Demonstration (15 minutes): Show students how to use the visual aids to create characters and locations in SoCreate Writer. Create a sample fictional character and fictional location as a class.
    3. Independent Practice (30 minutes): Have students create their characters and locations using the visual aids in SoCreate Writer. Encourage them to be creative and detailed in their character development based on the images they choose to represent each character. Create two fictional characters and two locations using realistic or Doodle imagery, depending on each student's preference. 
    4. Writing Activity (30 minutes): Ask students to write a short story based on the characters and locations they created, including a beginning, middle, and end. Remind them to incorporate details from their visual aids into their stories, using descriptive language to describe scenes and character traits. 
    5. Sharing and Class Discussion (15 minutes): Have students share their stories with the class. Discuss how the visual aids influenced their story-writing process.

Lesson Plan 2: Understanding Screenplay Format

SoCreate Writer also introduces students to the screenplay format in an easy-to-understand way. Its automatic formatting feature adheres to industry standards, allowing students to focus more on their creativity and storytelling. A lesson plan could involve students writing a short scene using the automated formatting feature, helping them understand how dialogue, action, and description form a sequence of events on screen.  

  • Objective

    Students will be able to write a short scene using the screenplay format in SoCreate Writer.

  • Materials

    SoCreate Writer software, computers, tablets, or mobile devices. 

  • Procedure
    1. Introduction (10 minutes): Introduce the screenplay format and explain its importance in story writing. Discuss the automated formatting feature in SoCreate Writer and how it helps students develop stronger stories before exporting to the more complex screenplay format. 
    2. Demonstration (15 minutes): Show students how to use the automated formatting feature (export) to write a short scene. Write a sample scene as a class, discussing the formatting of dialogue, action, and description by switching back and forth between the exported screenplay and the SoCreate Writer Story Stream. 
    3. Independent Practice (30 minutes): Have students write their own short scenes before exporting their scenes to the traditional screenplay format.  Encourage them to incorporate dialogue, action, and description into their scenes so they can see how it all comes together in the export. 
    4. Sharing and Class Discussion (15 minutes): Have students share their scenes with the class, toggling between the exported traditional format and the visual Story Stream. 

Lesson Plan 3: Writing Anytime, Anywhere

With SoCreate Writer's cloud-based technology, students can write anytime, anywhere, on any device. This fosters digital literacy and allows for more flexibility in lesson planning.

For example, a long-term project could involve students working on their stories in and out of the classroom, allowing them to experience the process of writing a story from start to finish and the time it takes.

Students can use SoCreate Writer on any device with an internet browser. Encourage students to pick up their mobile devices anytime they're outside of the classroom and get an idea in their daily life, and to jot these ideas down in SoCreate Writer to explore when they're ready to sit down and write. 

Hopefully, students will reach for their phones to write rather than mindlessly scroll through social media!

  • Objective

    Students will be able to write a story using SoCreate Writer both in and out of the classroom, drawing from personal experiences and life lessons as inspiration.

  • Materials

    SoCreate Writer software, computers, tablets, or mobile devices. 

  • Procedure
    1. Introduction (10 minutes): Discuss the benefits of cloud-based technology in story writing. Introduce the long-term project of writing a story using SoCreate Writer.
    2. Planning (20 minutes): Have students brainstorm ideas for their stories. Discuss elements such as characters, setting, and plot. If using the previous lesson, have students expand upon the original scene that they wrote by outlining what could come next in their movie. Or, use one of many writing prompts for kids found here. 
    3. Writing (Variable): Have students write their stories over several weeks using SoCreate Writer. They should work on their stories in and out of the classroom as homework. Encourage them to pay attention to their surroundings, other people and how those people interact, and to interesting things that happen to them throughout the day to help them develop a fictional story inspired by real-life people, places, and things.  
    4. Sharing and Class Discussion (30 minutes): Once the stories are complete, have students share them with the class. Discuss the process of writing a story from start to finish and how SoCreate Writer facilitated this process.

Conclusion

Incorporating SoCreate Writer into your language arts curriculum can revolutionize how you teach story writing. Its user-friendly interface, innovative features, and flexibility make it an invaluable tool for educators.

Not only does it make story writing more accessible for students, but it also makes it more enjoyable, fostering a love for creative writing that can last a lifetime.

Ready to take your students' imagination to new heights? Please email us at YourFriends@SoCreate.it to talk about classroom pricing today.

Courtney Meznarich, Director of Community Outreach
Courtney Meznarich Director of Community Outreach
@courtonthecoast

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