Motivating Readers with Movie Scripts

I am guilty of many things, one of them being the use of some nontraditional materials to get kids reading in the classroom. It's no secret that I totally dig picture books for all grade levels, and I also feel that appropriate graphic novels can serve young readers.

Another way to motivate reluctant readers is through the use of movie scripts. For many students, scripts are both engaging and nonthreatening, since the overall plot lines are already familiar (and don't be surprised if students know whole scenes by heart as well). The Internet Movie Script Database features dozens of scripts from current movies and television shows, categorized by genre and fully searchable. These can be read right online, with no download or additional software needed. Simply Scripts has a larger assortment of scripts, from movies, television, radio, stage, and more. Several other sources are available through Google, but I've found these two to be most reliable.

These scripts can be used in other ways as well:

• Students attempting to write scripts can use these as models for conventional formatting.


• Teachers working on proper use of quotations can assign a portion of a script to be rewritten as traditional dialogue.


• Oral expression can be examined through multiple readings of sections, emphasizing different words and varying rate and pitch. For example, how many emotions can be expressed by rereadings of the simple question, "Really?"


• Students can discuss the use of flash forwards and flashbacks as vehicles for advancing the plot.


• Speakers of English as a second language can practice reading portions, comparing their diction with that of the on-screen actors. (I suppose you'll have to be careful which scripts you choose for this purpose. Having a classroom full of Nathan Lanes or Robert DeNiros is probably not a desired outcome of instruction).

Some disclaimers:

• Movies rated R appear here as well, so proper guidance on this site is needed.


• I am not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but my guess is that printing off entire scripts from this source or any other is probably not legal and should be avoidedSnippets of the scripts might be okay, but don't take my word on that.


• Although the scripts I viewed seemed true to the movie versions, it's possible that some vary from the final theatrical releases.


• These script sites exist to sell movies, books, DVDS, etc. For that reason, some schools are likely to block them! I recommend you search about a bit and you may be able to find the desired script on an unblocked site.

Have some other uses for online scripts? Email me or leave a comment below.

Top Ten YouTube Videos for the Classroom

Tara Seale has compiled a nice list of the Top Ten YouTube Videos for the Classroom over at her Enhanced English Teacher blog. If you're a middle or high school English teacher, you'll find some great resources and insights there.

For example, those of you who have had the immense pleasure of attending my Teaching that Sticks workshop or my How to Teach a Novel workshop have heard me mention Joseph Campbell's "Hero Myth." The clip below features a discussion of the Hero Myth as it appears in The Matrix. Christopher Vogler, author of The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writersand Using Myth to Power Your Story takes over where Joseph Campbell left off. This snippet of video serves to set up this topic up for classroom discussion.



Thanks for the list, Tara! Visit her site and give her some suggestions for building it to a Top Twenty!

(Missed my How to Teach a Novel workshop? Visit my How to Teach a Novel lens over at Squidoo.com for an abreviated run-down).

How to Create Blog Interactivity with Apture

Just recently I discovered Apture, a nifty add-in that truly makes my humble little blog a better experience for visitors. I love it because it's so sticky: simple to install, unexpected for first time viewers, and concrete in its elaboration of words, phrases and concepts.

So what is it, exactly? Apture provides inconspicuous little icons (like the one you just read past) which (when paused upon with the cursor) will provide additional content (in this case, a brief blurb on the word Apture). Of course, if the reader doesn't want the additional media, he or she can blissfully read past the icons. And regardless of whether or not the reader wishes to hear the Beatles classic Hey, Jude when I reference it, the application resides in the text unobtrusively.

So if you're a blogger, definitely check out this application. It may just give you a reaction as enthusiastic as Meg Ryan's in When Harry Met Sally. And, as always, email me if you'd like to share your own ideas!

Where the Wild Things Are: The Movie

The latest children's classic to be headed to the big screen is Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Am I alone in thinking that some things should simply be left in their pure, original form?

As a teacher I fully understand the argument that some classic works must be adapted in order to resonate with modern audiences. Critics may claim that Shakespeare, for example, must be reinterpreted (or reimagined) in order to be understood and appreciated by today's youth.

That is why I particularly enjoy a performance such as Kenneth Branagh's in Henry V (see below). The words are unchanged but their meaning made clear by the acting, the editing, and the accompanying score.

For those who love the "band of brothers" theme but feel that the original is inaccessible to today's audience? Well, take the theme and run with it. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg chose Band of Brothers as the title for their excellent HBO miniseries on the 101st Airborne; the speech itself appears prominently (and respectfully) in Danny DeVito's Renaissance Man, and certainly a derivation of its themes appear in Mel Gibson's speech to his men before the Battle of Stirling in Braveheart. In none of those films is the message dumbed down.

Okay, that's Shakespeare. So do we really need a movie to make this classic children's book accessible to modern audiences? No. So I'm guessing that it's simply meant as a film interpretation. And perhaps as a teacher I'm supposed to happy, since it might encourage more children to get out and read. But considering that the book, after several decades, is still in the top 200 at Amazon, I don't think our children are having difficulty comprehending it.

My earnest desire is to be proved wrong. I really hope this movie does justice to the book's art, simplicity, and motifs. Please don't blow it.

Are You Teaching with This Much Passion?

Rock and Roll Kindergarten sounds like a follow-up to Jack Black's School of Rockbut it's actually a web site created by kindergarten teacher Kurt Schwengel. This site begs the question, "Are you teaching with this much passion?" And for old veterans like me, "Did you ever?"

Whether you're a kindergarten teacher or a 12th grade AP Physics teacher, check out the man in action and be inspired.

Our Deepest Fear

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for those emotionally saturated inspirational speeches which seem obligatory in any film about teaching or coaching. Or waging war, for that matter (draw your own conclusions here).

Too often, of course, these speeches are heavy on rhetoric and light on reality. "Forty Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes," for example, was an instant hit video, in that it lets us play detective as we try to name all the movie clips featured. At the same time, however, it's truly hilarious, since the collective "words of wisdom," when seen in transcript form, express absolute gibberish.



That's also why you have to love a truly inspirational movie clip, which even divorced from its context will still ring true. "Our Deepest Fear," a widely circulated poem which is actually not a poem at all, is one of these inspirations. The excellent feature film Coach Carterroughly paraphrases the words from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson.



Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

For teachers, these words could not hold a more profound truth. Too often we are quick to bash our fellow teachers who make an effort to really make a difference. We think to ourselves, "What is he trying to prove? What is he trying to do, make us look bad?" And we worry about how we'll pale by comparison when scrutinized by parents or administrators.

Well, those of us who have felt that way about our colleagues have it all wrong. And conversely, those of us who have willingly chosen to be mediocre for fear of standing out or making our peers "look bad by comparison" have it all wrong as well.




Teachers, your playing it small does not serve the world, nor your students, nor your own dignity and integrity. Instead, let your own light shine, and give permission for your peers to do the same.