LESSONS

Narrative

• 7 EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE Students look for clues in a picture to help them to solve the mystery of the sunken ship. They write the captain's log.
• 9 THE GREAT INVESTIGATION After defining a mystery story, students plan and write their own, creating some of the evidence found at the scene of the crime.
• 11 WHO'S DUNNIT? Students interview witnesses to a theft of some stolen jewels, before writing their roleplay as a script.
• 13 MY DETECTIVE After examining the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes, students create a detective and villain of their own.
• 15 WHAT'S THE GAME? Students work as a group to produce a detective-style board game, and write clear instructions on how to play it.
• 17 INVASION After examining the essential ingredients of a science fiction story, students plan their own futuristic tales.
• 19 BACK TO THE FUTURE Students describe their visions of life in the year 3000 and discuss their ideas with a partner.
• 21 MOVIE MANIA Students examine the issues that science fiction films deal with, before selling an idea for a film of their own to Hollywood.
• 23 COMIC STRIPS By adding speech, thought bubbles and dialogue to a comic strip, students bring a teenage magazine to life.
• 25 THE BULLY A cartoon strip on bullying, aimed to help Year 7 students deal with bullies appropriately, is produced.
• 27 TRENDY TRAINERS Students plan a storyboard to market trainers to a teenage audience.
• 29 A SCARY STORY After examining a number of cautionary tales, students write a script version to illustrate the saying 'Don't play with fire'.
• 31 ANIMAL TALES Students write a cautionary tale aimed at children, using an animal as a main character.

Scripts

• 33 SETTING A SOAP After planning the setting of a soap opera, students work out how the set can affect the storyline.
• 35 DON'T I KNOW YOU? Students explore stereotyping in soap operas, before creating some characters of their own.
• 37 LIFE'S LIKE THAT! After a discussion about the storylines in soaps, students fill in a chart to help them plan their own episode.
• 39 CHANGING SCHOOLS Students focus on one aspect of their school that they would like to change and write a proposal to the head teacher.
• 41 SORTED! Students plan and script a radio advertisement, using the bullet points in the picture to help them fill a 30 second time slot.

Transactional Writing

• 43 KEEPING IT BRIEF The skill of summarising is practised through a number of relevant exercises.
• 45 YOU'RE NICKED! Students imagine themselves at the scene of a crime and write the police report.
• 47 OPTIONS The programme schedule for a new TV channel, 'Options', is planned - and two of the selected programmes are advertised in the TV Times.
• 49 SETTLING IN A leaflet is designed, aimed at helping Year 7 students to settle into their new school.
• 51 YOU'RE THE COACH! Students learn to write clear instructions, by creating detailed instructions for a game. They then evaluate their own instructions and those of other students.

Poetry

• 53 LET'S RAP! The characteristics of rap are examined, before students produce one of their own, along with the accompanying video script.
• 55 MEMORIES Students find out what an epitaph is and then write three of their own, using rhyming couplets.
• 57 LAUGHABLE LIMERICKS Students examine some limericks, to work out what pattern they follow - and go on to write four of their own.
• 59 PICTURE POEMS Students experiment with expressing a number of feelings and descriptions through poems set out in different shapes.
• 61 ONE TO ONE Conversation poems are written and performed.

Appendices

• 62 Appendix 1 PLANNING A STORY
• 63 Appendix 2 A REPORT
• 64 Appendix 3 SCRIPT PLAN
• 65 Appendix 4 CHARACTER PROFILE
• 66 Appendix 5 For page 15, WHAT'S THE GAME?
• 67 Appendix 6 A FORMAL LETTER