Cut out comic strips from several Sunday newspapers so each panel is separate. Next, white out the punch line in the final panel of each comic strip. Write the punch lines for all the comic strips on the board. Break the class down into small groups and give each group the panels that make up one complete comic strip. Have the students figure out the order of the panels and which punch line belongs to their strip. 

Following this exercise discuss how a writer, or a team of writers:

• Creates a situation 

• Writes dialog

• Moves the reader to a conclusion

• Sets up the punch line

Show the TV Program  - Some Choose a Pen: Writer

 

Activity adapted from an exercise in: Behind The Scenes. Cary, NC, TVOntario, 1993.

The students will write a story that starts out the same, but has alternate endings. They are all given the same story starter, but work from a different perspective. Have the class work in small groups to give them an idea of how professional writing teams produce scripts. Each group should brainstorm ideas and then collaboratively write a story.

Story starter: A woman shows up at the town square every day at exactly the same time. She checks out the surroundings, picks a bench then quietly sits and feeds the squirrels.

Each group should write from a different perspective:
Perspective #1: She’s a secret agent, and it’s a drop.
Perspective #2: The squirrels attack her.
Perspective #3: She has a terminal illness.
Perspective #4: She’s really a man in disguise.
Perspective #5: She’s the Mayor.
Perspective #6: This is where her long lost love stood her up.
Perspective #7: She’s the county pest control officer.

 

If you really want to have some fun, have your class write their story as cliffhangers then have groups work together to write connecting paragraphs that tie the stories together. They should also write a concluding story that ties up all the loose ends.