Writing a Movie Review
Prewriting:
When beginning to write a movie review I usually do a brainstorm activity with the children to find out what movie/s they would like to write about. They may be recent releases in the cinema or a movie they have seen on T.V. or perhaps one which has been shown in class e.g. ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’. These ideas I put on my IWB as this enables me to save a copy of results & refer to it later when needed.
It is useful to let children decide which movie they would like to write about. Whether you, the teacher have seen it or not is irrelevant, as you can then become part of the reading audience.
When the children have decided, we make notes about the movie. We refer to the Resource sheet ‘Movie Review Terms’ & discuss these terms first to ensure that all children understand the language & what is required in writing a movie review.
We also discuss the various genres of movies (drama/action, thriller, sci-fi, adventure etc) & also which style of movie the children enjoy watching. At this point we also discuss the narrative elements of a movie e.g. plot, characters, theme / moral, action, events etc.
We then look at some reviews in newspapers or magazines to see how these were presented taking note of what we have already discussed above. Children make notes of the genres, plot, characters, themes etc. We also note that in good reviews there are no ‘spoilers’ i.e. the reader is not told how the movie ends. When this work has been done I like to introduce the children to ‘The View’, a programme on RTE Player, which allows them to see & hear film critics give various reviews. They also look at film reviews which feature on www.rte.ie/arts/filmreviews & we discuss how the critics presented the reviews. Sometimes children can find this difficult especially when critics are discussing themes & plots, which are intricate & convoluted.
Drafting:
Children then work in groups to write a chosen movie review. They use the ‘Movie Review Template’ to jot down the information needed to write the review. This is essential for ordering their thoughts & ideas & puts a structure on their writing. They each then use this outline to write their own draft.
Responding & Revising:
When they have written their first draft, children read the writing to themselves & to each other / partners. This is the stage where they revise / edit / improve their review. By means of collaboration they check that no essential information is omitted & that not too much information is given so as to spoil the anticipation of watching the movie. The reader ( or in the case of a podcast, the listener) must always be left ‘wanting’ to see the movie to find out what happens next!
They then write the improved version.
Proofreading:
Children read the writing again. They check to see that capitalization, punctuation & grammar are used correctly. You can use ‘Editing checklist’ in the Resources section of this blog.
Publishing:
When the children are happy with their writing they share it with the class & publish their piece either by printing on computer, podcast or by reading to the class. They can also draw illustrations for the blurb or include them as advertisements of the podcast.
