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Unit

Play Adaptation Project

Created by Lindsay Price

5 lessons playwriting

Adaptation is a fabulous classroom project: it requires students to analyze, adapt, modify, plan, synthesize, and devise. However, it takes skill to write a successful adaptation; you can’t just throw a narrator into a script and consider the work done. In this unit, students will go through a step by step pre-writing process in order to prepare them to write their own adaptations. They will learn and practice the elements of adaptation before writing the first draft of their own theatrical adaptations.

Start here
The overview for this unit outlines each of the 5 lessons, includes pacing suggestions, and assessment details.
  1. 1
    Lesson 1
    Pre-Knowledge and the Definition of Adaptation
    In this lesson, students will participate in a couple of hook activities for theatrical adaptation and discuss the definition for adaptation that we will apply throughout the unit.
  2. 2
    Lesson 2
    The Guidelines of Theatrical Adaptation
    In this lesson, students will learn a set of guidelines for theatrical adaptation for students to follow when they write their own. They will then apply those guidelines in a couple of smaller text section exercises.
  3. 3
    Lesson 3
    Choosing a Text
    In this lesson, students will look into the key elements of choosing a text for theatrical adaptation: copyright, the thesis for the adaptation—the “what” and the “why” of the adaptation—and discussing how changes will affect the original source material, meaning, is the original iconic?
  4. 4
    Lesson 4
    Source Material Analysis
    In this lesson, students will get into the nitty gritty of adaptation: the close reading and annotation of the source material. You want your students to know the original text inside and out before they start to adapt. Students will use practice texts to try out the exercise that they will then use on their chosen adaptation source material.
  5. 5
    Lesson 5
    Writing the First Draft
    There are two parts to this lesson. Part 1: Students (or you) choose the text they will work on for a theatrical adaptation and apply all the pre-writing steps they’ve practiced in this unit so far. Part 2: Students will write a first draft of their theatrical adaptations.

Standards Addressed

Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation - Grade 7

Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation - Grade 8

Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work - Grade 6

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