As somebody who works with kids and knows them (at least fairly) well, I have to say these are great recommendations, Scott.

I would simply add this, to put what Scott said into a broader context of educational philosophy: Don't think of it in terms of 'teaching'. We often assume we need to 'teach' children things (typically in a formalised or even didactic manner), when really children learn so much simply through observing, and participating in a given atmosphere and culture. If you want your kids to learn Spanish, simply speak Spanish all the time. If you want your kids to learn moviemaking, watch and make and dissect movies.

Think of children as explorers – surround them something fascinating to explore, provide a minimal amount of structure if age- and developmentally-appropriate, and let 'em have it. Don't shy away from letting them play and have fun, or take 'detours' when they want, and don't assume that all children should be all on the same page, doing the same thing, or even interested.

They're the protagonists of their learning, their own movie – and that's not something adults can or should even try to contain. Instead, just submerse 'em in something that's interesting, let them take charge and start telling their own stories, and then try to keep up.

(I soliloquise because I can. And because 'education' is a huge pet peeve of mine.)

I've worked with high school students on short film scripts, and they already know the format to some extent (from seeing other scripts on the Internet -- man, if I'd only had such resources when I was growing up).

So for shorts, I focus on logistics before they even start writing. What do you have on hand to make your movie? What do you need? What locations are available to you?

When we brainstorm, I let them know about lighting and sound issues, or what kind of things would require effects in post production, so they can concentrate on putting together a great story that will be simple to shoot.

After that's figured out, it's a lot easier to work on the script with them, because they get a LOT more excited when it's possible to shoot their movie on almost no budget.

Some high schools have the resources to go right ahead and make it, too!

I teach children aged 8-13 how to write plays-- similar to screenwriting, but this way they can see the produced product with a lot more ease (anybody want to produce children's screenplays? Let me know!)

We do the idea about naming movies, TV shows, plays etc- and point out that somebody wrote that. I equate it a lot with power. YOU have the power to make actors say things, to make the audience laugh, to keep the audience engaged. Kids love that.

Kids respond well to the idea of "beginning/middle/end" and "inciting incident" when you can read a child's script with them, and you notice that it just goes to the middle, you can ask them "what do you think this is missing?" and go back to the beginning, middle, end ideas.

Outlining is HUGE for kids- they never do it, but it's one way to guarantee success. My teaching partner and I call outlines "story maps" and kids find them tricky, but once they've got a good story map they know where to go. We tell them, "make sure you know where you're story is going to finish, so you'll know where to go with your writing."

Interesting stuff. The plays have been phenomenal! Lots of telekinesis, hilarious old people, time travel- and trying to encourage them from writing Hannah Montana or Twilight fan fiction.

Kristen

Thanks to Daniel, Susan, and Kristen. I bow to your experience and wisdom.

I think one thing you see in all these comments is that children love stories. And to engage them in the process of crafting a story can be a fun and empowering experience.

Thank you for this. I'll be stealing it! ;)

Thank you. I'll be stealing this!
;)

"Because it's much easier to think about writing 45-60 scenes than it is to write 100-120 pages."

This is a good lesson for even us grown up kids. Sometimes I forget that I'm writing a series of small events and get lost in the overall length.

Scott, this summer I'm teaching a week-long screenwriting camp, and I'll certainly be using many of your suggestions to introduce the basics. One question: What popular kids movies do you use during your presentations? I was thinking of using the last Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), but the copy of the script that I found online is a whopping 162 pages!

@Just My Opinion: It depends upon how old your kids are. I think "Up" is a brilliant movie and the script is probably in the 95-page range. If you're looking for live-action, the reboot for "Star Trek" is a terrific read, although there is some language in it that might be an issue. Perhaps you can print out a hard copy, white out some words, then scan into a PDF. I'm curious about the new "Karate Kid" because I've heard it's gotten great reviews. If you're interested in that -- it opens Friday I believe -- I can check around for the script. Email me if you are.

Good luck with your screenwriting camp!