Seeing Yourself in the Script

The main resource I created for Task 2 is a fully annotated worked example of the basement sleepover scene from I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun, pages 21–25), with two layers of annotation covering technical screenplay conventions and identity/representation analysis. Alongside this, I wrote an original teacher-produced script (Ice Cream and Fake Lashes, referred to in the lesson plan as the "ice-cream scene") and a scaffolded annotation version of that script.

The three resources follow a Gradual Release of Responsibility structure (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). The annotated I Saw the TV Glow excerpt is the "I do": in Lesson 2, I project it and model my thinking aloud, showing students how to move between identifying techniques and explaining what those choices do for identity and representation. Ice Cream and Fake Lashes is the "we do": in Lesson 3, students annotate this shorter, more relatable scene in pairs, using the same techniques they have just seen modelled. The scaffolded version runs alongside it for students who need more support, while others work from the clean copy. By Lesson 4, all three resources become reference tools as students draft their own original 1–2 page scene and write their 150-word reflection, supporting the move from Exploring and Responding into Developing Practices and Creating.

A key challenge in Media Arts is that students can often name screenplay techniques but struggle to explain what those techniques actually do, particularly when meaning is carried through subtext and small visual choices rather than dialogue. The annotated professional excerpt addresses this by making the interpretive process explicit. The original teacher-produced script gives students a more approachable text to practise on, and the scaffolded version reduces cognitive load through visual prompts, glossary support, and guiding questions, so students with additional learning needs can engage with the same content and the same learning goal as everyone else (Sweller, 1988). The focus on craft analysis rather than personal disclosure also keeps the tasks accessible for all students.

The resources directly support the success criteria in the lesson plan and are aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Media Arts v9.0 (Years 9–10), particularly AC9AMA10E01, AC9AMA10E02, AC9AMA10D01, AC9AMA10D02, AC9AMA10C01, and AC9AMA10P01. The scaffolding draws on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, and pair annotation activities reflect a social constructivist approach to building understanding through dialogue.

Practically, the resources are designed to be flexible, easy to print or use digitally, suitable for pairs or individuals, and usable across both versions in the same lesson without students feeling they have been given different work. They support formative assessment through student annotations in Lessons 2 and 3, and summative assessment through the final script and reflection in Lesson 4. The overall aim is for students to leave Lesson 4 making intentional decisions about how they represent identity and having a better understanding of the importance of truthful and dignified representation in media.