Qualified teachers have started sharing their lesson plans on 3rd party sites. Here are some links to a selection of them. Keep checking back to see what's new! 

Media Studies

Storyboarding with Moviestorm - Lesson 1

This lesson will provide an introduction to using Moviestorm for storyboarding

• Provide an introduction to the pre-production process
• Help learners to understand the benefits of pre-visualization
• Give learners the opportunity to use a pre-visualization technique

Download Lesson Plan

See also our guide to storyboarding with Moviestorm Using Moviestorm to create storyboards

Storyboarding with Moviestorm - Lesson 2

This lesson is about producing promotional media.

• Develop an idea for promoting a service
• Use a pre-visualization technique to express this idea
• Present the idea

Download Lesson Plan

See also our guide to storyboarding with Moviestorm Using Moviestorm to create storyboards

Narrative and Script

This lesson provides an introduction to narrative theory and using scripts. Students create an animated movie from a script using Moviestorm

• Understand the difference between narrative story and plot
• Gain an introduction to narrative theory
• Learn how to use a script

Download Lesson Plan

Camerawork - Camera Shots

This lesson provides will provide an introduction to camera shots and movements.

• Identify common types of camera shot
• Describe common camera moves
• Create a short animated movie that uses close ups/longs shots/a mixture of shots

Download Lesson Plan

See also our guide to basic camerawork: Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 1: Basic Camerawork

Camerawork - Static v Moving Cameras

This lesson will provide an introduction to using static and moving cameras.

• Identify and use common types of camera movement
• Identify and use a range of camera angles
• Explain the purpose of using static or moving cameras
• Create a movie using static, moving and a mixture of static and moving cameras

Download Lesson Plan

See also our guide to basic camerawork: Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 1: Basic Camerawork

These lesson plans supports the following qualifications:

• ABC Certificate in Preparing to Work in Creative Media
• AQA GCSE Media
• City & Guilds Diploma in Media Techniques
• BTEC Creative Media Production
• Edexcel BTEC Certificate in Creative & Digital Media

If preferred, this series of Lesson Plans can be downloaded from a number of external teaching resource sites:

• Slideboom
• Slideshare
• Scribd
• TES
• Media Film
• British Council - BBC - Teaching English
• Guardian Professional - Teachers Network (search for 'Moviestorm')
• Promethean Planet
• HP Teacher Experience Exchange
• Smart Exchange

Cross Curriculum

Languages

Learning about French foods

Grades 6/7

Students will understand that…

• Study of other languages and cultures increases awareness of the diversity both within and beyond one’s own culture.
• Communication occurs in various ways unique to each individual culture.
• Language and culture are interrelated.
• Cultures influence how people behave and respond to others.
• Cognates, borrowed words and prior experiences facilitate understanding and communication.

Students will be able to….

• Walk into a restaurant or café and get the attention of someone and place an order for food and a beverage using studied food and beverage vocabulary.

Download Lesson Plan

Civics / Citizenship

Learning about people and politics

Grade 8

Students will understand that…

• Democratic governments carry out the will of the people.
• Political parties and interest groups seek to influence public policy.
• Media shapes and influences public opinion.
• Voter turnout fluctuates and reflects the perceived importance of the election and issues.
• How current events influence public opinion.

Students will be able to….

• Describe the process involved in running for public office.
• Analyze the role of the media in the political process.
• Assess factors that influence voter registration.
• Explain the meaning of various terms used to describe political opinions. (Liberal, Reactionary, Conservative, Moderate, Radical)

Download Lesson Plan

In order to help you integrate Moviestorm into your teaching, we have compiled a selection of lesson outlines and ideas suitable for a range of different courses, ages, and curricula.

English and Drama | History, Geography and Current Affairs | Arts and Music | Foreign Languages | Computers| Science and Mathematics | Religion | Health Education | Physical Education | Career Development and Business Studies | Miscellaneous

The  symbol indicates that there are downloadable resources, typically a Moviestorm file that students can use as part of their work.

These suggestions have been developed in association with teachers around the world, educational organisations, and members of the Moviestorm Education Academy.

More lesson ideas are being provided by teachers all the time and added to the Lesson Outline resources listed below *.

Please check back regularly to see what's new.

Note that names for subjects or courses vary in educational systems throughout the world, as do the ages at which they are taught and what is considered appropriate.

Topic	Age	Summary
English, Drama & Media Studies
Adjectives	4+	Create simple videos that demonstrate adjectives.
21st Century Communication	11+	Students create a short 30-45sec clip advertising either a product or a favorite TV show to understand the techniques used by advertisers to manipulate their audience.
The Play's The Thing	14+	Take a scene from a set play and present it in movie form.
Poem	14+	Create a film interpretation of a poem.
Book Report	12+	Review a book. Explain what it's about, and comment critically on it. If it's a classic book, explain why it's significant in literature.
Meet the Character	14+	Do a chat show style interview with a character from a book or play. Get the character to talk about their background, their motivations, and explain their actions
Meet the Author	14+	Create a short film about a famous author. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they and their books are significant.
Buy This Book!	14+	Create a commercial for a book, and try to persuade people to buy it.
Myth	8+	Create a short film based on a popular myth or legend, or write your own myth.
Film Adaptation	14+	Write a short story, or choose a set text. Then adapt it to a film.
Presenting Mythology	13+	* Students recontextualize a hero myth in a contemporary context. They then must find a creative way to present their transformed myth.
Book Trailer	13+	* Students to show knowledge of novel studied through creation of a book trailer.
Theatre Set Design	13+	* Students design sets that suit the spatial needs of the production they are designing for.
Understanding Shakespeare	11+	* Introduce a scene from a well-known Shakespeare play, introduce the basics of using Moviestorm and show examples of the work.
Modernizing Literature	11+	* Take a scene from a chapter of a novel and tell the story in modern day language and place it in a modern day setting.
Descendants In Photography	18+	* Students to research their heritage and visualize their descendants in Moviestorm
Experimental Art Film	15+	* Create an environmental design scape montage highlighting design elements / principles in the environment and a sense of place.
Applying Genres	13+	* Apply a different genre to a story to understand genres.
Exploring Animation Representation	15+	* To explore representations we can construct through animation and then consider how these affect audience response.
History, Geography, Current Affairs
Public Service Announcement	14+	Create a short public service announcement about a topic of your choice. The aim is to persuade people to act in a specific way.
The Life Of...	14+	Create a biographical film about a historical person. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they are historically significant.
The News	14+	Present a news show focusing on current events.
Historical documentary	14+	Make a short film about a historical event.
Speech	14+	Take a famous speech, and film it.
History Debate	14+	Create a TV-style discussion on a historical topic or event, highlighting different views about it.
What Really Happened	12+	Create a short film re-enacting a historical event.
Travel Channel	12+	Create a short film about a particular region or place.
Yesterday's News	14+	Create a news bulletin focusing on a major event in history.
The History Game	14+	Create a TV quiz show based on a specific theme, period, or topic.
Arts and Music
Storytelling for special needs	7-9	* Using Moviestorm for special needs pupils to "compose" and tell their stories in order to share them with other pupils.
Art Report	14+	Create a video report on a particular artistic style, movement, or period, and explain why they are historically significant.
Music Video	12+	Pick a piece of music and make a video for it.
The Blues	10+	Create and add your own blues music to this topical movie.
Soundscapes	12+	Create ambient music to accompany a soundscape depicting the seasons.
The Great Artists	14+	Create a biographical film about a famous artist or musician. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they are historically significant.
Art Gallery	14+	Create a portfolio of artwork and present it in an interesting environment. This could be the student’s own work, the work of an artist being studied, or a theme.
Art Sale	14+	Make a commercial persuading the viewer to buy a piece of art. It should talk informatively about the piece, its history, the techniques involved and the artist. It should also explain the valuation and make the viewer want to buy it.
Languages
The News From Abroad	14+	Present the news in a foreign language.
Business Abroad	16+	Film a business meeting in a foreign language. This could be a presentation, negotiation or job interview.
Just Chatting	14+
Foreign Debate	14+	Create a TV-style discussion in a foreign language, highlighting different views about a particular topic.
Comprehension	8+	Create short videos in a foreign language, and ask the students what was being said.
From Our Correspondent	14+	Create a travel report from a foreign country, in the language of that country.
Foreign Drama	14+	Create a short film based on a set play.
Foreign Poem	14+	Create a short film based on a set poem.
Getting Around	14+	Create a short film in a foreign language, depicting a typical everyday situation that a tourist might encounter.
Adjectives	4+	Create simple videos that demonstrate adjectives.
Computers
Understanding 'if' Statements	15+	* Create a short film demonstrating the understanding of the basics of programming in C# such as conditional structure.
Science and Mathematics
Tutorial Videos	13+	* Create a tutorial video to present a topic.
Scientific Method	14+	Create a short film explaining scientific method.
Scientific visualisation	12+	Create a video explaining a scientific concept.
The Green Debate	14+	Do an on-screen debate about green issues such as recycling, alternative fuels, global warming, or biodiversity.
The Great Scientists	14+	Create a biographical film about a famous scientist. Explain the key elements of his or her work, and show why they are significant.
Weather forecast	16+	Do a weather forecast, using weather data drawn from public records.
Numbers	6+	Create simple videos that demonstrate numbers and simple mathematical operations.
Statistics	14+	Create a short film demonstrating the understanding of some element of basic statistics and how they apply to the real world.
Great Mathematicians	12+	Create a short film about a famous mathematician. Tell the story of their life, and explain why their work is important.
Career advice	16+	Create a promotional or informational video about working in a particular field of science.
Religion
Bible Story	12+	Present a Bible story or parable (or equivalent from another religion) as a video.
Health Education and Citizenship
Physical Health	12+	Create a public information program about the benefits of a good diet, or any other similar positive health practice such as smoking cessation, drug avoidance, or regular exercise.
Personal Awareness	8+	Create a short film on a topic such as bullying or stranger danger.
Sexual Education	16+	Create a public information program about a topic such as AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity issues, or family planning.
Digital Citizenship	13+	* Students create scenarios of digital citizenship that can be shared and discussed by other students, to decide what is a good digital citizen today
Physical Education
Visualising Sports Movement	13+	Create a movie which shows the interaction of a team members during a tactical situation.
The Rules	14+	Explain the rules of a sport. You may choose to focus on a specific rule.
Sporting Personalities	14+	Create a biographical film about a famous sporting personality. Tell the story of their life, and their role in their sport.
Sporting Injuries	13+	* Create a movie explaining the process of TOTAPS - the method used for assessing soft tissue injury.
Career Development and Business Studies
Business Presentation	16+	Create a film about a company or business, explaining what it does.
Commercial	14+	Make a TV commercial for a real or fictional product. Limit yourself to 30 seconds.
Career advice	16+	Create a promotional or informational video about working in a particular job.
Interview Techniques	16+	Create a short film demonstrating interview techniques.
Miscellaneous
School Announcements	10+	Make a video informing students of events taking place at the school.
Introduction to Moviestorm	12+	How to use Moviestorm

In order to get the most out of Moviestorm, we are building a foundation of helpful e-guides and e-books.  Keep coming back to this page to see what else has been released.

Making Better Movies with Moviestorm - Volume 1: Basic Camerawork

Click to download a workbook of exercises students can use to practice their filmmaking techniques. Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 1: Basic Camerawork

This book, designed for self-guided study, enables students to develop their skills through filming scenes in several different ways. Exercises cover common situations such as:

• Walks
• Conversations
• Phone calls

Students are also asked to experiment with filming techniques including:

• Static vs moving cameras
• Close-ups
• Focus
• Reveals

“Spot on. The exercises are set up in a very logical, progressive way.”
James Martin, University of North Texas

“Excellent - great for schools and colleges alike. The tone of the writing is perfect - neither patronising or too authoritative.”
Jezz Wright, Blockhouse TV

Making Better Movies with Moviestorm - Volume 2: Staging

Click to download a second workbook of exercises students can use to practice their filmmaking techniques. Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 2: Staging

Exercises cover common situations such as:

• Doorways
• Action scenes
• Dramatic conversations

Students are also asked to experiment with filming techniques including:

• Different size sets
• Using extras
• Showing the passage of time
• Deep staging

“If someone goes through the book and does the exercises, they're going to come out a better filmmaker, no question”
Hugh Hancock, Guerilla Showrunner

“A really good primer for any film student, especially all crammed into 40 pages.”
Andrew Segal, Carshalton College

Making Better Movies with Moviestorm - Volume 3: Sound and Lighting

Click to download a third workbook of exercises students can use to practice their filmmaking techniques. Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 3: Sound and light

Exercises cover techniques such as:

• Ambient noise
• Working with music
• Shadows and silhouettes
• Night-time filming

“A very fine job on sound and lighting.”
Ricky Grove, Machinimator, sound designer and actor

Making Better Movies with Moviestorm - Volume 4: Editing

Click to download a third workbook of exercises students can use to practice their filmmaking techniques. Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 4: Editing

Exercises cover techniques such as:

• Split cuts
• Establishing shots
• Cutting on action
• Montage

“ Anybody making not just machinima, but any sort of live action or animated films, will benefit from this informative series of books.”
Kate Lee, Chat Noir Studios

The Moviestorm guide to previsualisation

Click to download an short book outlining what previsualisation is, who uses it, the benefits and how to use it with the film production. The Moviestorm guide to previsualisation

Previsualisation is a powerful pre-production technique that has the
potential to reduce production and post-production costs and also help you
make better movies. Some proponents of previsualisation claim that this
technique can reduce shooting time by up to 50% and cut post-production
time by up to 25%.

Using Moviestorm to create storyboards

Click to download an short e-guide covering how to use animatics in Moviestorm to create storyboards. Using Moviestorm to create storyboards

Explains the basic process for creating a storyboard from Moviestorm and the key concepts of animatics and storyboards
Identifies two different approaches to animatics and how to choose which is right for you, then explains how to generate your animatic with Moviestorm, and convert it into a storyboard

Collaborative movie-making with Moviestorm - A guide for schools

Click to download an essential guide on how to organise students within structured teams. Collaborative movie-making with Moviestorm - A guide for schools

This well-structured guide is essential reading for collaborative movie-making, explaining how to approach and be successful at such projects:

• Making your first movie

Explains the roles in a movie crew and helps you decide who's going to do what.

• How Moviestorm makes it easier

Understand how to get the best out of Moviestorm.

• Before you start filming

Save you a lot of time further along the process.

• Creating your film with Moviestorm

Key information for the key movie-making roles

Using Animation in Schools - A practical handbook for teachers 

Click to download the full list of our lesson outlines as a pdf document. Using Animation in Schools - A practical handbook for teachers

A selection of lesson ideas suitable for a range of different courses, ages, and curricula. These suggestions have been developed in association with teachers around the world, educational organisations, and members of the Moviestorm Education Academy.