Choose at least two video clips or short films. For beginners writing movie reviews, it helps to have especially provocative clips or short films because students are typically not trained to dig deep into cinematic material. Clips or short films with readily apparent themes would be easiest for students to grasp.
Outline the lesson plan. The traditional model opens with an attention-getter, an explanation of new material or terms, and then follows with "I do," "we do," and "you do" sections.
Plan the "attention-getter" section. For this specific lesson plan, the attention-getter would be the first film clip or short film shown to the students.
Explain any new material. This is generally done through a lecture format, where the teacher will introduce the idea of the movie review, as well as what makes up the movie review. In this case, a movie review is not only a judge of taste, but will ask the students to understand why certain characters do what they do and what that means. The material could include themes, actor performances, narrative techniques and mise-en-scenes.
Prepare a sample movie review for the "I do" section. Once you have explained the material, show an example of how that material would be synthesized into a movie review. The sample movie review can be revealed after the "we do" section, just to see how closely the students can reproduce your review as a class.
Allow time for the "we do" section. During the lesson, follow the explanation with an attempt for the class as a whole to write a sample movie review. Allow students to put together the pieces and dissect the clip. It is best to have a general direction to go into to steer debate toward the end goal.
Write the movie review assignment parameters or rubric for the "you do" section. A second film clip or short film should be shown to the class, and the assignment should be to write a movie review as homework, using all the information gained from the lesson. A prepared rubric will guide students toward completing the assignment properly.