Many short stories have been made into films. For a list of about fifty titles, log online at <custsrv@filmicarchives.com>. Locate both a copy of a short story and its film version. Such combinations can often be found in your local library. After showing the film to students, have them select a five-minute scene and write it as a scene from the short story.

          Be sure to explain to the class that while they are painting the same scene as the author, their images will be different. They will no doubt include details captured by the photographer and director, details never seen by the author when creating the text version. So student scenes will be unique to their own vision. Add that the purpose of this exercise is to learn about scene construction by comparing images captured by students with those in the author's original story.

          After students have completed their descriptions, ask for student volunteers to share their scenes. Next share the written short story with the class and discuss the way the author handled his visual images.

          You might mention that Arthur C. Clarke once used a variation of this technique. At the time the movie 2001: Space Odyssey was released, Clarke had not yet completed the final draft of the novel and used the film version as inspiration for his final written images.