Shoebox set design

Making a shoebox set is very straightforward. You’ll need a shoebox, as well as a range of art and craft equipment. You can begin to plan simple narrative films using our Shoebox Set Design PDF below. It includes:

• Character cut outs - some ready to use and some blank for users to design.
• Viewfinders - to help plan shots for each scene.
• Camera cut outs – to help determine where to place the camera within a scene.
• Fun icons - such as a director’s chair.

The filmmaking journey can be just as important for literacy outcomes as creating a perfectly crafted finished product. Designing a set in a shoebox develops planning, problem solving and creative skills, and can help bring written texts to life.

Shoebox Set Design is also a fantastic tool for assessment. By taking a paragraph from a book and asking pupils to create the set, teachers are able to assess pupils’ understanding through not only the set design itself, but also group discussion and creative decisions. If a number of groups are tasked with creating a set for a given paragraph, the final designs give the teacher an opportunity to assess a broad range of outcomes.