Teach your students the basics of telling a well-constructed story. One of the myths about writing for the screen is that it isn't as hard as writing a novel. This isn't true. All of the rules of storytelling apply to writing screenplays, and with a limited scope in which to tell your story, screenwriting may be a little more difficult than writing a novel.
Stress the importance of proper grammar. Many beginning writers feel that because they're writing a story for the screen, grammar can be tossed out the window. This is a misconception. While some conventions of screenwriting allow for variations of traditional grammatical principles, the grammatical rules of writing still apply to the screenwriter.
Teach your students how to format a script properly and discuss the various elements used in screenplays to tell a story. These include sluglines, shots, action, dialogue and transitions. While there are numerous screenwriting software programs on the market that format scripts for writers automatically, you should teach your student how to format these elements without software so they have an understanding of a script's formatting conventions.
Discuss various options for screenwriting software. Tell students about Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter, the two industry leaders in screenwriting software, but introduce them to low-cost and free options (see Resources).
Demonstrate to your students how to find movie industry contacts and how to properly pitch their screenplays. Teach them how to write a strong logline and an effective synopsis, as well as how to write an effective query letter.