Activity Overview
Movie posters are a fun way for students to boil down the most important aspects of a novel. After reading the novel, students will create a movie poster that showcases the setting, characters and a chosen scene or overarching themes of the story. Students can include the title and author of the book, a catchy tagline, and a "critic's review" informing the audience why they should go to see the movie and briefly describing the compelling story.
For additional templates to add to this assignment, check out our movie poster templates! To scaffold or tailor this activity, teachers can choose to provide students with as little or as much information and text as they want! They may choose to add certain characters, items, and scenes to the template and require students to use only those, or let them build their poster from scratch.
To make this a class assignment, consider giving each student a different chapter or scene to focus on. When students complete their posters, they can be printed out and hung in the classroom. Students should be prepared to present on the choices they made during the creation process.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a movie poster for the book that includes the title, author, a catchy tagline and a critic's review as well as compelling art and design.
Student Instructions:
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify scenes, characters, items, and/or animals that are appropriate to the book and arrange them artfully on the poster. You may choose to showcase a particular scene in the book or an overarching theme.
- Add the title and author of the book as well as a catchy slogan or tagline.
- Add a "critic's review": one to three sentences describing why the audience should go to see this movie and what is compelling about the story.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Includes Title, Author, catchy slogan and a 1-3 sentence critic's review that accurately describes the story and why people should go to see the movie. | Missing one element of text. | Missing two or more elements of text. |
| Illustrations | Illustrations depict a scene or theme of the story with clear visuals including an appropriate scene, character, items, etc. | Illustrations depict a scene or theme from the story but are unclear or incomplete. | Illustrations do not depict a scene or theme from the story. |
How To Analyze and Interpret Different Movie Posters in Class
Select a Few Posters
Begin the lesson by discussing this activity in class and help students understand the objectives and what they can achieve from this activity. Ask the students to pick a few movie posters they want to analyze and interpret for this activity. Ensure that students are picking movie posters of the movies they are not familiar with in order to remove any pre-existing bias.
Interpret the Imagery and Visuals
Ask the students to interpret the imagery, symbols, and different kinds of visuals present on the posters. For instance, a typical poster includes the characters interacting in a way that portrays the central idea of the movie. Some posters also use abstract art or imagery to convey the plot. Students can try to interpret this imagery in order to understand the plot.
Discuss the Use of Language
Help the students analyze the text present on the poster. Ask the students to analyze the significance of the poster and encourage them to think from the perspective of the audience. For instance, teachers can ask questions such as What was the first text that you noticed on the poster, why were you interested In this text or Why did it grab your attention?
Match the interpretation
Students can play an interesting game in class where they first pick a movie poster they are not at all familiar with and analyze all the elements of that poster such as the imagery, the text, and the overall aesthetic of the poster. Once the students are clear on their interpretation and have tried to predict the plot of the movie from the poster, ask them to watch the movie and match their interpretation with the actual plot.
Create a Poster
Have students design their own movie posters for a movie they have conceptualized as a small class project. This enables them to put their knowledge of symbols and design ideas to use.
Frequently Asked Questions About Creating a Movie Poster for a Novel
To what extent does symbolism contribute to the design of the poster?
Symbolism is an important element of design present on the poster. Symbolism can be used to represent important ideas and themes of the narrative in one place and help the audience understand the central idea of the plot just by looking at the symbolism.
Should textual analysis or passages from the novel be featured on the movie poster?
Certainly, the poster can get more depth by using quotes or a succinct text analysis. Students can demonstrate how well they comprehend the language and ideas of the book through it. Critic reviews and important quotes from the characters which portray the central ideas can enhance the understanding of the poster.
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