Movie posters are a fun way for students to boil down the most important aspects of a novel. After reading The Poet X, 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. Students may also choose to feature the names of actors and actresses that they imagine would be a good fit to play the roles of the main characters.
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.
For additional templates to add to this assignment, check out our movie poster templates!
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a movie poster for the book The Poet X.
Student Instructions:
Odds are that students love watching movies and have seen some great posters depicting their favorites. Channel this energy by getting students excited about proving their novel knowledge in a new way.
Students will likely need help finding the main ideas, plot elements, and theme of the story that they will need to include on their movie poster. Scaffold as needed and make sure each student has the information they need.
Students will create the poster using the information they found as well as illustrations that help explain the main ideas of the book. These creative elements will help students connect personally with the text.
Rather than just rote memorization, when students are asked to make a creative response to literature, they learn more deeply. In order to respond creatively, they have to know what is going on in the story, and they have to be able to make higher level connections. A creative response will also assist with retention.
When students create a movie poster of a novel, they are asked to re-create the main ideas, plot elements, and major themes in a creative way. When they think outside the box to create a "critic's review," or add an important illustration, they are doing deeper thinking that will help them in the long run.