A fun way for students to express their understanding of a story, its themes, and main characters, is to create a movie poster. As students read the works of Edgar Allen Poe, they will likely have images in their mind of what the story would look like in real life! Have students create a movie poster, complete with a title, casting, and an image that conveys important information from the story.
If you'd like to tie this into your Poe unit, consider assigning each student a different work to complete a poster for. When students complete their posters, they can be printed out and hung in the classroom.
For additional templates to add to this assignment, check out our movie poster templates!
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a movie poster that evokes the theme, story, and other relevant information about the short story.
(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. |
In order to make a good movie poster, it is crucial to understand how the audience reviews that movie. Hence, the students can select a movie to watch and carefully observe it to write a review as a critic that will cover all the aspects of that movie. Teachers can help with the movie selection or recommend appropriate movies.
Students should first perform some research on what real critics observe while reviewing a movie. They can create a checklist of their own so they can immediately note down anything that they think should be added to the review.
Recommend the students to start by observing the plot and characters in the movie. These two things are the most essential component of any movie and students should look for pacing, development, and originality of the film. They should also check if the plot is interesting enough to capture the attention of the audience.
Take a deeper look at the themes and messages in the film. Think about what the movie is trying to say about society, relations, or life as a whole. Give your personal opinion on how well these themes were conveyed. Back up your opinions with examples from the movie, talking about scenes that stood out in terms of how well they conveyed the themes.
Ask the students to discuss their opinions and reviews with fellow students and get some insights about different opinions. This will help them summarize and make up their mind about the main points.
Raccoons, Gothic architecture, Moonlit Scenography, Creepy Landscapes, Candles, and Symbolic Objects such as the Pendulum or Telltale Heart are all common motifs associated with Poe's work. By incorporating these elements into your poster, you can capture the spirit of his work.
When making a motion picture poster for a Poe account, it's fundamental to consider the story's topics, climate, and significant components. It's vital to imagine the narrative's disposition, and character flow in a general fashion. Students can also utilize colors, typography, and symbolism that reflect the story's essence.
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![The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe - "The Black Cat" Vocabulary](http://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-cells/2780841/cell-col-0-row-0-w400.png "The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe - "The Black Cat" Vocabulary")
