There are several ways the book trailer video project can be used. This time I told students at the beginning of the year that they need to be reading books on their own as they would have a book project to complete at the end of the semester. The book for the project can’t have been adapted into a movie or TV series. My students then created their book trailer project and turned it in by December 1.

You could easily adapt this project in different ways: you could have everyone choose a book in a specific genre like mystery. You could split students into groups, assigning each group a book to read. They could do various things with the book throughout the unit and end it with the book trailer video project to share their book with the class. You could have the class use books from a specific time period or country. Students can do this project individually or in groups. It is perfect for anyone trying to add project based learning to their classroom or looking for a project their Gifted and Talented students may enjoy. The possibilities are endless!

This includes 14 pages plus two pages of instructions and advice for the teacher.

– Instructions for students
– Resource Page for students
– Reflection Writing Assignment
– Project Proposal Form
– Story Board planning pages
– Rubric that includes the video and the writing assignment
– Instructions for using this with the Google Classroom
– Instructions for using Adobe Spark
– Instructions for how to share or turn in the Adobe Spark video. (Different sets of instructions for different scenarios that you can pick and choose from.)

 

The instruction sheet asks students to analyze the book and find a way to put that analysis into their video trailer. The video must make it clear who the protagonist and antagonist are, what the conflict is, the books theme, symbols, etc. The video needs to attempt to persuade their peers to read the book. The visuals and audio choices used in the trailer should reflect the books theme and mood. This is a challenging project that requires students to think deeply about what they read. It uses media literacy skills as they digitally compose this analysis into a multimedia presentation. Presenting it to their peers uses speaking and listening skills. There is a resource page included that gives students a list of links where they can find free fair use images, video clips, sound effects, etc. This is also an opportunity to teach students about fair use and copyright.

 

 

I have included a book project proposal forms for teachers who want students to work in groups and choose their own book. It allows students to tell you who they want to work with and provide you with three possible book titles for their project. I suggest using this to get an idea of what their peer preferences are and then you can assign groups from there. You can arrange groups to try to keep their choice of peers in mind while ensuring that the groups are made up of people who can work together and not just distract each other. The book option takes student choice into consideration and it allows you to ensure that no two groups are doing the same book. I like to make sure that there are no duplicate book titles in the class so the presentations are all different.

 

 

 

There is a story board graphic organizer that allows students to plan out their video. Students will draw what will be in that frame then describe, list the camera angles, and list any sound effects, voice overs, or music that will play in that frame. I suggest approving the story board before students move on to starting the video. That way you can make sure that it meets the requirements of the assignment and that is appropriate for the school and for that their age/grade.

 

 

 

The reflection questions have students write critically about their video and the book. It asks them to reflect on the visual and audio choices they made in their video. It also asks them to explain the plot point of the book. Students should answer each question in a min. of 3 thoughtful and complete sentences. You can either hand out this paper copy and have students hand write the answers or you can have them type their answers and turn it into your Google Classroom. I have included instructions for turning the video and writing reflection into the Google Classroom for teachers who want to use that option.

 

 

 

While there are many different programs you could use to make the video, I included a set of instructions for using Adobe Spark. Adobe Spark is free and student friendly. It can be used on any computer. There is also an app you could put onto a tablet or other device. If your school using Google for student email accounts just have students sign in with Google using that school email account. There are a few different ways students can turn in Adobe Spark videos to you. I included instruction sheets for each of these various methods so you have some choices. You don’t have to have students use Adobe Spark but if you do these handouts are a great resource.

 

In total this product has 16 pages plus 2 pages for teachers explaining different ways to use this project in your classroom. You can purchase it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Book-Trailer-Project-and-Writing-Reflection-3542808

You may also like my Banned Book Video Project
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Book-Trailer-Project-and-Writing-Reflection-3542808#