Students create a movie poster based on a famous story from the Bible.
Reading stories from the Bible is not always a fun activity. Most students are up-to-date with the latest movies and gossip in Hollywood but have limited knowledge of the Bible. Engage students with reading the Bible by incorporating the movie industry.
Objective: to create a movie poster for a famous story in the Bible.
Materials: Magazines about the stars, bible, and craft materials for the posters.
Teacher chooses a famous bible story such as Jesus Heals Many People (Mark 1.29-35) The teacher may also include Jesus Heals a Man (Mark 1.40-45), and Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Work (Mark 2.1-12). The teacher can include all the stories based on one theme for students to get a better understanding of what Jesus was able to do for the ill.
1st Activity: Teacher will place movie posters on the board. Teacher will ask students which movie they would like to see or have seen and why? Do students watch movies based on actors, directors, movie plot, and cinematography or for any other reasons? Teacher will write their responses on the black board.
2nd Activity: Teacher and students will critique the movie posters and outline what qualities are required to make a visually appeasing movie poster. As well, teacher will highlight the importance of actors to attract an audience and the title of the movie.
3rd Activity: Teacher will inform the students they will create a movie poster as a class based on a famous story about Jesus Healing the Sick. Students can read the bible story as a group or individually. After the story is read, the teacher will give students a few minutes to talk to a partner or in a small group about the best actors for the movie and identify the main characters. After a few minutes, bring the class back together to identify the main characters and their suggestion for the actors to portray them. As well, students must give a reason for why they choose a specific actor. After a short discussion, the class will vote on the characters and the actors for the movie.
4th Activity: Teacher will have students work in small groups to suggest the director, title of the movie, and the photos for the movie poster. Students will be given a piece of blank chart paper and markers to create their own movie poster. Students will be given certain criteria that must be on the poster, but they can design the poster anyway they want. Students will present their poster to the class.
5th Activity: Students in small groups will create a movie poster for a famous bible story of their choice. All stories should include the chapter and verse of the story to allow other students to read the passage, if the movie poster catches their attention.
6th Activity: Students will display their movie posters in the school to get students talking about the bible.
Movie Poster Tips:
- Poster should have limited white space.
- Markers and Paint are the best material for this activity.
- Cut out the photo of a famous actor and create a costume for the character for the movie poster.
- Use similar font, just change the size.
- Limit the colors for the poster.
- Take a step back from the poster and make one item on the poster pop.
