Lauren Lyon

Elementary Lesson Plan

Fall 2021
Movie Posters (5th + 6th grade)

Medium: Oil pastel, sharpie, crayon.

Artist/Movement of Inspiration: Cinema poster design.

Project Concept/Overview: Students will learn about movie posters and their
designs via powerpoint and provided examples. The conversation about these posters
will provide the opportunity to introduce and discuss art concepts like composition,
visual hierarchy, and the rule of thirds, as well as emphasizing the role of line, shape,
space, and color as reinforcers of those concepts. Different types of compositions will be
discussed, including radial, central, diagonal, vertical, and horizontal.
After discussing the design tropes of movie posters, the students will be asked to think
of either an event in their lives, something they like, or even something completely from
their imagination to create a “movie” poster for using large paper (12x16”), sharpie, and
oil pastels. Essentially, the question of this project is “If this event were a movie, what
would its poster look like?” The students will be allowed to use their chromebooks to
look up examples of other movie posters to get a feel for how they operate across
different genres. This lesson is a fun way to teach students how to use art elements (line,
shape, space, color, composition, contrast, emphasis, proportion, pattern, movement,
etc.) as storytelling tools, as well as challenge them to draw things they may typically
avoid, such as faces, limbs, and hands.
Once a majority of students in the class are ready to begin using the pastels, a
demonstration will be given on three ways to blend them: oil-on-oil (using the pastels
themselves to blend), smudging with fingers, and using baby oil and q-tips.

Goals/“I Can” Statements:

-5th and 6th grade:
● I can draw from a reference.
● I can use a mannequin to sketch a human form.
● I can use oil pastels and use multiple techniques to blend them.
● I can make choices about color and composition to tell a story through image.
● I can describe a composition.

Grading: N/A

Procedure:
1. Students will observe examples of movie posters from physical examples
provided by myself as well as digital examples provided in the PowerPoint or
online and begin brainstorming what event they will be creating their project
around.
Lauren Lyon
Elementary Lesson Plan
Fall 2021
2. After selecting an event, students will receive a 9x12” drawing paper to sketch a
rough draft. This includes basic composition, layout, and color scheme.
3. After completing the rough draft, students will receive a 12x16” paper for their
final poster. They will use their rough draft as a guide for their larger paper.
4. The final draft will be completed first in pencil, then sharpie over the outlines,
and then on to oil pastels. Students are expected to blend their pastels using at
least one of the methods described during the lesson (oil-on-oil, smudging, or
baby oil).
5. After completion of the posters, students will have a “gallery walk,” where they
display their poster on their desk with a comment sheet next to it. The students
will make their way around the room observing their classmates’ work and
leaving kind/constructive comments on comment sheets, i.e., “I like your color
choices.” “I think your subject should be larger.” “You blended very well.” etc..

Daily Procedure: Estimated time to complete - 2 weeks (10 days).

Day 1: The powerpoint on posters is presented, opening up conversation on different

types of compositions and allowing the students to identify parts of an image and how
they contribute to that image’s composition. Different movie poster examples are used
to highlight common design themes and compositions seen in cinema artwork to help
illustrate how the art elements we discuss are applied by professional artists and
designers. After the presentation and questions, the students will begin brainstorming
ideas for their posters and sketching on a smaller paper.

Day 2: Students will continue their sketches until they have a fleshed-out idea for their
posters. The teacher will ensure that the posters are not simply remakes of actual movies
or shows that already exist before providing the large 12x16” paper for them to begin
working on. The students will take their sketch and transfer it over to their larger paper
using a pencil. Once that is complete, they will use a sharpie to go over their sketched
lines unless otherwise desired in some spots.

Day 3: Students will continue sketching and using sharpie on their posters. If enough
students finish that step, a demo on using oil pastels and different methods of blending
will be given. Some techniques to blend such as using fingers, tissues, qtips, and baby oil
will be covered. Those who are ready to begin coloring will do so.

Day 4-9: Continued work on drawing, inking, coloring, and blending with individual
conversations with the instructor throughout the class for questions, assistance, and/or
inspiration.
Lauren Lyon
Elementary Lesson Plan
Fall 2021
Day 10: Continued work on drawing, inking, coloring, and blending. As students finish,
completed work will be compiled for a short gallery walk session at the end of the
project to discuss what was learned, and how the students used the art elements and
composition in their work.

Provided example works: