This 6-session lesson plan guides 8th grade students in creating book trailers using Animoto to summarize the book "Before I Die." Students will read the book, discuss themes and ideas, and use technology to distill key messages into videos. They will self-assess their work and present trailers to peers, addressing how their videos conveyed the book's message. The purpose is for students to learn skills in analyzing information from different media and using technology for writing and collaboration.

1. LESSON PLAN GUIDE
Your name:Leah Giarritano
Date: April 16, 2012
Lesson Title: Before I Die Book Trailer Creation
Grade level: 8th grade
Length of lesson: 6 class sessions
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with the opportunity to read a book
(Before I Die by Jenny Downham) and think about how they can capture ideas, images,
music and words that convey the essence of the book through the use of video creation
technology (Animoto). As part of the process, the students will perform self-assessment
activities along the way to gauge their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and
opportunities for improvement. Students will then present their final product to their peers
who will have an opportunity to view their fellow students’ book trailers and ask any
questions they may have regarding that students thought process when developing their
project.
Learning Outcome(s):
After completing this lesson, students will have the skills to distill the key messages from a
book and translate those messages into images, music, words and ideas. Additionally, they
will learn how to use technology to create their own book trailer videos. Finally, they will
learn how to analyze information presented via video technology and access whether or
not it effectively conveys the appropriate message and why.
Common Core Standard(s) Addressed:
Reading Standard for Literature (Key Ideas and Details) for Grade 8 students:
(#2) Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including its relationship to characters, setting, and plot; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Writing Standards (Production and Distribution of Writing) for Grade 8 students: (#6) Use
technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the
relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and
collaborate with others.
Speaking and Listening Standards (Comprehension and Collaboration) for Grade 8
students:
(#2) Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial,
political) behind its presentation.
Teaching: IL Professional Teaching Standards:

2. Standard 2 – Content Area and Pedagogical Knowledge:
• 2C – understands the cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning
(e.g., critical and creative thinking, problem-structuring and problem-solving,
invention, memorization and recall)
• 2K – engages students in the processes of critical thinking and inquiry and addresses
standards of evidence of the disciplines.
• 2L – demonstrates fluency in technology systems, uses technology to support
instruction and enhance student learning, and designs learning experiences to
develop students skills in the application of technology appropriate to the disciplines
Standard 3 – Planning for Differentiated Instruction:
• 3L – creates approaches to learning that are interdisciplinary and that integrate
multiple content areas
Standard 6 – Reading, Writing, and Oral Communication:
• 6B – understands that the reading process involves the construction of meaning
through the interactions of the reader’s background knowledge and experiences, the
information in the text, and the purpose of the reading situation
Standard 7 – Assessment:
• 7L: involves students in self-assessment activities to help them become aware of
their strengths and needs and encourages them to establish goals for learning
Technology: Technology Standards for students, NETS:
1. Creativity and Innovations
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative
products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
Materials:
Needed by you: Needed by students:
A free Animoto Teacher-level account. Copies of Before I Die.
A computer Playaways of Before I Die
Computers to use at school
Instructional procedures:
Focusing event:
The 8th grade students have just finished reading the book Before I Die by Jenny
Downham for their English class. The library provided Playaways for the auditory
learners as a means of providing differentiated instruction.

3. Day 1: The students come to the library and, to begin, I ask them to fill out an Idea
Generation Worksheet describing some of the thoughts and feelings the book
evoked in them. I ask them to close their eyes and think about the book and then
write down any images about the book that come to mind. I ask them to imagine the
sounds that they might hear in the background if they were characters in Before I
Die. This is followed up by a lively discussion of the book, the setting, plot,
characters and theme.
*This instructional approach which taps into sights, sounds, and words they
associate with the book is meant to address all of the learning styles represented in
this classroom: visual, auditory, verbal, and solitary learners.
Day 2: The students come to the computer lab in the library as an English class and
I introduce them to Animoto using a PowerPoint presentation that provides an
overview of the basic features and options as well as a guide to help them get started
in creating their own Animoto book trailer for Before I Die. I pass out the
worksheets they filled out during Day 1 and ask them to think about what they wrote
and how they want to represent the feelings and emotions they identified using
Animoto. I explain that a book trailer is a tool used to gather interest about a book
for those who haven’t it read it yet. I encourage them to tell the story of Before I Die
from their point of view.
* The PowerPoint presentation offers a video for visual and auditory learners while
the text in the PowerPoint targets verbal learners.
Day 3: The students are given time in the library computer lab to work on
developing their Animoto book trailer and work on their self-assessment.
Day 4: The students are given time in the library computer lab to work on
developing their Animoto book trailer and work on their self-assessment.
Day 5: The students are given time in the library computer lab to finalize their
Animoto book trailer and their self-assessment.
Day 6: The lesson will end today with the viewing of each student’s final book
trailer. The student will provide a short introduction about their process and the
thinking behind the creation of their end product. The student’s presentation will
end with a short Q&A from fellow students regarding what decisions led them to the
creation of their video. Students will fill out an Exit Pass before class ends.
Input from you:
• I provide verbal instruction to kick this project off and lead a book group discussion.

4. • I provide a worksheet for the students to use in order to gather their thoughts about
the book.
• I use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce Animoto and walk them through the
tool so they feel comfortable using it to create their own book trailers.
• I provide technical and creative support throughout the work process.
• I provide a final grade based on their Self-assessment Log and Animoto book trailer.
Guided practice:
The students come to the library and, to begin, I ask them to fill out an Idea
Generation Worksheet describing some of the thoughts and feelings the book
evoked in them. I ask them to close their eyes and think about the book and then
write down any images about the book that come to mind. I ask them to imagine the
sounds that they might hear in the background if they were characters in Before I
Die. This is followed up by a lively discussion of the book, the setting, plot,
characters and theme.
Closure:
The lesson will end with the viewing of each student’s final book trailer. The
student will provide a short introduction about their process and the thinking behind
the creation of their end product. The student’s presentation will end with a short
Q&A from fellow students regarding what decisions led them to the creation of their
video. Students will fill out an Exit Pass before class ends.
Check for understanding
• I will examine each student’s Idea Generation Worksheet after the first class to be
sure they have captured the basic building blocks to launch their project.
• I will evaluate student Self-assessment Logs each day after class for days 3, 4 and 5
and will follow-up with any students that express that they are “Sad” or “Confused”
or have specific questions. I will also be available for questions throughout the
process.
• The students will fill out a post evaluation (Exit Pass) to determine how comfortable
they were using Animoto, what they felt were some of the benefits and challenges to
the project and what they might like to see done differently in the future.
• The final book trailer will allow me to determine the students’ understanding of the
book, the messages and their ability to distill ideas from a book into their own
creation.
Budget
• There are no costs associated with this project.

5. Role of the Classroom Teacher
• At the point in time when this project begins, the classroom teacher will have
already satisfied her formal portion of the project by assigning the book Before I
Die by Jenny Downham (books and Playaways provided by me in the library) and
ensuring that the students have read the book. The teacher is welcome to participate
in the book discussion I lead on Day 1 of the project or she may observe. Her
primary responsibility is carving out the time during her English class to allow her
students to come to the computer lab so I may guide them through this exercise. I
am planning to be the sole instructor, but she is welcome to stick around to help and
support students and will certainly be interested in attending Day 6 when the
students introduce their book trailers to the class.
What’s next?
In future classes we will explore other technology available to create book trailers. We will
discuss the pros and cons of such technology and other applications for such video creation
technology. We will decide, as a class, whether it would be beneficial to do a similar
exercise with our next book using a competing or complementary technology. We will
explore the various technology options that are available besides Animoto. Finally, we will
discuss the process of reading a book, and distilling the message, and then creating a new
product to convey the meaning of the original work in an effort to engage and interest
potential readers.
Idea Generation Worksheet
*Filled out on Day 1 and used as a guide during the creation of the book trailer.
What emotions or feelings did you
experience while reading Before I Die?
What idea or image or situation meant the
most to you as you read the book?

6. What was the overriding theme of Before
I Die?
As you were reading, how did this book
make you feel?
Close your eyes, what images come to mind
when you think about this story?
Do you associate any particular sounds with
this story?
Were you able to make any connections
between the events in Before I Die and your
own life?
Self-assessment log
*To be filled out by each student on days 3, 4 and 5.
My Research Log
Today I worked on:
________________________________________________________________________
___
I learned that:
________________________________________________________________________
_________
________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________
Here are some problems that I had:
_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
Tomorrow I am going to:
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
This is how I feel about myself as an Animoto creator (circle one):
Happy Sad
Confused

8. Exit Pass
*To be filled out on Day 6 after project completion.
Exit Pass for Before I Die Animoto Book Trailer Project
The most interesting part of this process was:
_____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
The most challenging part of this process was:
_____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
The most interesting thing I learned about Animoto was:
_________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
One idea for improving this project is:
______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________