Visual

Arts Lesson Plan

Title: Judge A Book By Its Cover: Illustrate/Create A New Cover For Your Favourite Book, Movie or Band
Subject/Course: AVI20 Time: 75 mins
Strand: Visual Arts Grades: 10 Open
Lesson Description
During this lesson, students will explore the attributes and conventions of graphic design on book, film and cd
covers.
Classic and contemporary examples of graphic design, (poster/cover art) will be compared, critiqued and
discussed.
They will then be asked to compare and contrast the efficiency of a covers design in relation to the message it
is trying to convey, comparisons will be made between two Great Gatsby Covers and Three Carrie covers.
Students will be asked to identify reoccurring artistic conventions and told to incorporate some of them in a re-
interpretation of a cover of their choice.
The lesson will close with students brainstorming and sketching an early draft of a re-interpretation of the
cover of a book, movie or band they have chosen to work on.

Stage 1: Desired Results
Fundamental Concepts/Skills
Understand the basic elements of a book cover/ album/ film poster (Title, author/creator, publication house/
production company)
Be able to point out the artistic conventions used in most book covers, music covers or film posters

Big Ideas/Essential Question
- Why do certain covers catch our attention and others do not?
- How do covers visually communicate information?
- How does the use of a specific artistic medium alter the message/mood of a cover.
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation
- Creating and Presenting
- A1. The Creative Process (Apply the creative process to create a variety of art works, individually and/or
collaboratively).
- A2. The Elements And Principles of Design (Apply elements and principles of design to create art works for the
purpose of self-expression and to communicate ideas, information, and/or messages).
- Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing
- B1. The Critical Analysis Process (Examine, interpret, evaluate and reflect on various book covers).
- Foundations
- C2. Conventions and Techniques (Demonstrate an understanding of conventions and techniques used in the
creation of visual art works, specifically Graphic Design/commercial art).
Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation
A.1 The Creative Process
A1.1 Use a variety of strategies, individually and/or collaboratively, to generate ideas and to develop plans for
the creation of art works
A1.2 Use experimentation, reflection, and revision when producing a variety of art works in each of the
following areas: drawing sculpture, painting, printmaking, and mixed media.
A.2 The Elements and Principles of Design
A2.1 Use various elements and principles of design to create art works that express personal feelings and/or
communicate emotions to an audience.
A2.2 Apply elements and principles of design as well as art-making conventions to create art works that
communicate ideas, information, or messages, and/or that convey a point of view on an issue.
A.3 Production and Presentation
A3.1 Explore and experiment with a variety of materials/media, including alternative media, and or traditional


and/or emerging technologies, tools, and techniques, and apply them to create art works. (Scanners, use of
appropriate techniques when working with an artistic medium)
B.1 The Critical Analysis Process
B1.1 Identify and describe their initial reactions to a variety of art works, and explain the reasons for their
reactions (e.g. the aspects of the work and their first impressions of its mood, subject, intent)
C.1 Conventions and Techniques
C2.1 Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of techniques that artists use to achieve specific effects.
(Gradients on fonts, prism effects etc)
Lesson Goals
At the end of the lesson, students should:
- Identify the core conventions of cover art/graphic design
- Understand how cover art subconsciously communicates specific information to the public
- Understand human beings unconsciously associate colours with emotions
- Understand/illustrate how less can be more in graphic design, (focus, space, font, colour)
Key concepts and/or skills to be learned/applied:
Background Knowledge:
Elements of Graphic Design/ Commercial Design
To properly work, this lesson plan should be used
towards the end of a semester after students have
The associations we make with the Medium and the
used or experimented with a variety of mediums.
Message

All students should bring to the class a pre-existing
knowledge of cover art with special emphasis on its
use/presence in books, films and music.
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Student Groupings
Instructional Strategies

Pairs (Graphic design-Discuss New movies/
Albums/ Books that have come out the
Visual Presentation demonstrating
month the class is taking place)
Classic/Contemporary cover designs and the variety
of mediums used to create them. Examples include:
Groups
The Great Gatsby (acrylic paint), Catcher in the Rye
Class Discussion
(charcoal pencil), Dark Side of the Moon (colouring
pencil), Beatles White Album (Minimalism), Beatles
Sgt. Pepper Lonely Heart Band (Pastiche).
Group activity
Stimulation/Hands-on activity
Minds On (Peer Work on creating a list of things
they remember about covers/Posters and why)
Anchor Chart (Class List of Posters/Albums we love
and why/Reasoning)
Exit Cards
Materials
Powerpoint presentation

Colour/Charcoal pencils

8x10 Paper/ Canvas

Acrylic Paint/ Water Colour
Photoshop
Pastiche
If possible, Teachers should bring examples of their
own favourite book, film or album covers.

Considerations
Depending on their artistic strengths, students
can choose the medium they wish to use to
create their cover/poster.
Students can create their own logo/ Publication/
Distribution Company to make the cover more
personal.
Questions that may arise (e.g. I dont like
movies, I dont like reading, I dont like music), if
the student does not wish to create anything
related to these three options, he can make a
cover for a video game, but he/she must re-
interpret characters from the game to avoid
simply tracing pre-existing stills of the games


animated characters.
Differentiation Possibilities
Allow for multiple artistic outlets: the cover can be a painting (acrylic/watercolour), a drawing, a pastiche, a
photograph etc.
If people do not read, allow it to be a CD Cover, a Movie Poster, Graphic Novel, Magazine Cover, Video Game
cover etc.

Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction
Motivational Hook (10 MINS.):
- To engage students, have a guided discussion based on the following question: Have you ever heard dont judge a
book by its cover? Why is that? What does it mean? Why do we often assume something will not be good on the
strength or weakness of a cover? Ask the students to provide examples of when they bought or did not buy something
on the basis of its cover. Ask them if the cover was misleading and how they felt about it. Then ask them if they
thought they could do a better job creating a cover for something they love? Let them know they know have a chance
to do it.
Open (10 MINS):
- Briefly provide an overview of all the artistic mediums students have used throughout the year, mention
acrylic paint, charcoal pencils, colouring pencils, water colour, print making, photography, pastiche)
- Show examples of famous covers/posters and emphasize the various artistic methods and conventions used to
create the covers/posters, ask the students to call out the various mediums: Catcher in the Rye (Indian
ink/pencils), The Great Gatsby (Oil Paint), Twilight (photography/colour/Simplicity), Jaws (simplicity/scale),
Beatles Lonely hearts Club Band (pastiche), Charlottes Web (Watercolour), etc.
- Introduce the semesters final project and explain the core elements of the project (A title, a creator, and
publication house/production company-penguin books, Warner Brothers, Sony, Ubisoft or a company they
choose to create.
Body (40 MINS):
In pairs, get the students to discuss their favourite book/movie/cd covers and write down what they like about
them and ask them explain to quickly explain to each other why they think theyre memorable. (5 mins)
Get the pairs working collaboratively with their table/group and get them to write down on a sheet of paper
what, if anything reappears on the covers they liked when they were discussing covers as pairs. As a teacher,
make a quick review of previous artistic conventions in relation to the covers, mention the importance of faces,
composition (how composition communicates what is important, how it can make things the literal center of
attention), colours (its association with ideas and emotions), fonts (simplicity or complexity), design, selective
focus, continue to show examples on the PowerPoint presentation. (7 mins).
Get the entire class involved and get each table to tell you what conventions and the things they liked on
covers. Create an Anchor chart of the things every table mentioned (A large sheet of paper that will be pasted
on the classroom wall for the remainder of the assignment). (7 mins).
Show on a slide presentation two Great Gatsby Covers as well as Carrie book and dvd covers (images below).
Ask the students to associate what was mentioned in the anchor chart to what they are seeing in the
presentation. Get them to explain why a cover does or does not work and how both the colours and the images
used on the different covers successfully or unsuccessfully convey a story or intrigue. (7 mins).
Consider the strength and possibilities of using Black and White, colour or a mixture of both. Discuss the
importance of words, those left in, those left out. Consider adding a quote on the cover that describes or
praises the book, cd or movie. Is it the winner of a prize, should it have been, let them know they can include it
as well. Get them to think about the Characters/musicians involved, the Setting of the story, its Theme, its
Tone. Who the work is it for, Children or Adults and if this affects the cover? How can you use colour for
emphasis or capture a consumers attention and how water-colour carries associations that differ from acrylic


paint or pencil. Ask the students to mention how medium makes them feel. Would using a painting for the
cover a documentary movie be as good as using a photo of the crisis, Why? (14 mins).
Close (20 MINS):

Get students to start brainstorming and sketching ideas for the look of their cover. As theyve discussed books
and movies throughout the class most students will probably have thought of a specific book/film/cd that they
would like to re-imagine/illustrate. Get them to think about its original design and get them to think about how
they can re-incorporate it or radically change it for their own cover.
Exit Card: Students can either make a quick charcoal sketch or list a series of ideas/concepts that they would
like to include in their cover (pastel colours, people, animals, fonts etc). They will also have to include three full
sentences on why/how this book, a movie, or a cd initially caught their attention.
Link to Future Lessons
This visual presentation and discussion of Graphic Design and Commercial conventions will provide students
with the means to create their own interpretation of a famous or little known book, movie or album. For the
following week, students will used the anchor chart and their sketches to formulate an initial rough draft and
ultimately a final project.
Assessment

Exit Card Activity: Students will be asked to indicate and describe either a book cover, film poster or cd that
they find interesting and, after describe it, they must explain why it appeals to them as consumers, i.e. why it
makes them want to read the book, watch the movie or listen to the cd.
The cover will be assigned as homework and students will be given 5 classes to complete the assignment. The
final cover will be graded on both its artistic merit and its use of graphic conventions.
Successful projects will include the title of the work, its creator and a real or fictitious publication/production
house/company.
Students will be graded on the techniques used to create their cover in relation to their chosen medium.
In between 100 and 200 words students will be asked to explain some of the choices theyve made in regards
to the creation of their cover.
Alternative Assessment: Communication is key. Students will be free to choose anyway medium as long as it
serves a purpose.
Extension Activity:
If students finish their sketch early get them to experiment on the charcoal sketch with their chosen medium, use of colours,
tones, if they have complete this as well get them to refine the initial sketch or, if the work is strongly conceived, allow them
to begin their final project.
Special Considerations:





Reflective Notes:
What worked, what didnt work well in this lesson






Work Cited
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). The Ontario curriculum grades 9 and 10: English. Retrieved from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english910currb.pdf

Rationale (5 Marks)
The lesson plan asks students to individually and collaboratively generate ideas and discussion about the art
and principles of design found on book, movie and cd covers (expectation A1.1). Students must then use
experimentation and reflection to create a book, movie or cd cover in the medium of their choice, be it drawing,
painting, printmaking or mixed media (expectation A1.2). This work of art must use various elements and principles
of design to communicate specific information about the subject; a successful cover will include a title, a creator
(author, director, band name) and a publication house (A2.1 andA2.2). There student must reason why he is using
certain colours for his cover as the lesson teaches that colours convey in and of themselves certain information, ideas
or emotions. Works will also be graded in accordance to appropriate or excellent use of the techniques associated
with the chosen medium. (A3.1). The exit cards will provide students with the opportunity to identity and describe
their initial reaction to the cover/work they have chosen to remake (B1.1). In the process of creating their cover, they
will have to demonstrate at least one technique associated depth, space or use of focus, this can shown in the logo or
the title and it does not have to be part of the main image on the cover (C2.1). By the end of the lesson, students will
be able to identify the key artistic conventions of certain forms of graphic design. They will also gain a vocabulary
that enables them to discuss how the medium used on a cover projects certain pre-conceived notions and associations.