Planning a Book Trailer

Learner Analysis:

a. Age/Gender:

The book in focus has a reading level for students aged 5 to 7 of all genders.

b. Cultural Background:

Satilla Marsh Elementary (SME) serves a rural area in Brunswick, Georgia. SME has 623
students of whom 79% are white, 13% are African American, 4% are Hispanic, 3% are
multiracial, and less than 1% are Pacific Islanders, American Indian, or Asian. 368 students or
47% of students are on free and reduced lunch which qualifies SME as a Title 1 school.

c. Educational Level:

The audience for this book trailer are students enrolled in Kindergarten through 2nd grade.

d. Special Needs/Accommodations:

SME provides a variety of student support services which includes the Early Intervention
Program, English Language Learners, Special Education, Title I, and Gifted. 7 % of the school
population is served through the Glynn County Special Education Program in the areas of
Speech, Other Health Impaired, Specific Learning Disabilities, EBD, Autism, Hearing Impaired,
or SDD.

e. Specific Entry Skills:

Nearly all students have proficiency with basic use of a computer, watching and viewing
educational videos, and using the library to check out books.

Motivation – Keller’s ARCS Model (How will you design your book trailer to get the
attention of your audience?)

Attention – I will garner the viewer’s attention by incorporating humor, suspense, and surprise
to stimulate perceptual arousal.

Relevance – I will make the activity relevant by showing similarly-aged students engaged with
the book. Clips of student interviews will highlight the book’s entertainment value and guide the
viewer to realize the potentially fun experience they could have if reading this book.

Confidence – The goal of this book trailer is to convince the reader that this book is worth
reading. Viewers will gain confidence in their ability to read this book because they will be
watching similarly-aged peers engaged with the book’s text and story. The video will have a
more comical, less serious “tone” and therefore will not discourage readers who may be reading
below grade level to seek out this book.

Satisfaction – Everyone likes to be entertained, and that is definitely the main purpose of this
book. It is a story meant to be read aloud with a group so that all involved can have fun and
laugh over something so silly (a pigeon who wants to drive a bus). The lighthearted demeanor
and comical nature of the students depicted in the clips will certainly be entertaining for the
viewers, and hopefully, inspire them enough to read the book.

Book Selection:
“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”
By Mo Willems
2004 Caldecott Honor Book