Do you remember art class? For most of my students it is their favorite class. It is their creative escape from a day full of reading, writing and math.
I teach in the inner city of New York.
My student population is very diverse with many low income families. My parents work hard, but purchasing basic school supplies is not easy for many of them. Many of my students excel in math but struggle in literacy, so we work really hard at our school to improve our students literacy skills. Students have a day crammed full of core subjects like reading, math, science and social studies. I have the privilege of teaching one of the few electives in my school, and students love the chance to be creative. Many students struggle in most of their classes but really excel at art. Art allows students to shine even if they are not great readers or excellent mathematicians. I really enjoy fostering creativity and watching my students express themselves through art.
My Project
The lesson "Animation Domination" is tailored to give my students a glimpse into the animation world. Although stop and hand-drawn animation are not as popular as they once were, studying these two forms of cartooning will help students understand some of the basic principles behind a moving picture. The supplies I require are digital cameras and tripods. Currently we focus on hand drawn frames since we don't have cameras, but it always frustrates students as they have to draw hundreds of frames. A lot of time is spent on this repetitive process. With these supplies, we will use cameras to focus on stop animation instead of traditional hand drawn frames in order to expedite their animation process. Students will love using the cameras and tripods to create their own animations with other classmates. They will still learn about animation, but be more free to be creative and create more complex animations than is possible with hand drawn frames.
Animated movies from Beauty and the Beast to Monsters University will always be prevalent in our lives.
Animation Domination will allow my students to better understand the behind the scenes process so they can become more than just passive observers. I hope to change some of my students' perspective on animation so that some day their criticisms regarding an animated film will change from "that's cool" to "I think I know a better way to that." I need these cameras to make this lesson possible!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Y. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.