Let's make some movie magic! My kiddos make fantastic artworks and love telling stories through their masterpieces. They are 21st century kids so why not give them an outlet to tell their stories in a way that is intuitive for them?
Our school is filled with happy, enthusiastic, creative, curious, multi-cultural kiddos (K-4).
They are hard-working and very proud of their achievements. They love to imagine, create, and perform but we don't always have funds to increase technology in the related arts classes. This project was designed to tap into their passions while being extremely cost-conscious. After these initial costs, duplicating this lesson for many grade levels and for years to come will be very affordable.
My Project
I am trying to obtain materials for "animation stations" for our art classroom - 8 free-standing webcams and 8 clamp lights. Stop motion animation involves creating a lighted set with characters to manipulate (think Gumby). Photos are taken in between each change and strung together in a sequence to create the illusion of motion. Students will use traditional art-making techniques in conjunction with many other interdisciplinary skills to create a movie in small groups. It is a process which, once learned in class, can be easily and affordably extended upon at home. It taps into students' imagination and interests. They gain experience working collaboratively and see the project through from start to finish (planning, set design, character design, storyboarding, filming, editing, music, voice-overs, credits, and more). Many colleges require an admission video now, so the skills they learn here will definitely help them stand out in the future
This project is fun and tricks the kids into learning so much at the same time!
It is a fantastic way to engage students in interdisciplinary and collaborative thinking. Some of the important areas that this lesson will strengthen:
- teamwork
- design
- story-telling (plot, character, setting, mood)
- computer competency
- planning (story-board, script, set, character design, etc.)
- physics (time, distance, speed, acceleration)
- post-production (taking a critical eye in editing process
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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 Ms. McLaughlin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.