Stop Motion STEM Digital Animation Projects

If you've been wanting to try the Red Ball Challenge with your students, but want it to be appropriate for younger students and integrated with content area topics, then this set of projects is for you! Stop Motion Animation goes digital with these fun and engaging design challenges.

We all want our students to master technology tools and use them to create original works. Stop Motion STEM challenges are designed to allow students to explore presentation software while creating something using the steps of the engineering design process. The best part is that nearly every topic and subject area can be incorporated into these challenges, so they can be used as a part of your daily academic activities, not as an extra thing to fit into your schedule.

DESCRIPTION

Stop Motion is typically done with physical objects and a camera. This set of projects is a little bit different.

Instead of getting out all of those materials, we are going to do it digitally.

Using either Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint, students will work in teams to animate a story across multiple slides and devices. *There are also options included that require only one device.

This will require them to problem solve their way through the design process. You can have them use the digital journal to map out their plan and process and then reflect on it at the end.

ISTE Standards:

•Innovative Designer: 4d - Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.

•Creative Communicator: 6b - Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations. 6d - Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

•Global Collaborator: 7c - Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

LESSON TIPS FOR THE TEACHER

1. Introduce students to the idea of producing an animated GIF or Video using Google Slides or PowerPoint.

2. Introduce the Vocabulary for this unit, which is on the following page. It is also a great time to go over the steps of the design process.

3. Decide if you want students to complete the digital journal on paper or digitally. Share the file or worksheet with students.

4. Provide a prompt from the task cards list or make your own.

5. Share finished results

When students are finished:

∙Create a Padlet and have students upload their final product.

∙Have a “gallery walk” where students have their final product up on their screen while they walk around to see classmates’ creations.

∙Have students present their final product to the class

Vocabulary:

ANIMATION

ASPECT RATIO

FRAME

FRAME RATE

SCENE

SCRIPT

STOP MOTION

STORYBOARD

Student Files Include:

• Introduction to Stop Motion Animation
• Screencast video of how to make a scene, duplicate slides, and examples of animation types
• Instructions for how to make the file play automatically
• Instructions for how to work across multiple devices
• Tips and Tricks
• STEM Design Process Journal
• 54 Task Cards in 4 Levels of Challenge

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