Roll out the red carpet! This past semester, some of CRLS’ budding scientists also became budding animators. CRLS Science teachers Kris Newton, Barbara Dorritie, and Tobe Stomberg assigned stop motion animation projects to their students to explore topics in physics and biology. Working with CRLS Instructional Technology Specialist Nicole Hart, the classes received hands-on training in stop motion animation, including digital photography, shot composition, voice over recording, and video editing.
Kris Newton’s 9th grade Physics students made persuasive public service announcements on renewable energy sources. Students explored wind power, solar power, nuclear power, and coal.
Barbara Dorritie and Tobe Stomberg’s Biology classes competed with each other, as they challenged each other to create the most thorough examination of the human body’s organ systems.
The process of stop motion animation offers students a creative way of exploring and explaining their concepts. “It gives students a chance to learn a new way to show their creativity. They can also have a good result even if they aren’t artists,” said Kris Newton. “This is also a project that cannot be done alone, so students have to collaborate to get it done well.”
The teachers’ project parameters all varied. Tobe Stomberg’s students were assigned to make a silent film, so no narration was allowed. Kris Newton’s students were given one class session to edit their videos. Barbara Dorritie’s students were able to edit their animations and add voiceover narration. Outlines, scripts, and shot lists were created via Google Drive in each class, so students could live edit while they were photographing their models.
Barbara Dorritie said, “Students learn content via writing explanations of their systems, making models to use in the video, planning the shots to include and then figuring out what to say...all of this helps them to rehearse and re-check their understanding with their team and with the teacher, multiple times and ways.”
At the end of the projects, each teacher offers a mini film festival screening of everyone’s projects for their classes. The teachers have learned that the project’s screening can be just as important as the creation of the project itself. “Immediately after viewing the project, students were coming up with many ways that they could improve on their project,” said Tobe Stomberg. “The stop motion gave them immediate feedback on their hard work and they self-assessed themselves automatically.”
Samples of the animations can been seen on the
MediaCAST Student Portal under CRLS Classroom Collaborations, or by clicking the links below:
Han Solo’s Fracking Adventures - Kris Newton’s Block 1 Physics class
The Endocrine System - Barbara Dorritie’s Block 2 Honors Biology class
The Nervous System - Tobe Stomberg’s Block 2 Honors Biology class
Want to try a stop motion project with your class? Contact CRLS Instructional Technology Specialist
Nicole Hart for help!