Make a Stop Motion Movie!

Students will:

• Be able to create an “original” movie using ABCYA Animate.
• Be able to communicate a story (characters, setting, conflict, plot, theme).
• Be able to explain fictional writing characteristics.
• Be able to finish an original movie from beginning to end.
• Be able to add images to communicate ideas.

Vocabulary Words:

1. Stop Motion: Stop motion is a video that is created from a series of pictures where objects move slightly each picture. When putting together, objects appear to move throughout the video.

2. Frame: A frame is one picture (that isn’t moving) that is put together with many other pictures to make a moving video.

3. Loop: A loop is when a video or part of the video starts again on its own.

4. Image: An image is a picture. 

5. Background:  A background is a physical picture of where the story takes place

To prepare for this lesson:

• The teacher will teach the students a lesson on characters, setting, conflict, plot and theme. 
   

• The teacher will prepare the students that they will be using images in ABCYA Animate to create an original movie demonstrating that they understand how to communicate a story with appropriate story elements, 

• Watch this video to learn how to use ABCYA Animate. 

See the Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

The teacher will have already conducted lessons on how to communicate a story with the appropriate story elements. 

Day One - 

1. The teacher will inform students they will be creating their own original animated movie conveying their knowledge of the elements of a story. 

2. The students will brainstorm movie elements together as a class with the help of the teacher. 

3. Introduce ABCYA Animate to the students and let them play with the program. 

Day Two - 

1. Students will navigate to the ABCYA Animate website. 

2. Students will create an original movie using the elements of a story.

3. Students will download the original movie as a .gif and save to their computer.

4. The teacher can have students submit the .gif through a learning management system.

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding

• Students will have the opportunity to showcase their work in several ways:

  • The teacher can observe student work by navigating the classroom throughout the process of creation.
  • Teachers can collect student work through a learning management system such as Google Classroom, Schoology or another system.
  • Students can upload the file to Google Drive or OneNote and share the file with their teacher, parent, et al.