Contributed by Andy Gaukel

Description

In this drawing and animation activity, students will draw their name with colors and patterns that represent themselves and animate them to create a moving credit sequence.

Directions

• Provide an overview of the activity in one or two sentences.
• Give each student a cutout paper shape and an array of colorful markers.
• First, ask students to write their name in large block letters on their paper, just drawing the outline of the letters and leaving the inside blank for now. Show an example. Invite them to turn their paper over or raise their hand when they’re finished so you have an idea where the group is at.
• Ask students to decorate the inside of the letters of their name with the colors and patterns they think best represent their personality. Discuss a couple of student-given examples.
• As students finish, ask them to come to the front of the class in pairs, to animate their names. They should choose how their name will enter and exit the frame (e.g. Will it scroll down from the top or come in on the left and pop back out the same way?). Note: You can also invite students to decorate the backgrounds behind their names.
• Ask one student to start as the photographer and the other to start as the animator. They’ll switch when the first animator is finished animating their name.
• When this process is completed for the first pair, ask all students to pause what they are doing and watch while the first pair play the animated clips of their names for the class.
• Repeat this process until each student has animated their name.
• Students who are finished can sit close to the animation workspace to watch the process or continue adding on to their name. If there is space in the classroom, add names to the wall, or a makeshift wall, for students to take a photo with their name.

Transition into Activity

Before you begin this activity, ask the students to talk about film credits. Why do they exist? Whose names are listed in the credits of a film? Watch an example credit animation or model the activity briefly with a student volunteer in class.

Transition out of Activity

Before moving on to the next activity, each group can share what they created to the whole class.

Classroom Arrangement

Set up one workspace where each student will move and animate their name as the rest of the class watches. Students can color and decorate their names at their desks and then come forward to the front of class to animate.

Materials

• Before the lesson, cut out fun shapes of paper (1 per student) about 6 inches wide and 4 inches high. Rectangles work well, or use wackier, amorphous forms like splat shapes.
• Connect a laptop or tablet device to a SMART Board or Promethean Board and have the stop-motion software open and ready to take photos.
• Have a large supply of colorful markers (enough that each student can use multiple colors).
• If a SMART Board/Promethean Board is not available, have a stop-motion animation application or program device with camera. Show students the process and recorded video clips on a laptop screen.

Supports/Adaptive Materials/Tools

• Have adaptive handles available, along with precut letters, stickers, stamps, and colored tape.
• Print out students’ names ahead of time and have students decorate their names instead of focusing on writing the block letters.
• Model the letter writing. Students may want to draw the first and last letter so they have an idea of placement and scale for the rest.
• Use visual timers so all students have an opportunity to animate, and aren’t lost in the decoration process.
• Review the onion skin feature in stop-motion animation and use it to help students understand how to create paths for the objects they are animating.

Possible Roles for Classroom Professionals

• Support individual students.
• Pair up students.
• Manage timers.
• Support flow of students so everyone gets a turn to animate (e.g. having students “on deck,” etc.).

Adjustments for Remote Instruction

Print and cut out each name and share your screen with the animation app or program open. Students can help direct as you move their names. Or ask students to decorate their names using Google Drawings and then print and animate the decorated names during the following lesson.