Third graders have been working on a stop motion biography project. In library, students researched famous people using the Pebble Go Biography database and wrote about their person. In art class, students painted backgrounds and drew their person and props. Back in library, they narrated their writing and created a stop motion video using the materials they made in art. We used the Stop Motion Studio app to create the videos on iPods or iPads mounted on tripods. Overall, students did a great job learning the app, recording the narration, and animating their pieces to create their stop motion biography. In addition to learning two new digital tools - one for researching and one for creating, students had to learn how to work together to create their movies. It was great to see students problem solving both technical and writing issues and figuring out roles that worked best for them i.e. operating equipment, directing, set and prop placement. Students also learned perseverance in the face of common video making obstacles like lighting changes, noisy rooms while recording, and technical glitches with the app. Overall, I think the project went very well and hope to do it again next year for a fifth grade research project. Special shout out to the Rhode Island Foundation Spark Grant that helped fund the Pebble Go database and equipment. Also, thanks to Media Smart Libraries for inspiring the stop motion idea and funding the iPods. And a huge thanks to our awesome art teacher, Mrs. Singleton, for collaborating with me on this project!
See below stop motion biography videos:
See below stop motion biography videos: