New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards addressed:

Cross Content Workplace Readiness Skills

Standard 1: All students will develop career planning and workplace readiness skills.

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.7

Standard 2: All students will use information, technology and other tools.

2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.8, 2.9

Standard 3: All students will use critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving skills.

3.1, 3.9, 3.13, 3.15

Standard 4: All students will demonstrate self-management skills

4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.9, 4.11

Visual and Performing Arts

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6

Language Arts and Literacy

3.5

Mathematics

4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.10, 4.14, 4.16

Summary of the Lesson:
Animagic 1*2*3 was presented to the students in the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade to foster an interest in the creative use of technology in the art of animation. We invited the students to “Discover the Magic of Animation” through their hands-on participation in three different activities utilizing the scientific principle of persistent vision and of course…the wonders of technology. These activities are taught cooperatively between the Art Room and the Computer Lab. Having two teachers available has made all the difference in the quality of the final products seen in this unit.

Simple Flip Books were used as the beginning of the animation unit. Our students had previously created Flip Books and were aware of the concept of persistent vision, frames, cells and animation. Detailed instructions for creating flip books are provided in this book and on the accompanying Animagic 1*2*3 website CD.

The sixth grade students created animated GIFs called FunnyBones as an extension of their Anatomy studies. This activity spanned eight forty-minute periods. Each student began by drawing skeleton studies using plaster models set up around the art room. From these very serious artistic renderings came the next activity…creating animated skeletons. This activity happened to coincide with Day of The Dead and the Halloween holidays driving up the level of excitement! The children could not wait to begin! Enthusiasm ran high as the students proceeded to create a skeleton from white cardboard. The skeleton was carefully segmented into the basic movable pieces. (A pattern was provided to conserve time to those students who wished to use it.) The students selected an activity they wanted to animate. Sports and other daily activities were discussed. The students were invited to get up and show the movements in slow motion so other students could visualize the sequential movements. The skeleton pieces were outlined, cut out, decorated, and backed with magnetic tape. The animated sequence took place with the pieces attached to the chalkboard. This really was the secret to the success of the project. The students learned to use and care for the Sony Mavica Digital Camera. Each child was given a personal floppy and began taking shots of their animated sequence. The students were encouraged to work in pairs. One would film and the other would manipulate the pieces. The images were now saved on the floppy and taken to the Computer Lab. Instructions and a demonstration of Microsoft Image Composer was given. Here the students converted their .JPG images to GIFs. Next students opened up Microsoft GIF Animator and put their GIF images into this program. The children learned to adjust the sequence and timing. The completed animation was saved to the floppy. An extensive, detailed lesson and associated supplemental materials/handouts are provided in the Handouts Section of this book as well as on the accompanying Animagic 1*2*3 website CD.

The 7^th graders delved into the art of Claymation. We discussed the art of animation from cartoons to claymation through computer animation. Working in groups of four, the students formed a Production Team. Each Production Team sat down together and brainstormed possible ideas for their claymation shorts. The classes spent time in the computer lab researching animation and claymation. A directory of informative and beautifully designed sites is provided in the Handouts Section of this book and on the Animagic 1*2*3 website CD. The Teams began by planning and recording production notes that included the name of their production company, sketches of the character(s), a simple storyboard (either illustrated or written), and notes for creating and designing the sets and props. The company then designed, sculpted and built the characters and sets for their animated short. These were filmed with a home video camera and compiled onto a single VHS tape. A digital camera would have also worked, but we elected to use the traditional camera as most of our students had one at home and were anxious to create their own at home. The students signed up for filming slots on a board taped up outside the Art Room. Forty minutes per group was scheduled for filming. We filmed during preps, lunches and after school. The Production Team members had to be present during the filming process. Each member was responsible for a character, prop, set, etc. Many filming problems arose. The students were responsible for coming up with creative solutions to these problems. After filming, the students reviewed their animation. If satisfied, it was added to the compiled Claymation tape. A day was set aside for the “Premier of the Animated Shorts”. The students loved watching their efforts! Any student who brought in a blank tape, was given a copy of the compiled animations to take home. Detailed instructions and lesson plans are provided in the Handouts Section of this book and can be found on the accompanying

Animagic 1*2*3 website CD.
Our eighth graders used Microsoft GIF Animator to create animated cartoons. These emphasized the use of the onion skin feature. Students learned to identify different formats of pictures such as JPEG, Bitmap, and GIF. Students drew an image on 4 x 6” white paper. This was outlined and scanned into personal folders located in class folders on the Network and called Frame 1. (We do this to eliminate lost floppies.) The image is opened into a paint program (MS Paint, Painter Classic, etc). Here the image is colored and saved as Frame 1 (Compuserve gif). The Frame 1 image is then altered to show a moment of movement in the anticipated sequence. Using the Onion Skin feature worked very much like using tracing paper. Once the change was created and touched up, the new image was saved as Frame 2 (Compuserve gif).This is continued until all the frames are created. The frames are then imported into Microsoft Gif Animator. Students import their frames in sequential order and then play with timing so that the images animate smoothly. The completed sequence is saved as (your name) on the network and eventually published as a web page. Detailed instructions and lesson plans are provided in the Handouts Section of this book and can be found on the accompanying

Animagic 1*2*3 website CD.
Equipment, materials and other technology needed:
Technology/Equipment: Computers, Sony Mavica Digital Camera, Panasonic 8MM (Hi8) video camera or digital movie camera), floppies, VCR, television, Scanner, VHS tapes, Microsoft Image Composer and GIF Animator software.

Materials: Assorted art materials, modeling clay, armature wire, paper, lights, magnetic strip tape, black thin Sharpie markers

Detail of Activities: Specific lesson plans, handouts and supplemental materials are provided in this book and on the accompanying Animagic 1*2*3 website CD.

Student Feedback and Assessment: Students were graded on specific goals and objectives provided in the sample rubric found in the Handouts Section. The feedback from the students was amazing. They were excited, motivated and eager to be creative. Of course, seeing their completed products on television and on the computer was the ultimate thrill! The students discussed the positive aspects of each project and discussed common problems and solutions. We did allow the students in the 7^th grade to assess their own animated sequence. These scores were included in the overall grade.

Additional comments & suggestions:
We were very excited about the overall quality of the final products. The students acted as professionals while working in teams and with their partners. They were interested in learning about the technology involved in animation. The parents were equally impressed and very supportive. All of the activities listed in this unit can be modified around ANY theme. Ideas like animating scenes from Character Counts, stories, science lessons, etc will work. Keep the animations short and simple at first. Children can animate anything. We must say that a great deal of patience is needed while the students are learning the steps and the technology. We provided handouts and made posters so the students had immediate answers to many of their questions. The children enjoyed the responsibility of being able to handle the cameras and computer materials. This was such a successful unit and one we will use over and over again.