Stop Motion Animation!

In my previous post, I talked about the Lego StoryStarter kits that I love! In this post, I want to take those kits one step further and talk about how my kids use these kits to create stop motion animation videos.

While I am by no means an expert on the topic, I have found that using stop motion animation in conjunction with Legos is an extremely easy way to motivate kids about the topic you are covering, while incorporating problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

At first, I started by having my kiddos create summaries of texts they have read using the Legos and a Kindle Fire app. It took some students a few minutes to understand how to manipulate the Legos in order to get the correct sequence for the movie, but it was something they wanted to figure out and solve on their own.

After my students became familiar with the app and how to create the videos, we recreated historical scenes from our social studies units. We used the app and manipulatives to show scientific processes that we have studied, and much, much, more.

In the article I have linked, there are numerous ideas of how to use stop motion animation in the classroom. I can't wait to try some of these ideas that are new to me! ISTE Article: Stop Motion