The TEKS for this lesson should be checked by the individual. The TEKS listed conform to English/Language Arts and Technology at the Middle School level, BUT, the individual can easily find TEKS associated at their current grade level assignment.

§110.24. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 8
15. Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of purposes
(A)  write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve (4-8);
(B)  write to influence such as to persuade, argue, and request (4-8);
(C)  write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate (4-8);
(H)  produce cohesive and coherent written texts by organizing ideas, using effective transitions, and choosing precise wording (6-8).

(18)  Writing/processes. The student selects and uses writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing. The student is expected to:
(C)  revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, combining, and rearranging text (4-8);

(19)  Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own writing and the writings of others. The student is expected to:
(A)  apply criteria to evaluate writing (4-8);
(B)  respond in constructive ways to others' writings (4-8);
(C)  evaluate how well his/her own writing achieves its purposes (4-8);

(24)  Viewing/representing/production. The student produces visual images, messages, and meanings that communicate with others. The student is expected to:
(A)  select, organize, or produce visuals to complement and extend meanings (4-8);
(B)  produce communications using technology or appropriate media such as developing a class newspaper, multimedia reports, or video reports (4-8); and
(C)  assess how language, medium, and presentation contribute to the message (6-8).

§126.12. Technology Applications (Computer Literacy), Grades 6-8.
(2)  Foundations. The student uses data input skills appropriate to the task. The student is expected to:
(A)  demonstrate proficiency in the use of a variety of input devices such as mouse/track pad, keyboard, microphone, digital camera, printer, scanner, disk/disc, modem, CD-ROM, or joystick;

(5)  Information acquisition. The student acquires electronic information in a variety of formats, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:
(A)  identify, create, and use files in various formats such as text, bitmapped/vector graphics, image, video, and audio files;

(7)  Solving problems. The student uses appropriate computer-based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems. The student is expected to:
(D)  demonstrate proficiency in the use of multimedia authoring programs by creating linear or non-linear projects incorporating text, audio, video, and graphics;
(F)  differentiate between and demonstrate the appropriate use of a variety of graphic tools found in draw and paint applications;
(J)  use foundation and enrichment curricula in the creation of products.

(11)  Communication. The student delivers the product electronically in a variety of media, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:
(A)  publish information in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, printed copy, monitor display, Internet documents, and video;
(B)  design and create interdisciplinary multimedia presentations for defined audiences including audio, video, text, and graphics; and

Objective 1:

The student will, within a given context, produce an effective composition for a specific purpose.

Students will select a positive trait in the area of character education (for instance one of the six pillars of character) and write a short story that has a clear beginning, middle and end using standard writing conventions.

The ultimate goal of this lesson is to have students create a STOP MOTION animation product that tells their short story visually.

Skills covered in this lesson include: Writing for a purpose, using technology, character education.

If you were going to write a story, what would it need to have (a clear beginning, middle and ending)?

How do animators tell stories? (With pictures that move and tell a story)

What would you need to do to tell your own animated story? (write a good story that could be drawn AND some kind of animation program)

How can you measure quality in terms of how an animation looks from one frame to another (image doesn't jump around and looks like a motion picture)

Activity 1- Write a short story with characters that must overcome some problem dealing with character education. The story must have a clear beginning, middle and end.

Activity 2 - Create a storyboard or a comic book that retells the original story. To create a blank storyboard template, use PowerPoint and make 3 blank slides, then print out the slides in HANDOUT mode and select 3 slides per page. This will print 3 boxes with lines next to each box. Students can draw their pictures using the boxes and then write what is going on in the lines. In the storyboard, students can use speech bubbles or arrows to indicate someone is talking or how they are supposed to move.

Activity 3 - Students create a stop motion animation using any method they can. This is going to depend on the equipment and software at your disposal. My class has used FireWorks MX2004 from Macromedia/Adobe and converted the files to animated GIF format. You can make a movie using a digital camera and Windows movie maker or Windows Photo Story 3.0 (both free if you're using Windows XP). You can use iMovie for the Apple platform or for either one you can use PowerPoint. The trick for PowerPoint is to use the automatic slide transitions, turn off the selection for advance on mouse click and set the timing to zero seconds.

Knowledge - Learning about how the animation process works. Learning how to use the specific attributes of the program being used for the animation

Comprehension - translate the written story to a visual format like a storyboard

Application - illustrate the story using the software or hardware available to the student

Synthesis - Assemble individual images into a chronological order to show a smooth animatiion outlining the aspects of the student's short story that encompasses a clear beginning, middle and end.

Evaluation - along the process of animation, students should continually check how the animation is progressing and made adjustments to make the animation pleasing to the eye. For instance, if a title is used, does it stay on screen long enough for the viewer to read the title? When a character does an action, is it moving too fast or too slow? How could you fix this problem. They are continually evaluating the animation for continuity.

Flexible grouping - If doing this project as a class project, letting the students self-select their groups works well if they can truly work together. I'd suggest no more than 4 per group.

Exit cards - each group or individual should submit a short summary of what was accomplished in the class period (Date - Today I finished 15 frames and tested what was created). This is a good way to monitor student performance.

Graphic organizers - The storyboard in this case is an ideal graphic organizer because it shows the student or group  exactly what is going on in the story. The figures in the storyboard could be as simple as stick people.

This lesson is so broad, that it is up to the individual teacher and/or student to determine the best use of technology in telling these stories.

Students will be using word processing skills to write their short story.

Students could use tablet PC's to make their drawings for the story and add each image to the collection.

Students could use digital cameras or digital video cameras.

Students will use any traditional format of animating their movie using Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story or Apple's iMovie. Or they can use any other software program that allows you to create an animated GIF (Flash, FireWorks by Macromedia/Adobe)

Students should be familiar with the program they are going to utilize, for instance if using FireWorks, students should finish their movie by using the export wizard to change their frames from PNG format to animated GIF. If using Windows Movie Maker, students should make sure they go through step 3 and CREATE the movie.

teacher made materials, teacher, behind the scenes videos from movies like Chicken Run, Prince of Egypt, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Hoodwinked, etc. Almost all of these Hollywood motion pictures have behind the scenes on the DVD. My personal favorites are Chicken Run for stop motion clay animation, Prince of Egypt to show the blend of computer and traditional animation, and Hoodwinked to show total computer animation. From a historical standpoint, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) was the first major Hollywood motion picture to utilize extensive use of total computer animation. The scene shows the "Genesis" Device being introduced as a torpedo impacting a dead planet and as the camera passes over the planet, water, plants and other geographic features appear and when the scene ends, the camera pulls out into space and instead of a dead moon, we see an earth-like planet.