Do. Not. Stop. (the) Motion!

Third graders are in the midst of a geography unit right now, which is always fun.

What is even more fun, though, is one of the ways they share their knowledge.  See, each student researches one state in the country.  They learn a variety of facts about the state, from natural resources, tourist attractions, business, etc.

The teachers found this really cool giant map of the country, where each state is it's own piece of the puzzle.  The pieces are about the size of a letter size paper, and are made out of sturdy cardboard.

Kids decorate their state and.... the best part....

...they create a stop-motion tour of the state using the free Stop Motion Studio app on the iPads.  The kids bring in their own mini-figure of sorts from home - whether it's a lego or a L.O.L doll or what not.  Scripts are written to include the key facts.  Finally, the tour is created!

Now, we're not ready for that project yet, bbuuuuuttttt, we had our introduction to stop motion the other day and the kids did SUCH a great job!  Each group had the same tools - a clothes pin and a large piece of construction paper - and had to use those tools to practice with the Stop Motion Studio app.  They got quite creative, too!

If you haven't tried stop motion, and you have access to an iPad or tablet, it's easier than you might think!