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Flower Dissection Stop Motion Animation Project

A 3rd Grade STem lesson

Laurie Altringer

August 22, 2024

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Notes for teachers

This lesson may seem intimidating, but it is actually easier than you think for students to make stop motion animation films. You will be surprised at how engaged the students are and how good some of the films will be!

Have students work in groups of 3-4.

List of Materials

Ipads (best), digital cameras (2nd best), or Chromebooks/ laptops with built-in camera
Alstroemeria flower-

2 per group

Stop Motion App ($5.99)
CapCut App
Tripods (recommended,

but students could

engineer something on

their own so that the camera doesn’t move)

Scotch tape
Pencils
Handouts (on slides 11, 12, and 14)
Index cards
Paper- different colors
Scissors
Optional: Magnetic Letters

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3rd Grade

Science Standard

3.L1U1.5 Develop and use models to explain that plants and animals (including humans) have internal and external structures that serve various functions that aid in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.

3-5.1.c. Students, in collaboration with an educator, examine feedback from both people and the features embedded in digital tools, and use age appropriate technology to share learning.

3-5.1.d. Students explore age appropriate technologies and begin to transfer their learning to different tools or learning environments.

3-5.6.a. Students, in collaboration with an educator, recognize and utilize the features and functions of a variety of creation or communication tools.

3rd Grade

Technology Standards

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Objectives:

Students will learn that plants have internal and external structures that serve various functions that aid growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Students will learn how to create a stop motion animation short film that demonstrates their knowledge of flower parts.

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Agenda (Lesson Time VARIES, Plan 2-4 Sessions)

Flower dissection will take 30-60 minutes depending on teacher pacing and depth.

Stop Motion Animation Planning will take about 45-65 minutes depending on student focus and abilities.

Stop Motion Animation Filming will take about 30-45 minutes.

Stop Motion Animation Editing will take about 30 minutes.

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Introduction

Ask: Has anyone heard of stop-motion animation?

If students don’t know what it is, don’t tell them; instead, move on to the videos. If they do know what it is, have them share their experiences, then show videos.

Show these YouTube stop motion clips:

What is Stop Motion Animation? (2 min, 30 sec)

Stop Motion Fruits and Vegetables (60 sec)

Stop Motion Ideas (1 min, 15 sec)

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Introduction, continued…

Tell the students that they are going to be making a stop-motion animation film. The topic of their film will be the anatomy of a flower.

Describe what anatomy means (the study of the structure/parts of a living thing).

So… first they will need to learn about the structures of a flower by dissecting a flower.

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Dissect a Flower:

PARTS FOR 3RD GRADERS:

Petal- attracts pollinators with scent and color
Pistil- produce seed-bearing fruit,
Ovary- contains potential seeds if fertilized
Stamen- where pollen is produced, pollen needed to fertilize the potential seeds in the ovary
Guide lines- Lines/markings that help pollinators find where the nectar is in the flower, similar to a runway

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Parts of a Flower:

https://www.trees.com/gardening-and-landscaping/flowers

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Guided Flower Dissection:

Have students dissect a flower with their hands as a whole-class guided dissection.

Print the image to the right as a worksheet.

Have students tape the parts of the flower onto the image and write descriptions of the functions of each.

Adapted from: https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/teachers/lessonplans/Day2BeeWeek.pdf

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Stop Motion Animation

Instructions

Step 1: Print the planning page on the right of this slide and have students plan their film using it.
Step 2: Check students’ planning pages and only have them move forward once you approve their plan.
Step 3: Once approved, students will set up their background (film set).
Step 4: Next, students will create the words to describe the parts of the flower.
Step 5: Background and words should be ready before photo-taking begins. When they are fully prepped, give them a flower so that they can have the flower parts in the film.
Step 6: Students will take 150-400 photos. This sounds like a lot, but once they are uploaded to the app, you’ll see they need this many for a good film.

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Stop Motion Animation

Uploading into App

Stop Motion Studio App

CapCut App

Step 7: Open app, click on “New Movie”
Step 8: Click on + symbol on the left of the screen. Upload photos off of the device.
Step 9: Have students edit their videos- they can delete photos if a hand is in the picture or there is a repeat. They can also change the speed of the film (frames per second).
Step 10: Download the video to your device.
Step 11: Upload the video into CapCut app.
Step 12: Have students add music by clicking on audio, then selecting their music choice.
Step 13: Download the video again to your device.

TADA- DONE! Share with others :)

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Assessment

The assessment will be completion of the planning page and the project. Film grading sheet:

1- far below average 2- below average 3- okay 4- good 5- excellent

Group Cooperation (1-5 point scale): ______

Flower part matches name of part and description:

Petal: ______ Teacher Notes: ______________________________________________________

Stamen: ______ Teacher Notes: ______________________________________________________

Pistil: ______ Teacher Notes: ______________________________________________________

Ovary: ______ Teacher Notes: ______________________________________________________

Guide Lines: ______ Teacher Notes: ____________________________________________________

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Differentiation

For groups that may struggle, complete the planning page with them where the teacher writes and students answer the questions.

Have pre-cut letters/words for students so that they do not have to prepare the letters.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students can add dialogue to their videos in both StopMotion Studio and CapCut.

For advanced learners, add more parts of the flower to the assignment.