FUNNY BONES

Materials: White posterboard, scissors, black Sharpie markers, construction paper, glue, peel and stick magnetic tape, Sony Mavica Digital Camera, Camera Diagram handout, floppies, computer w/ Image Composer/ GIF Animator software, skeleton handout (optional), and the Image Composer/GIF Animator directions handout.

Time: 8 forty minute periods

Directions: The sixth grade students had created drawings based on the human skeleton form. These drawings emphasized the lines and shapes of the human skeleton. The different parts of the skeleton system were pointed out and discussed. The concept of proportion (The body is equal to 7 - 7 1/2 head lengths for the average adult) was introduced as the students began their
drawings.

Jorge O.

Kelly L.

Loan P.

We discussed and reviewed the creation of flip books, a project the students completed in 5th Grade. (Directions for creating a flip book can be found in the Handouts Section)
As a follow-up activity, the students were asked to create animated skeletons. The object of the activity was to create a simple animated short of 4 to 8 sequential movements depicting the skeleton in a humorous way, which we called FunnyBones.

Since we began this project in October, the history of the holidays of El Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Halloween were discussed.

The class brainstormed all the different activities we do during the day. Students contributed some of their favorite activities such as playing sports, dancing, doing chores, etc. The 6th graders acted out the movements of the different activities for each other. They moved in slow motion exaggerating each position so that every slight movement and the sequence of the motion could be seen. Various ideas were tried.

A final idea was selected by each child. Students were asked to create a simple storyboard of the actual steps (This would look like a comic strip).

A piece of white posterboard was given to each child. The students drew the skeleton and divided it into a predetermined number of sections- (We would quiz the students on the name of the skeleton parts as they worked.)
· skull and neck
· clavicle and ribs and spine
· pelvic area
· femur
· tibia and fibula
· humerus
· ulna and radius
· hands and feet
(A handout, found in the HandoutSection, of the skeleton parts was provided for those students who struggled with the drawing part of this assignment. This was done so that students would not spend too much time trying to draw the skeleton and could focus on the animation steps. We felt the time was better spent on the animation activities and in the Computer Lab.)

Each drawn piece was outlined with a black Sharpie marker and cut out. The outlining helped the pieces to stand out more when being photographed. The students were given a business envelope and asked to put their name and section on the front. These were used to store the pieces until the project was completed.

The students used peel and stick magnetic tape cut into small pieces on the back of each of the skeleton posterboard parts. The larger parts needed three or four pieces of magnetic tape.

Once all the pieces were completed, the students were given the option of adding clothing or props to their skeletons. The children used construction paper, sequins, feathers, etc. to embellish the skeletons. It was very important that this step was not over done. Less is better. Something as simple as a baseball cap gave the skeletons a whimsical appearance. The students were encouraged to be a bit dramatic with the facial expressions.

Every child was asked to rehearse the movements that would depict the action they wished to animate.

Finally, we were ready to shoot the necessary pictures. Each student was given a floppy and were asked to write their name and section on it. The class was divided into groups of four for demonstrating how to use the Sony Mavica digital camera. A handout diagramming the camera was given to each student and can be found in the Handouts Section. A master diagram was hung on the chalkboard for immediate reference. Students were shown how to put in the floppies and take them out again. Instructions were given on turning the camera on and off, focusing, snapping pictures and most importantly...using common sense in caring for the camera. Students were asked to wear the strap at all times so that the camera would not be dropped accidentally.

We did not have a tripod for the camera so we rested the camera on a stool which was set up on the art tables about 4 to 5 feet from the chalkboard.

The students shot in pairs. One would shoot and the other would manipulate the skeleton parts on the chalkboard. Because the parts had magnetic pieces, the parts stuck to the board and were easy to move from position to position. Since the students were shooting a vertical images as opposed to horizontal images placed flat on a table on a table, the camera work was of a much better quality. A piece of 18 x 24 colored construction paper served as the background. We taped up four different colors for the students to choose from. Each image was photographed…the skeleton pieces were moved…and the next image was taken. Students were asked to complete the sequence in 4 to 8 shots. The images appeared on the floppy as Mvc-001, Mvc-002, etc. All floppies were kept in a separate file box with the name of the class on the outside.

NOTE: As children were taking the pictures, the other students who were waiting were encouraged to search the Internet for information about their favorite animations. Other students opted to create another flip book. On the average, 3 to 4 students were able to film their sequence per 40 minute period. We worked with only one camera. Two would have been so much easier.

Go to the Image Composer/Animated GIF Handout for next steps.

To FunnyBones Student Gallery