Presentation: Storyboarding a Dragon Animation

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Art · Year 2

5 minutes

Storyboarding a Dragon Animation

Today we find out how cartoons move, and we plan our own dragon animation on paper.

While the register is called: write your name on your sheet. Look at Task 1, the pretend animation app with the dragon egg.

Starter question: Who has watched a cartoon? How do you think the pictures move?

DCF: Producing → Creating digital content No computers needed · the app is pretend

Slide 2 of 7 · Step 1: what is an animation? · Art · Year 2

10 minutes

The secret: the pictures do not really move

An animation is lots of still pictures, shown one after another, very, very fast. Each one is only a tiny bit different from the one before.

Frame

One still picture in an animation.

Storyboard

A plan that shows the main frames, in order, in boxes.

Caption

A sentence that tells what is happening.

LNF: Literacy → Writing → Punctuation Watch the notebook flick

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Here is a secret. The pictures in a cartoon do not really move. An animation is lots of still pictures, shown one after another, very, very fast. Each picture is called a frame. Each frame is only a tiny bit different from the one before. Our eyes and brain join them up, so it looks like moving.”

Show: your notebook. Show the 4 stick people one at a time, slowly. Ask: “What is different on each page?” (the arms go up, then it jumps). Now flick the pages fast with your thumb so the stick person seems to wave and jump. Do it 2 or 3 times.

Say aloud: “That is an animation. Cartoons work like this, and so does stop-motion. In stop-motion, people move a model a tiny bit, take a photo, move it again, take another photo, again and again. The first Fireman Sam films were made like this, with little models.”

Optional, with sticky notes: each pupil sticks 2 notes on top of each other, draws a circle face on the bottom one and the same face with the mouth open on the top one, rolls the top note round a pencil and moves the pencil up and down fast. The mouth opens and shuts.

Slide 3 of 7 · Steps 2 and 3: Tasks 1 and 2 · Art · Year 2

13 minutes

Hatch the egg, then find the jumpy frame

Task 1: someone mixed up the frames of a dragon egg hatching. Write 1 to 6 in the boxes. Look for the egg with no cracks first.

Frame	Number	Why
C	1	Whole egg, no cracks at all.
E	2	A small crack.

Task 2: the dragon flies to the castle. Which frame jumps too far? Circle it.

Tasks 1 and 2 on your sheet · 13 minutes Each frame is a tiny bit more hatched

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud (8 minutes): “Look at Task 1. This is a pretend animation app, like one on a tablet. Along the bottom is the frame strip. When you press play, the app shows the frames from left to right, very fast. Oh no! Someone has mixed up the frames of a dragon egg hatching. Which frame comes first? Look for the egg with no cracks at all.” (frame C) “Write 1 in the box under it. What happens next?” (a small crack, frame E, write 2) “Now finish the order by yourself, 3, 4, 5 and 6.” If a pupil is stuck, ask: “Can you see the dragon yet? Can you see its eyes or its whole head?”

Quick check, Task 1: A 3, B 6, C 1, D 5, E 2, F 4. In order: C (whole egg), E (small crack), A (big crack all the way round), F (the top lifts and 2 eyes peep out), D (the head pops out wearing a bit of shell), B (the baby dragon stands next to the shell).

Say aloud (5 minutes): “In a good animation, the dragon moves only a little bit in each frame. If one frame jumps too far, the animation looks jerky, like a hiccup. In Task 2 the dragon is flying to the castle. Put your finger on the dragon in frame 1, then 2, then 3, then 4. Which frame jumps too far? Draw a circle round it.”

Quick check, Task 2: frame 3. The dragon is suddenly right next to the castle, then in frame 4 it is back again.

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 4: Task 3, my storyboard · Art · Year 2

12 minutes

Step 4: draw your storyboard

Your storyboard is: the dragon flies over the castle. Or choose your own idea. Draw 4 frames. Change the picture only a little each time.

Top tip: draw the castle first, in the same place, in all 4 frames. Then draw the dragon.

Frame 1 low → Frame 2 higher → Frame 3 over the castle → Frame 4 past it, coming down.

Task 3 on your sheet · 12 minutes Leave the lines under the frames empty for now

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Before people make an animation, they draw a plan called a storyboard. It shows the main frames, in order, in boxes. Your storyboard is: the dragon flies over the castle. Or you can choose your own idea. Here is a top tip. Draw the castle first, in the same place, in all 4 frames. Then draw the dragon. Move the dragon only a little bit each time: low, then higher, then over the castle, then past it.”

Do: on the board, draw 4 boxes with a castle in each and a small dragon moving across, to show the idea. Leave the lines under the frames empty for now.

Walk the room: ask “Is your dragon only a little bit different in each frame? Would it look jumpy?” A good storyboard keeps the castle still and moves the dragon a little in each of the 4 frames, in order.

Slide 5 of 7 · Step 5: Task 4, captions · Art · Year 2

8 minutes

Step 5: write a caption under each frame

A caption is a sentence that tells what is happening. Capital letter at the start, full stop at the end, finger spaces between words.

the dragon flies up → The dragon flies up.

Use ! for something surprising or loud: Look at the dragon! Use ? for a question: Can you see me?

Word bank: dragon, castle, flies, up, down, sky, hello, Look.

Task 4 on your sheet · 8 minutes Use one ! or one ? in your captions

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “A caption is a sentence that tells what is happening. Now write a caption on the lines under each of your 4 frames.” Write on the board: the dragon flies up. Ask: “What is missing?” Fix it together: a capital T at the start and a full stop at the end. Write The dragon flies up. Point to the gaps: “Leave a finger space between each word.”

Say aloud: “In one of your captions, use an exclamation mark or a question mark instead of a full stop. Use ! for something surprising or loud, like Look at the dragon! Use ? for a question, like Can you see me? The word bank in Task 4 has words to help you. When you finish, tick the checklist.” Read the word bank aloud: dragon, castle, flies, up, down, sky, hello, Look.

Quick check: the worked example captions are “The dragon flies up.”, “It is in the sky.”, “Look at the dragon over the castle!” and “The dragon flies down.” If a pupil writes no full stops, say: “One frame, one sentence. Read it aloud. Where does your voice stop? Put a full stop there.”

Slide 6 of 7 · Step 6: Task 5 and self check · Art · Year 2

7 minutes

Fix the app’s captions, then check your own

Task 5: the app forgot the capital letters and the punctuation. Write each caption again. Use each mark once: . ! ?

Every caption starts with a capital letter.
Every caption ends with a full stop, a ! or a ?
I left finger spaces between my words.
I used one ! or one ?

Task 5 and the checklist · 7 minutes Which one is a question? Which is a big surprise?

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “The animation app wrote 3 captions for the egg, but it forgot the capital letters and the punctuation. Can you fix them?” Read each one aloud: “the egg cracks”, “out pops a baby dragon”, “can it fly”. “Use each mark once: one full stop, one exclamation mark, one question mark. Write each caption again on the line, with a capital letter at the start.” Ask: “Which one is a question?” (can it fly) “Which one is a big surprise?” (out pops a baby dragon)

Quick check, Task 5: The egg cracks. · Out pops a baby dragon! · Can it fly? If a pupil puts a full stop after the question, ask: “Is it asking something? Then it needs a question mark.”

Then: pupils tick the 4 checklist points on the board against their own Task 4 captions.

Slide 7 of 7 · Step 7: play and share · Art · Year 2

5 minutes

Press play! Then answer together

In pairs: one of you is the “app” and points to frames 1, 2, 3, 4 quickly. Your partner reads the captions aloud. Then swap.

Question	Correct answer
What is a frame?	One still picture in an animation.
Why should each frame be only a tiny bit different?	So the animation looks smooth, not jerky like a hiccup.
Which egg caption needs a question mark?	Can it fly?

Check your name is on your activity pages Pencils away, sheets to the front