Kindergarten and First Grade Science Claymation Project

First, the Science Teacher will introduce and discuss the concept of plant life. The students will write a brief story about how seeds grow into plants.
The ITRT (Instructional Technology Resource Teacher) will help the students transpose this story onto a story board. The students will create characters and scenery out of clay. Some of the scenery will be clay, also, but most of the scenery will be painted or drawn onto a cardboard background. The ITRT will use digital photography to take pictures and make an animated movie using the software Movie Maker. The students will narrate the story as the Claymation figures are moved to enact the students' creative writing.
The primary goal of this project is to use the colorful and tactile intense media of clay to present and reinforce narrative writing standards. Objectives are to actively involve the students in connecting their personal writing to a creative outlet and to stimulate creative thinking outside worksheet/textbook curriculum. The students will be encouraged to express their originality and use their imagination for this project.