Name of Project: Body Movement Flipbooks
Classroom, School: Clara Barton Open School
Cooperating teacher: Jaci Sullivan
Grade Level: 3-4th Grade
Presenter's Name: Karoline Hand
Subject: Digital Photography (serial)
Curricular Link: Science-Study of the Human Body
Overview of Project
Students will combine previously gained knowledge of the parts of the body that move and prior experiences of using digital cameras to document human body motion in collaboration with partners to produce a flipbook.
Essential Question(s)
How does the human body work? What do I take for granted that I am able to do? How much do I rely on my ability to do a particular action?
Subsidiary Questions
How many images do I need to make a flipbook that effectively presents motion? What is the best composition for documenting a specific action?
Prior Knowledge
Students should have previous experience using digital cameras and be familiar with major parts of the body and their actions.
Examples of Student or Artist Work
Students will be shown a variety of examples of motion studies done by artists such as Thomas Eakins and Eadweard Muybridge, as well as a variety of published flipbooks, and an example of storyboards.
Assessment
Ask students to present the class with their flipbooks and say something they were satisfied with about their own project and at least one thing they learned through this process.
Materials
- Digital Cameras-point and shoot (if working in groups of four only a few cameras are needed)
- Computer and appropriate software to upload phot ographs
- One ream of heavier weight printing paper (36-45lbs.)
- Access to a laser printer
- Brass fasteners (enough for two per flipbook)
- Paper cutter
- Hole Punch
Procedures
- Open a discussion about the human body and how it moves. Ask students what actions they notice themselves doing a lot of and what parts of the body they think they rely most heavily on.
- Introduce the work of photographers such as Thomas Eakins and Eadweard Muybridge.
- Talk about the idea of the flipbook. Ask students how they work.
- Show examples of flipbooks and storyboards to demonstrate planning a flipbook.
- Tell students how and where they will be taking the pictures (in a temporary photo studio a set of partners will photograph another pair doing an action and then they will swap positions).
- Break students into partners and groups of two sets of partners.
- Demonstrate storyboarding.
- Allow students time to brainstorm about which actions are important to them and decide on a particular one to illustrate with their partner.
- Have the students create a storyboard for their action and the images they intend to take.
- Bring the students out of the classroom to photograph one group at a time.
- As each group is finished taking their photographs (a flipbook ideally has 25-35 images), upload the images to the computer to keep cameras in rotation.
- Teaching Artist will format and compile images on the computer and make two sets of black and white prints for every action series (Print size of pages is subjective but around 2x3' is good). Pages will be cut orders and hole punched.
- Students will receive the pages of their books and attach them using brass fasteners.
- Discuss final product as a group (see Assessment).
Vocabulary
joints, motion study, storyboard, flipbooks, digital photography
Teacher Reflection
As students have been studying the human body in their current curriculum, this project should be
fun for the students but also a challenge due to the dependence on others to take pictures for them
and in being patient enough to break down what may seem like simple actions into so many small
steps. The final product, students' reception, and the final assessment/presentation of the flipbooks will elaborate on the successes and shortcomings of the project.
