What is an animal?

Malinn Hellen Sele / Elementary teacher K-12 / Oslo, Norway / Class of 2024

Dive into the world of creativity and imagination with this exciting project where students explore what makes an animal, create their own fantastical creatures, and bring them to life through animation!

The goal of this project was for my students to be creative, wonder about what an animal really is, become familiar with shapes, and write about their own imaginary animal. Additionally, they learn several functions in Keynote, such as grouping and animation. I chose this project because I and my students love both animals and Keynote. The main goal was for all students to create a film they could be proud of!

We began by discussing what an animal actually is. What characteristics define an animal? How do we know if something is an animal? Most students agreed that having four legs was a good indicator, but it wasn't a strict rule! Next, we explored the various basic shapes in Keynote and how they could be grouped and combined. The students had plenty of time to create their own imaginary animals and really enjoyed the task.

Then, they wrote stories about their creatures. What makes their animal special, and what happens when it ventures into the world? After this, they created a background in Keynote that matched the story they had written. They then animated their animals to move for about 1.5 minutes. Finally, they recorded their screens while narrating their stories.

The students worked hard, adjusting their animations several times to match the timing of their narrations. They handled this challenge well, determined to produce a great film. We wrapped it up with a class film screening, and everyone was very proud of their work.

 Learn to Design with Shapes today >