Farming Stop Motion

Stop-motion film making is an engaging way of using digital technology to support learning about where food comes from. Pupils can research a particular food journey, from farm to fork, and show this using their own creative animation. Using photos, drawings, or toy models, children can use readily available apps on tablets or smart phones and a tripod to create engaging content. Washingborough Academy set their pupils the task of creating a short food story using a stop motion app.

In this project - 'Peaceful Planet' - a group of year 6 children used a digital platform to share their own creative response  to the farming of palm oil in the world today. This was part of a wider project looking at the argument for and against the use of sustainable palm oil and its multi-faceted impact on the environment. The children used a storyboard to plan out their own ideas. They were then supported in using the Stop Motion software to create a mini video on this topic.

The children were given access to various resources including Lego. They were given control to choose the resources used and the narrative of their film. They divided into clear roles; ‘designers’ creating the props to be filmed, ‘engineers’ moving the images and another ‘directing’ the images being taken. The children found this challenging in different ways. For example in not being able to complete taking the images in one go due to time constraints and then ensuring the resources were kept intact until the next session and positioned in the same place. The children found solutions to these problems with time.  The children worked as a team to edit the images and create a stop motion video. Once completed this was then broadcast within school to share the work the children had completed on learning about the farming of palm oil. 

What are the benefits/outcomes of a digital approach to this activity?

Stop-motion film making provides an excellent opportunity to reinforce and document pupil learning around food and farming. It is a great activity to run in the classroom and has a number of benefits:

• Pupils  given opportunities to enhance their understanding of farming through an engaging medium 
• Engage more of an audience through a digital platform 
• Add breadth to a curriculum topic and create curriculum links 
• Flexible to work around a busy timetable 
• Additional skills that children can learn; teamwork, digital competence  
• Food journeys can often be quite meaningless descriptions or images, and creating a film can help bring these to life for the children involved
• Films can be shared widely without the need for photo permissions

Top Tips

• Give initial support/training to navigate specific software. Test out the software/app so that you are aware of its functionality and can help the children. Most are very intuitive to use
• Find a blank backdrop (eg a sheet) or paint your own scenery so that the background isn’t cluttered
• Source additional resources for using technology e.g. tripod if possible 
• Research and story boarding to help plan approach to the project 
• Ensure pupils move the subject matter gradually and with each stop-motion photo to create a smooth movement
• Add sound effects, music or text at the end when you edit the content
• Give plenty of time for editing!