Programming an Animation using Scratch: Principles of AnimationIntroduction to Computer Science

Time Frame:2-3 Class Periods

Objective: Students will incorporate one or more of the 12 principles of animation into an animation programmed using MITs Scratch.

Materials: Computers (one per student or group) Adobe Photoshop MIT Scratch Digital Cameras (one per student or group) with necessary cables or card readers

Prior Knowledge Required: Basic Programming using Scratch Background removal using Photoshop Exporting .png files with transparency

Notes:

Prior to this lesson, the teacher should select clips from various films that showcase the 12 techniques.

Lesson Outline:

First Class: 12 Principles Lecture and video demos of each principle: Squash and Stretch Anticipation Staging Straight-ahead action and Pose-to-Pose Follow-through and Overlapping Action Slow In-and-Out Arcs Secondary Action Timing Exaggeration Solid Drawing Appeal NB: A particular focus should be given to Squash/Stretch, Anticipation, Slow In-and-Out and Exaggeration, as these concepts will likely require computational thinking in order to build the algorithms

Second Class: Studio Time

Third Class: Critique

Resources:

A demonstration Scratch project:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/67912322

12 Principles of Animation:https://vimeo.com/74033738https://youtu.be/vGs9HvtelkQ