This short was done by students from Lord Tennyson Elementary at the Museum of Vancouver in a one-day workshop called Animating History. A short animation demonstration taught them how to do cut out animation. Animating History is a partnership of the Museum of Vancouver and the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth.
The animation was based on the letters of Joseph Halpenny, a prospector from Gloucester, Ontario that tried his luck at mining. He apparantly didn’t have much!
A great example of interdisciplinary learning: Language Arts, Social Studies, Technology, Art, Collaboration, Teamwork, Creativity, FUN!
What a great wrap up to the Natural Resources portion of the Grade 4 curriculum. This class also dramatized a town hall meeting to debate a proposed clear cut, with students representing various stakeholders in the community – and tried panning for gold in class.
They definitely had more fun than poor Joseph Halpenny!
The students are friends from school or from other recitals. Some of them love it and thrive on the chance to perform for their friends and family. Many are healthily nervous, meaning that knowing the recital is coming up motivates them to practice a little more than usual and they breathe a sigh of relief when they’re done, whether it’s gone perfectly or not. Part of our preparation is always what to do if something goes wrong. Every year something goes wrong for someone. This is what I get nervous about. I always make sure they know ahead of time that performances are almost never perfect. That if something goes wrong they can keep playing as if nothing happened or they can start over. That everyone will love them just as much if they forget their whole song and fall off the piano bench. (I have not yet had the same student do both on the same night.) But I agonize over the possibility that something that happens at this recital will be the event that scars them for life, that makes them never want to get on stage again. I know it’s still mostly my own stage fright, but every year I wish I could cancel it, or that the power would go out, or something, but I know giving them the experience is important. So I make myself play too. I feel that if I’m asking them to do it I have to do it too. Tonight one of my daughter’s best friends played her first song perfectly. Part way through her second song she froze. She hadn’t played a wrong note, she just froze and before I could help her in any way she ran off the stage in tears. I smiled at her and everyone applauded. Her mom talked quietly with her. After the next student finished she said she’d like to give it another try because she really liked her song. She got back up there and knocked it out of the park. I wouldn’t have been half as proud if everyone had played perfectly. I know how hard it would have been to go back up in front of everyone and try again. How scared she would have been that it might happen again. But, she did it! She was beaming after and got an ovation. I felt like I’d succeeded in giving them the message that we were there to have fun and play for each other and that was it. I have one student who has been taking lessons for four years. She has come to most of the recitals, but has never managed to get up on stage even though she plays beautifully. Her mom and I have tried a few different approaches, but nothing has worked when it comes down to that moment of going up on stage. I don’t push. Maybe one day she’ll do it, maybe not, but she’ll keep having the option. If she regrets not performing she can always create an opportunity. If she gets forced up there and it’s terrible for her we can never take that back. She gets the treats anyway. After all, they’re not a bribe. 
BTW I played “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter. I didn’t fall off the bench and I asked if anyone had counted up all my mistakes. No one had.