Sign of the Beaver - Stop Motion Animated Book Report

Ta - DAAAAA!  I am proud to reveal my first stop motion animated movie - a report on the book, Sign of the Beaver.

Here are the steps I took to complete my movie:

1. I created a storyboard that showed the series of scenes I would film.  The storyboard included a list of props for each scene.
2. I created the props.  I made figures for Matt, Matt's father, Ben, Saknis, and Attean.  I also received some art lessons from my mom and painted the backdrops for each scene.  
3. I played around to learn how to use the stop motion animation app.
4. I took pictures of the small movements that create each scene.
5. I added words, theme cards, and sound.
6. I rendered the movie and uploaded it.

This whole process, along with reading the book, took me over two months.  I worked really hard.  I hope you enjoy it!

Peace.  Out -
Ollie and Mom

Week 8 Review

Last week, at the end of week 8, we finished the HBO movie series about John Adams.  I am going to be writing and publishing a review on it soon.  I also finished my unit on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  I'm glad to have that over with!

During week 8, my mom and I finished reading this book, Master George's People.  I was surprised to learn that George Washington owned slaves.  This book is about the people he enslaved at his plantation, Mt. Vernon.  You learn some of their names and life stories.  It also documents President Washington's changing views on slavery throughout his life.  I discovered by reading it that the people who worked on Mt. Vernon made enormous sacrifices so that George Washington could be off leading the Revolutionary War and being President.  Without them, he would not have been able to make a living and keep up his most beloved Mt. Vernon.

I also learned about the Culper Code and how it helped us win the American Revolution.  I wrote a secret message for you using the code:

553 193 74 KRETL

If you want to break the code, visit this link at Mt. Vernon's website with the entire Culper Code and the history about how the code helped us win the war:

Culper Code at Mt. Vernon

Another thing I did during week 8 was write a story using my vocabulary words from the book Sign of the Beaver:

Do You Have A Mean Coach?!?
Is your coach finicky?  If he is, please read more.  If he is, and you read this essay, you might find it easier to nonchalantly walk into your next game.  Is he trying to lie and act dumbfounded if you told your parents, and they talked to your coach, and he said he didn't do it?  I bet you felt contemptuous about that.  I'm pretty sure you glowered at him next game.  Remember your manitou and rise above this incomprehensible man.  When your parents find out they are going to be disdainful toward him.  He will act disgruntled, but he always has.  You and your parents have to be wary next year.

This is a picture of a storyboard I created last week for a stop motion animated movie I am making as a report for the book Sign of the Beaver.  I made ten storyboards that outline the props, scenery, and sequence of each scene I will film for my movie.  It might take us a few weeks, but when we are done, I will publish my first stop motion animated movie!

Some other things that kept me busy during week 8:

• An All About Frogs nature club at night at Reed Creek.
• A nature walk with my mom where we saw many signs of Spring.
• Learning and testing Newton's first two laws of motion (videos coming soon).
• Some IXL grammar and Code.org coding.

That's all for now.  Peace out - 

Ollie and Mom