Garden City students bring animal research to life through stop-motion technology
Garden City’s Hemlock School students in Ms. Nicolette Samardich’s first grade class recently completed their animal research portfolios. During this project, which integrated literacy, science and technology, students explored animal habitats and created stop-motion videos, furthering their interdisciplinary learning and technology skills.
Students began by researching an animal of their choice to gather interesting facts and deepen their understanding. They then planned and wrote informative "all about" books to showcase what they had learned. Using construction paper, the students designed and built habitats for their animals, which was followed by creating 3D models with model magic to bring their creatures to life. To wrap up the project, students produced stop motion videos featuring their animals in action within their habitats, narrating each video to highlight key facts and details about their chosen animal.
The students enjoyed working on their projects through the creative use of technology. "Stop motion helped me show how my animal moves and lives its life in its habitat. It was a fun way to share about our animals,” said Tyler Masterson.
"I could see what the animal looks like and where it lives. I did all this research and shared that using my writing and my stop motion,” said Audrey O'Malley.
This engaging project exemplified how interdisciplinary learning and creative uses of technology can deepen student understanding, allowing them to bring their research to life in meaningful and memorable ways.
