Team 3 - Macbeth

This half term, our learning has been focused on Macbeth. We began our half term by learning about Shakespeare’s life and his work. We looked at the amazing impact he had on the English language we know today.

The story of Macbeth:

The children then learnt the story of Macbeth through videos and drama – it was great to see the children showing their understanding by acting out the different scenes!

The History of Animation:

We then learnt all about the history of animation and how Stop Motion animation has evolved through time. We even made some flipbooks and learnt how to make it look like our image was moving!

Science – Electricity:

During our Science lessons, the children learnt all about electricity and circuits. They had to think carefully about the equipment they were using and ensuring that the circuit was complete! We also looked at how to draw circuits using scientific symbols.

Stop Motion Animation Videos:

The children were then able to use their knowledge of Macbeth, circuits and animation to create their own Stop Motion animation movie of the first Act in Macbeth. This was a tricky process with many stages, and the children had to work cooperatively with their Kagan group to complete their videos. The steps involved in this process included:

Using plasticine to make the different characters from Act 1, thinking carefully about their size and different features.
Designing the heath background and ground for their stop motion videos, using previous art knowledge and using different mediums.
Using their knowledge about electricity to create a working circuit to add light to their background.
Investigating different stop motion apps and how moving pictures are created.
Practising the script, using different voices and timing each scene to know how many pictures they will need.
Taking photos of each scene, ensuring enough frames per second (FPS).
Using editing software (iMovie) to split each scene, add transitions, add titles, backgrounds, sound effects and credits.

Writing:

Alongside their Stop Motion videos, the children have completed some fantastic pieces of writing. They thought carefully about the scenery and characters in the story and wrote a character description and setting description. Because they had such a good understanding and insight into Lady Macbeth’s thoughts and feelings throughout the story, the children were able to put themselves in her shoes in order to write three diary entries from her perspective at different points.

It was lovely to have many of you join us for our open afternoon. The children were very excited to show you their incredible Stop Motion videos and writing. If you were unable to attend (or would like to watch the videos again!), we have included the videos below.

Flynn, Samuel, Jacob, Jenson and Frannie: