Beijing City International School (BCIS) has now completed over two months of online learning. Students and teachers have gone through a process of preparation, adaptation and now familiarity with learning online. Taking advantage of these circumstances, BCIS Science and Design Technology teachers Mr. Dimatera and Ms. Garcia recently teamed up to work on their Grade 7 classes upcoming Claymation project. We joined in one of their classes to see how they are utilizing technology and collaborating across subjects to deliver classes that encourage connected learning.

In preparation for making their Claymation, students were asked to create a short stop motion animation in their homes, putting to use the scientific theories and filmmaking skills they had already learned. Ask any budding Grade 7 director and they will tell you the key to shooting a good scene is lighting! In addition to the study of how light travels and optimal lighting for shooting in Science class, students also learned the mathematics concepts of ratios, rates and scale factors to ensure their animations appeared consistently in scale. After storyboarding their stop motion idea using design concepts learned as a part of this project, students were ready to film. Grade 7 student Lily shared her set up with us, which included: a background cloth, main character doll, fill light, homemade reflector screen, hand-painted red, green and blue filters, and of course, camera equipment. During the class students talked us through how they used software to steady their shots and match up their angles in between shots to ensure consistency. These young students expressed incredible familiarity with editing and filming software and explained how they utilized items from their home environment to create their films. We are sure to have some future BCIS directors and producers in our hands!

Mr. Dimatera and Ms. Garcia's collaboration produced impressive results, fostering skills and capabilities in students all linked to the MYP assessment rubric and BCIS SS Learning Model. Take a look at the students' completed stop motion animations shared in the class below!