Middle school students are in the early stages of middle school where their identities and friendships are shifting. Having a reflection about this phase of their life in a supportive group setting will help create a deeper sense of community in the classroom.

The 6th grade students are very familiar with animation (Disney, Pixar, Illumination Studios) and stop-motion (YouTube), but they may not realize that animation is also an artistic medium. Adolescents also love technology and are given school provided iPads to use in the classroom. Since they enjoy technology, I wanted to bring it into the art classroom in a format they are familiar with.

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The 6th grade students are in the early stages of middle school where their identities and friendships are shifting. It is a big time of growth as “students are undergoing vast changes in their physical, cognitive, and emotional development” (Sickler-Voigt, 2020). Having a reflection about this phase of their life in a supportive group setting will help create a deeper sense of community in the classroom.

“The middle school art curriculum should balance contemporary issues with fantasy and jovial topics to encourage students to express their individual personalities and sense of humor” (Sickler-Voigt, 2020). This unit does just that by using the fun and creative medium of stop-motion animation with the big topic of friendship in middle school.

• 6.2 CR Brainstorm and experiment independently with ideas.

• 6.2 PE Identify technical skills that impact artmaking.

• 6.1 RE Select relevant vocabulary to define and describe works of art.

• 6.3 CO Link observations, life experiences, and imagination for personal and creative expression.