This is a lesson for teaching animation to a class of middle school students.

1. Create two
GoAnimate
Cartoons
An Excel Project

2. Options
• Make a 2-minute cartoon – GoAnimate’s limit
• You can make a two-part cartoon – 4 minutes

3. Options
• Work alone or with a partner.
• With a partner, create a two-part series using
the same characters and same storyline.
• If three work together, create a three-part
story.

4. What is a story?
• In a short story something must happen that
changes a person.
• Screenplays require
– Characters
– Setting
– Conflict
– Plot
– Setting
– Soundtrack
– Camera angles

5. Parameters – 7 Steps
1. Storyline –
Two characters are faced with a problem…
They must travel to a third character who will
help solve the problem.
2. Somewhere, someone must say, “That will make
grandma get up and dance.”
3. An animal appears somewhere in the film
Content will be non-violent and age-appropriate;
obnoxious is OK; strive to be creative most of all.

6. Parameters – 7 Steps
1. Three characters minimum
1. Characters speak; move; show emotions
2. Two backgrounds minimum – more is better
3. Title, To Be Continued… and End slides required
4. Background music required
5. Film will run a minimum of 1 minute 30 seconds
Content will be non-violent and age-appropriate;
obnoxious is OK; strive to be creative most of all.

7. Sample Story Lines
• Two boys who can’t get dates for the school
dance seek the advice of a magical wizard.
• A guitar player and a drummer go in search of a
lead singer.
• Two adventurers must seek the beast from the
cave and retrieve his toenail, but they need help.
• A loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter do not
know how to make a sandwich, so they travel to
the Land of Jelly to speak with the king.
• A student cannot find his pencil.

8. Parameters