Klapon in the classroom

Goals

• Build a story: beginning, problem, events, ending.
• Write dialogue that moves the story forward.
• Go from writing to pictures: choose a background, shots, gestures.

Equipment

• One computer for two or three students, headphones.
• A sheet for the story plan (four boxes).

Steps

1. Lesson 1. In groups, write the plan in four boxes, then the lines (two or three per box).
2. Lesson 2. In Klapon, one scene per box: the background, the characters, the lines (Talk, or Write for the whole scene). Save the film as a file at the end.
3. Lesson 3. Polish (gestures, camera, a title), export the video, then the comic (Export, Comic format).
4. Show the films to the class, put up the comics.

To keep

• Each group's video.
• The comic as a PDF, printed.

Going further

• Compare the film and the comic: what does the picture say, what does the bubble say?
• Change the ending, and redo only the last scene.

Goals

• Write dialogue in quotation marks, saying who speaks.
• Read with the tone that fits the emotion.
• Record yourself and listen back to improve.

Equipment

• One computer per pair, a microphone or the built-in one, headphones.

Steps

1. Lesson 1. Pick two characters and a situation (an argument, a surprise, a request). Write six to eight lines.
2. Act the dialogue in pairs, out loud, then choose an expression for each line.
3. Lesson 2. In Klapon, set the background and the two characters, then record each line with the microphone (Talk). Set the facial expression.
4. Watch the film, record again what does not sound right.

To keep

• The film, with the students' voices.

Going further

• The same dialogue with other emotions: the scene changes meaning.
• Write the scene as text in Write, and compare with the scene staged by hand.

Goals

• Pick what matters and say it simply.
• Organise an explanation in steps.
• Combine picture and speech.

Equipment

• One computer per group, headphones.
• The lesson notes.

Steps

1. Lesson 1. Write the text of the presentation in three or four steps, a sentence or two per step.
2. Lesson 2. In Klapon, one scene per step, with a fitting background, a title at the start, and the character talking (synthetic voice or microphone). Objects to show things.
3. Lesson 3. The camera shots (a close-up when it matters), then the export.

To keep

• The video, to show in class or to parents.

Going further

• A quiz at the end of the film: a question, then the answer in the next scene.
• The comic of the presentation as a revision sheet.

Goals

• Understand that a movement breaks down into small steps.
• Plan and adjust a simple movement.
• Notice the effect of speed.

Equipment

• One computer per pair.

Steps

1. Lesson 1. Show a cartoon slowed down, frame by frame. Look together at what changes from one picture to the next.
2. In Klapon, switch a scene to frame by frame: move a character or an object just a little, take a photo, start again. The previous photo stays see-through.
3. Lesson 2. A small challenge: a bouncing ball, a character jumping, an object crossing the scene. Try several speeds.

To keep

• Each pair's short films.

Going further

• Draw your own object on the drawing board, then animate it.
• Compare with a real stop motion film.

Goals

• Reuse the expressions from the lesson.
• Work on pronunciation by listening and recording yourself.
• Act out a real-life situation.

Equipment

• One computer per pair, a microphone, headphones.

Steps

1. Lesson 1. Write the dialogue in French (six lines), read it in pairs, working on pronunciation with the teacher.
2. In Klapon, set a fitting background (a café, a street, a station) and two characters.
3. Lesson 2. Record your voice with the microphone, line by line (Talk), listen back, redo what can be said better, then export.

To keep

• The film with the students' voices.

Going further

• Add subtitles, in French then in English.
• Swap films between pairs: each writes down what they understood.