On Thursday 4th April, Barnham Primary School, part of the Oak Academy Trust, opened its doors to 90 families of Key Stage 1 children for their first ever ‘film festival.’ The evening was a culmination of a term’s worth of learning for the children about Lego; the result was 18, 3-minute films using stop-motion animation.
The concept began with children trading Lego cards in the Autumn term. An obsession grew, with conversations centering around the characters, the buildings, the design elements of models and the many different uses that the cards could provide. The teaching staff then used this interest to inspire the children by planning a creative, fun-filled topic that was packed full of key learning skills concluding with the development and production of stop-motion animations. Before they knew what was happening, the “Brick Flicks” topic had been built.
The topic had started with a small seed, an idea, and soon grew rapidly into an all-encompassing, awe-inspiring tree of knowledge; its roots firmly planted in the children’s interests, its branches reaching out into the curriculum.
To see the engagement and progress of children aged between 5 and 7 in making their own movies was phenomenal. To complete the topic by showing them to a large group of parents from the local community was incredible.
Who knows what the children will learn, create and achieve next? www.barnhamprimaryschool.co.uk
