Moving Messages!

Get ready to bring your words to life with Moving Messages! In this fun stop-motion project, you’ll design creative letters and animate them to reveal a message, one frame at a time. Using iPads and Keynote, you’ll capture each movement, transforming simple letters into a dynamic, eye-catching story. Whether your message is bold, inspiring, or just plain fun, you’ll learn the magic of stop-motion while turning your creativity into action.

Ready to make your message move? Let’s get started!

1. Plan Your Message

• Choose a short word or phrase you want to animate

• Sketch out how you want the letters to move onto the screen to form a readable message.

2. Create Your Letters

• Cut paper or cardstock into ‘tiles.”

• Decorate them with colors, patterns, or textures to make them stand out.

• Place them on a plain background (like a white sheet or colored poster board) for clear contrast.

3. Set Up Your iPad and Keynote

• Open Keynote and create a new blank slide presentation, you will need a blank slide for each of your photos.

• Position your iPad on a stand or steady surface to keep the camera angle consistent.

• Open the Camera app and get ready to take pictures of your letters in motion

4. Capture Your Stop-Motion Frames

• Place the first letter in its starting position and take a photo. Hint: Make sue Live is turned off.

• Slightly move the letter closer to where it will settle and take another photo.

• Repeat this process, gradually moving each letter into place, taking a photo at each step.

• Continue until the full word or phrase is readable.

5. Insert Photos into Keynote

• Open Keynote and insert each your photos onto its own slide.

7. Preview and Adjust

• Tap Play to watch your animation and see if any frames need to be adjusted.

8. Export Your Animation

• Once complete, go to File > Export > Movie (MP4) to save your stop-motion as a video.

• Share your moving message with classmates, family, or display it digitally!

Connections:

• Connect to number sequences, skip counting, or pattern recognition by animating numbers in a similar stop-motion process.
• Connect to history lessons by having students create animated messages from speeches, slogans, or important dates.
• Reinforce science terminology and understanding through movement-based learning.
• Connect with a reading or writing lesson—students could animate words from a class book, sight words, or a poem they write.

This hands-on project introduces students to stop-motion animation, letter recognition, design, and visual storytelling while reinforcing creativity and patience. Share your ideas and examples; help to inspire others!

Learn to Design with Shapes today >