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Year 3

Using storyboards to plan an animation

I can plan an animation using a storyboard.

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New
New
Year 3

Using storyboards to plan an animation

I can plan an animation using a storyboard.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A story can be broken down into settings, characters, and events.
  2. Some things, like complicated movements or many characters, may not be achievable in an animation.
  3. A storyboard is a set of drawings used to help plan a story.

Keywords

  • Events - things that happen at the beginning, middle, and end of a story

  • Storyboard - a set of drawings used to help plan a story

  • Achievable - something you can really do with the materials and time you have

Common misconception

An animation can show any kind of story.

Some story ideas are not suited to animation. Think about what is achievable with the materials and time you have.


To help you plan your year 3 computing lesson on: Using storyboards to plan an animation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Animations take time to produce; even a short clip can take a long time. Eventful stories with multiple backgrounds and characters would be difficult to animate in one lesson, so keep this in mind when demonstrating planning to the students. They should keep it simple - 1 background / 2 characters.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a single image in an animation called?
Correct Answer: Frame, A frame
Q2.
What does stop-frame animation involve?
drawing on a computer
recording audio clips
Correct answer: taking one picture at a time
writing a script
Q3.
Why is it important to make small changes between animation frames?
Correct answer: to make the animation look smooth
to save time
to use fewer colours
to make it louder
Q4.
What tool lets you see a shadow of the last frame in animation?
colour palette
timeline
eraser
Correct answer: onion skin
Q5.
Put these steps in order to create a stop-frame animation:
1 - draw the starting image
2 - take a photo
3 - make a small change to the drawing
4 - repeat steps for each frame
Q6.
Match the process to its purpose:
Correct Answer:making small changes,creating smooth movement

creating smooth movement

Correct Answer:taking photographs,capture frames

capture frames

Correct Answer:using the onion skin tool,guiding next drawing

guiding next drawing

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keyword to its meaning:
Correct Answer:storyboard,a plan using drawings to organise a story

a plan using drawings to organise a story

Correct Answer:achievable,something you can really do with the materials and time you have

something you can really do with the materials and time you have

Correct Answer:events,things that happen in the story

things that happen in the story

Correct Answer:settings,where the story takes place

where the story takes place

Correct Answer:characters,the people or animals in a story

the people or animals in a story

Q2.
Why is it important to consider what is achievable in your animation?
to use more colours
to make the story more confusing
to add extra characters
Correct answer: to avoid planning things you cannot make
Q3.
Put these events in order to make a simple story:
1 - the dog goes to the park
2 - the dog finds a stick in the park
3 - the dog plays with the stick in the park
4 - the dog brings the stick home
Q4.
Which of these is NOT usually included in a storyboard?
drawings of each scene
list of materials needed
sequence of events
Correct answer: random doodles
Q5.
Which statement is correct when planning a story for animation?
Correct answer: It is important to check if your story is achievable before animating.
Any story can be animated, no matter how complicated.
Only stories with animals can be animated.
All animations must have lots of characters.
Q6.
Arrange the stages for making an achievable animation:
1 - list the main events
2 - check if your ideas are possible
3 - plan what you can really do
4 - create drawings for each event

Additional material

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