Science animated incursion | Stage 2 Science and Technology | Field of Mars EEC

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost	DoE $27 per student – GST free Non-gov $37 per student – GST free, min charge $750 per class Schools outside Greater Sydney – minimum charge $750 per class Program costs may change. Bookings are charged at the cost confirmed when you book.
Risk assessment	Risk management plan
Classes	Maximum 3 classes per day with up to 32 students per class.
School preparation	Schools to provide one extra large learning space, with a screen or projector, for all participating classes for the duration of the day. Place students into groups of two. If leaving school grounds, ensure teacher to student ratio of 1:15.
Welfare	For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student numbers and classes 7 days in advance.
Cancellation and rescheduling	Cancellation or rescheduling with less than 30 school days’ notice before the booking date – $650 Cancellation with less than 14 school days’ notice before the booking date – full program cost Cancellation due to unsafe weather or fire danger – $0

Activities

Activities may vary depending on student needs, timing and weather.

Introduction

Students explore what an animation is and how stop motion is created. Through a short example and class discussion, students identify the steps for the day and connect the task to science learning about invertebrate features, habitats and ecosystem interactions.

Invertebrate investigation

In the school gardens, students work in pairs to safely search for and collect invertebrates from leaf litter and vegetation. Students discuss where animals are found and make responsible choices while using simple fieldwork equipment.

Back in the classroom, students use magnifiers and identification charts to observe external features and identify their invertebrates. Stage 3 students extend their observations by linking structural or behavioural features to survival and adaptation.

Animation workshop

Students compose a short factual script that describes their chosen invertebrate’s habitat and adaptations. Students then storyboard scenes to match each sentence so the visuals clearly support the information being communicated.

Students create durable plasticine models that represent the key features of their selected invertebrates and can be moved for animation. Students test models against success criteria, refining details and planning how movement will show behaviours and interactions.

Animating

Students use iPads, stands and iStopMotion to record narrated scenes, taking a sequence of in-focus images to match their storyboard.

Editing

Students export clips and edit their final animation in iMovie, adding titles or music as time allows, before a short movie premiere viewing.

Completed animations will be returned to school via Google Drive.

Explore related fact sheets

Use these student-friendly fact sheets before or after your Science animated incursion to introduce invertebrates, external features, habitats and animal movement before students create stop-motion animations.

• ⁠Invertebrate fact sheets – Explore insects, spiders, worms, molluscs and other small animals found in schoolyard habitats.
• ⁠Insects fact sheet – Learn about insect body parts, life cycles, adaptations and roles in habitats.
• ⁠Phasmid fact sheet – Discover stick insects and leaf insects with camouflage, six legs and plant-eating mouthparts.
• ⁠Spider fact sheet – Learn about spiders, their body features, webs, hunting behaviours and habitats.
• ⁠Ant fact sheet – Explore social insects that live in groups, collect food and help recycle nutrients.
• ⁠Habitat fact sheet – Learn how food, water, shelter and space help living things survive.

Suggested timetable

Time	Activities
9.15 - 11.00	Investigating invertebrates Developing a script, storyboard and props
	Recess
11.30 - 1.00	Creating an animation Editing an animation
	Lunch
2.00 - 2.30	Editing continued (if required)

Times and session duration varies depending on school timetables and number of classes.

Please include your school's bell times in the notes section of your booking form.

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

explain, sequence, plan, create, refine, collaborate, communicate, stop-motion animation, frames, invertebrate, external features, habitat, camouflage, storyboard, setting

Syllabus outcomes and content

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Physical and living systems depend on energy

Outcome

• Uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems ST2-SCI-01

Content

Living things depend on energy and materials to survive

• Observe and describe living and non-living things in a habitat
• Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other for survival

Body systems work together to enable movement

• Recognise that all animals are either invertebrates with no spine, or vertebrates with a spine
• Compare ways invertebrates and vertebrates move on land, in water and in the sky

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024