🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Motion or graphics software with keyframe controls (Premiere Rush, CapCut, Canva, or Photoshop's Timeline panel), The Motion Path (companion book), Ch. 4.6 and 10.6, as a concept reference.
- Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.
🧑🏫 Substitute Teacher Guide
A scripted, step-by-step runsheet for today's class -- hand this to anyone covering the room who doesn't know the daily routine.
- Day 1: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
- Day 2: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
🎯 Essential Question
- If you chose (or want to try) the Motion lane, what does professional keyframe animation actually look like, beyond a simple GIF?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:
- Explain the difference between a Motion Tween-style animation (a symbol moving through space) and keyframing individual properties directly.
- Build a short title or logo animation using at least 3 separate keyframed properties (position, scale, opacity).
- Apply easing to at least one keyframe pair so the motion doesn't move at a flat, constant speed.
📐 Standards Alignment
CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)
- CDOS 1 — Career Development -- students will be able to explain the range of career choices, and identify personal interests, skills, and aptitudes that relate to those choices.
- CDOS 2 — Integrated Learning -- students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
- CDOS 3b — Career Majors -- knowledge and skills required for success within a specific career pathway (here, Digital Design).
ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives
- ACP 4.1 — Use core tools and features to create visual elements.
- ACP 4.6 — Modify the appearance of design elements by using filters and styles.
🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 4: Creating and Modifying Visual Elements
📚 Key Vocabulary
- Keyframe
- A saved value for a property at a specific point in time -- animating anything needs at least two.
- Easing
- Accelerating or decelerating motion between keyframes, instead of moving at a constant speed -- the same "Slow In/Slow Out" idea from the 12 principles of animation.
- Motion Tween
- Automatically animating a symbol's position, scale, or rotation between two keyframes.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Motion or graphics software with keyframe controls (Premiere Rush, CapCut, Canva, or Photoshop's Timeline panel)
- The Motion Path (companion book), Ch. 4.6 and 10.6, as a concept reference
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
Watch any professional title sequence or logo animation. Does the motion ever move at a perfectly flat, constant speed the whole way through -- or does it ease in and out?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Learn & Plan | Do Now (5 min, above). Mini-lesson (15 min): keyframes, easing, and why flat constant-speed motion is a beginner tell. Plan (20 min): sketch out a simple title or logo animation with at least 3 keyframed properties. |
| Day 2 | Build & Refine | Independent work (30 min): build the animation, applying easing to at least one keyframe pair. Export & share (10 min). |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Finished animation assessed for at least 3 genuinely keyframed properties and visible easing, not just a single built-in template effect.
Exit Ticket: Where did you apply easing, and how did it visibly change the motion compared to constant speed?
📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.
🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations
English Language Learners: model every step live, then check in one-on-one; provide translated materials and vocabulary support as needed. Students with IEPs: apply the accommodations and modifications listed in each student's plan (examples include extended time, graphic organizers, speech-to-text tools, chunked instructions, and visual schedules). Students with attention-related needs: break tasks into short, checklist-driven steps and provide brief movement or focus breaks. Students ready for a challenge: take on a leadership role critiquing peers' work, extend the project with a second iteration, or research how today's skill is used professionally in the field.