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Grade 3 · LESSON 478 OF 519

Backpack Penguin: Make a Tiny Moving Cartoon

Make a 4-frame paper flipbook of a penguin with an oversized backpack. The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

2 × 45 minutesPencil drawings on paper cards; adult-secured bindingCartooningFlipbooks & Motion

One way your story could work

The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer. A prop moves a little farther in each successive frame while the character’s body stays aligned. A short pause at one position can make the movement easier to see.

The image introduces the character and prop; it is shared across ten different skill lessons. Follow this lesson’s directions to make its specific finished piece, using your own design.

Explore Cartooning →
Modern Art Lessons Studio Guide
YOUR STUDIO GUIDE SAYS

This is one of ten skill lessons using the Backpack Penguin story seed. Teach it independently or keep the character for a short skill sequence. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change. A character study is shared across this sequence; the written worked example explains this lesson’s specific outcome.

STUDENT WORKSHEETPlanning, material testing, midpoint revision, and reflection prompts matched to this project.
OPEN + PRINT WORKSHEET ↗

Right-sized challenge · Grade 3

Core goal: Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Before starting: Try one small flipbooks & motion sample. If the main action is unfamiliar, model it before the full project.

If it feels too hard: Reduce the number of details; offer prepared panel boxes, larger tools, a partner, and dictated labels.

If the skill is already secure: Make a second version with a different visual choice and compare how an unfamiliar reader understands it.

Adult support: Students choose their own designs. Adults prepare tools, supervise binding, and preview external resources.

Time: One 45-minute meeting for a focused study; two for a flipbook or a longer revision. Finish the core skill before optional decoration.

Safety: Use school drawing tools. Adults handle stapling and difficult cuts. Keep jokes kind; do not caricature classmates or stereotype identities. No public account or upload required.

Suggested teaching starting points, not fixed ability bands. Adjust after observing the learner. Informed by NAEYC process-art guidance and the National Core Arts Standards framework.
Studio Guide introducing the project

THE STUDIO GUIDE'S PROJECT PLAN

What students are making

Make a 4-frame paper flipbook of a penguin with an oversized backpack. The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

Student directions

  1. 1

    Your finished project is a 4-frame paper flipbook of a penguin with an oversized backpack. Read the story seed: The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

  2. 2

    Start with oval body, short flippers, and a large rectangular bag. These are helpful shapes, not a tracing template.

  3. 3

    Select one small action, not the whole story: a blink, a waving arm, a moving prop, or a small head turn.

  4. 4

    Mark the same registration corner on each card. Draw the first and last positions, then add small changes between them.

  5. 5

    Keep the body in the same place unless it is meant to move. Stack cards in order, ask an adult to secure the binding, and flip gently.

  6. 6

    Flip once slowly and once at an even pace. Find an accidental jump and adjust the position in that frame. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Artist connection

Chuck Jones OPEN THE DIRECT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE · TEACHER PREVIEW REQUIRED

The Chuck Jones Center describes character design, storyboarding, and stop-motion activities. Classroom connection: plan a readable action before making successive drawings. This is background on the artist’s educational legacy, not a step-by-step animation tutorial. For this lesson, investigate flipbooks & motion using your own a penguin with an oversized backpack.

Teaching rule: borrow the artist’s question, process, material thinking, or relationship to audience—not a recognizable style.

Current art-world practice

Original cartoon storytelling through flipbooks & motion. This classroom task studies visual communication; it does not reproduce a published character or strip.

Ask students where they might encounter this practice today: a museum, public space, screen, community event, landscape, or temporary installation.

Teacher preparation

  • Preview the linked Chuck Jones resource and choose one classroom-appropriate example. No purchase or whole-film viewing is required.
  • Prepare a quick flipbooks & motion demonstration using a different original character.
  • Prepare a page or card layout for a 4-frame paper flipbook of a penguin with an oversized backpack; print the matching worksheet.
  • Prepare safe binding and practice flipping before class.

Demonstration notes

  • Begin with oval body, short flippers, and a large rectangular bag.
  • Select one small action, not the whole story: a blink, a waving arm, a moving prop, or a small head turn.
  • Mark the same registration corner on each card. Draw the first and last positions, then add small changes between them.
  • Keep the body in the same place unless it is meant to move. Stack cards in order, ask an adult to secure the binding, and flip gently.
  • Show one unclear version and explain a small revision rather than presenting a perfect picture to copy.

Learning goals

  • Practice flipbooks & motion through an original cartoon.
  • Successive frames show one readable movement with a stable character.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Materials

  • 4–8 same-size paper cards according to grade target
  • pencil and eraser
  • registration guide and scrap paper
  • adult-operated stapler or teacher-secured binder clip

Teaching sequence

  1. 1

    0–5 MIN · LAUNCH — Introduce a penguin with an oversized backpack. Read the goal and obstacle; let students propose an ending.

  2. 2

    5–10 MIN · MODEL — Demonstrate Select one small action, not the whole story: a blink, a waving arm, a moving prop, or a small head turn. Use oval body, short flippers, and a large rectangular bag. Explain that the character reference is not a finished assignment.

  3. 3

    10–15 MIN · TRY — Mark the same registration corner on each card. Draw the first and last positions, then add small changes between them. Students compare small trials before committing.

  4. 4

    15–32 MIN · MAKE — Keep the body in the same place unless it is meant to move. Stack cards in order, ask an adult to secure the binding, and flip gently. Target 4 frames; continue the remaining frames next meeting if needed.

  5. 5

    32–40 MIN · TEST + REVISE — Flip once slowly and once at an even pace. Find an accidental jump and adjust the position in that frame. Record the partner's response before explaining the intended meaning.

  6. 6

    40–45 MIN · SHARE + CLEAN — Collect the work and one revision note. In meeting two, use 5 minutes to review, 25 to complete and align frames, 10 to test and revise, and 5 to share and clean.

What success looks like

  • The work addresses a penguin with an oversized backpack and the chosen skill.
  • Successive frames show one readable movement with a stable character.
  • The student makes an original choice rather than copying the reference.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Teacher questions

  • How can we show that the character wants to carry one library book?
  • Which visible clue shows that it packs so much that the bag tips backward?
  • Flip once slowly and once at an even pace. Find an accidental jump and adjust the position in that frame.
  • What does the reader understand without your explanation?

Common problems + responses

  • The picture is busy — remove a background detail that does not support the skill.
  • The character changes accidentally — compare its three identifying features.
  • The ending is unclear — strengthen the visible clue before adding more words.

Access + differentiation

  • Provide the page divisions or large head outlines; let the student choose the expression and action.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.
  • Extend by trying a second version with a different viewpoint or pacing and explaining the effect—not by adding unrelated materials.

Material substitutions

  • Use pencil only if drawing pens are unavailable.
  • Use larger paper, adapted grips, a partner recorder, or spoken reflection.
  • For motion, arrange numbered drawings and move through them by hand if flipping is difficult.

Four-part assessment rubric

SKILL — Successive frames show one readable movement with a stable character.

STORY — A viewer can identify the intended action or idea.

PROCESS — Trials and a purposeful change are visible.

REFLECTION — The student cites a reader response or visible detail.

Vocabulary

frameregistrationtiming

Student reflection

What did you notice? Which choice feels most like yours? What would you change next?

National Core Arts Standards

VA:Cr1.1.3a — Elaborate imaginative ideas

VA:Cr2.1.3a — Create personally satisfying art

VA:Cr3.1.3a — Revise through reflection

STUDENT PROMPT

Make a 4-frame paper flipbook of a penguin with an oversized backpack. The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

Make your own version. Test an idea, notice what changes, and keep the choices that help your meaning.
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