Before I knew I wanted to become a middle school science teacher, I was completely enthralled with the concept of space. It is still one of my favorite subjects. This love of the night sky inspired me to create an animation about space. More specifically, as a former middle school science teacher, I taught the phases of the moon to my students every year. However, it was difficult for the students to grasp the concept of the main phases and remember all eight phases. No amount of images or videos helped some of my students remember this important concept. However, a short animation is a great way to quickly show students the entire process. This inspired me to create a short animation on the phases of the moon. I used this website to find my vector images: View Images

I imported the vector image into Adobe Animate-so the moon phases were already individual shapes. I enlarged the image background to fit the size of the animation using the freeform tool. I created a dark circle in Adobe Photoshop for the new moon phase, since it was not included in my original vector image. I made the background stars fade in and out using transition effects. I used a motion tween to lower the Moon Phases title onto the screen at the beginning of the animation. I used shape tweening to transition from one phase to another.

I wanted this project to be a resource for middle school teachers; therefore, I made it short and to the point, which captures the attention of this age group. I also incorporated a themed background and twinkling stars to make it more scientifically-accurate and fun to the middle school audience. From this experience, I learned how useful it is to be able to create your own animations. This would be a really great skill for any teacher. I learned how to motion tween and how to work Adobe Animate.