Go Animate is a great site where students can create their own animations. It is a paid site, but worth the money if you are going to do more than one project with a group of students. There is a free, more limited site, Domo Animate, that you can try out to get a feel for the program. Here is an example from a 6th grade student showing his understanding of Greek Gods on Domo Animate.
On the paid version of Go Animate, there are tons of characters and settings to help students animate. Plus, each character can be programmed to have appropriate expressions and/or actions in every scene. In addition, students can record and add their own sound. I found it to be a great writing activity. The students spend a lot of time adding the details of facial expressions and actions to each scene. Then, they are able to go back into their own writing and include those details. Here is a 5th grade example project where students were to include double digit multiplication to show their understanding of that concept at well:
Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate for Schools.
I am just beginning to learn about this tool, and try it out with students. How have you used Go Animate with your students? Share in the comments below!