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Elementary Students Use Animation to Send a Message

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Students at Menlo Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles who have been studying the art of animation through a six-week workshop screened five public service announcements that they developed and filmed.

The workshop was held last week by animator Clifford Cohen and psychologist Linda Crain as part of the L.A.’s Best program, a nonprofit children’s organization.

“In this forum, you’ve got 10 kids sitting around and they have to produce a film about a topic,” Cohen said. “They have to come up with ways to tell people about their topic or educate people.”

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The Menlo students focused on themes about tolerance and gangs, Cohen said. One group created a short film about four ladybugs, in which one ladybug is a different color from the others. Another of the projects is about youngsters who opt to play basketball rather than accept cigarettes from gang members, Cohen said.

“The journey from start to finish as they go through production is something positive,” Cohen said.

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