il try to explain it but there isant rilly enuf room here!
uv unraping is a verry brord topic.
what are you trying to unrap? knowing this would make it aloght easer to explain.
anamating
blenders anamation sistem is based on ipo curvs, witch show rotations, locations ext.
what are you trying to animate? the metherd used veries depending on whats beeing anamated and how detailed you want it to be.
these tutorials rilly healped me...
uv mapping tutorial at bottom of page
http://www.blender.org/tutorials-help/video-tutorials/modelmateriallight/
anamation basics
http://www.blender.org/tutorials-help/video-tutorials/animation/
hope this healps