Comics are a genre of media literacy that lend themselves to critical thinking and to engaging learners in an exciting manner.
They appeal in particular to boys and reluctant learners as they capture their attention with both visual and textual components.
The Switch: Whole Class Collaborative Digital Writing. Examples tab.
There are a number of ways to think critically using comics: expore comics as a genre or use a comic program like "Comic Life" to create comics.
Exploring Comics
http://www.comiclife.com/education
Explore comics as a genre of literature and of media.
1. By looking at a variety of comics, have your students determine what the different components are that are used to create this media. Please follow these links for an overview and examples of the different visual elements used in comics: Why Use Comics, Panels, Word Balloons, Lettering, and Borders and Gutters.
2. "Give the exact same images to different students, and only using different panels and framing, let them make a simple comic." http://www.comiclife.com/education
3. ." How can you change the meaning of the exact same comic using different text balloons and different text? the same text balloons and different images? http://www.comiclife.com/education
4. "What are some cultural differences between Manga and Western Comic Books?" http://www.comiclife.com/education
5. "Read comics with a critical eye, thinking about the visual choices made by writers and artists - what's shown and not shown, and how it is depicted." http://www.bigredhair.com/work/comics.html
6. Look at a number of editorial cartoons - discuss the power of a few words in conjunction with an illustration. What is the purpose of an editorial cartoon? Discuss how the cartoonists use persuasion in their cartoons.
Creating Comics
"Comic Life" is a program for creating comics, created by Plasq for both Mac and Windows computers. It is considered a "word processor of digital graphic writing."(http://www.comiclife.com/education) It allows the student to create comics using a broad range of media - photographs, scanned photos, still photos from QuickTime movies, clipart etc.. The students can manipulate the visual media in their comics and add word/thought balloons, and other special effects.
Examples of how to use "Comic Life" from a critical thinking point of view:
1. Plan and create a comic depicting a topic for a specific audience.
Example: Have a grade 8 class create a comic strip or comic book for a grade 1 or 2 class expressing how to cope with bullies on the playground. This will involve effectively incorporating the elements of comics into their work as well as making sure that their message is clear for their audience.
2. Have students create a comic as a summative assessment for a particular unit.
Example: Ancient Civilizations - choose a God or Goddess from two different civilizations. Create a comic from the perspective of your chosen Gods or Goddesses and compare what they represent, their powers, and how they are similar.
3. Create a comic that depicts the climax of a novel.
Example: Have students create a comic that reflects some component of a novel that they have read.
Kerrie Fitzhenry, an intermediate teacher at Angus Morrison, an elementary school in the Simcoe County District School Board, along with her teaching partner gave their grade 7 and 8 students the following assignment :
[Using Comic Life...] you will be responsible for creating a visual representation of a day in the life of Jimmy, a night commuter in the Gulu region of northern Uganda. You will first get to know Jimmy by reading his story, Walking Away from Danger, in the Eric Walters book, When Elephants Fight. From there, you will create a storyboard with 6 – 10 boxes that depict the daily struggles that he must endure just to survive.
For the complete assignment including a rubric, please follow the link to "Jimmy"
For an example of a completed project please follow the link to "Jimmy Comic". Please note that to view this, you need to have Comic Life on your computer.
Thank you to Kerrie Fitzhenry for sharing this assignment.
Please note that a great deal of resources were used to create this page and the accompanying powerpoint. Every attempt has been made to ensure that all of the work is credited to the author.
Works Cited
Barbera, Hanna, and Ivan Velez. "Chills and Spills! Scooby-Doo!" Comic Strip. Ed. Harvey Richards. Vol. #152. New York: DC Comics, 2010. Print.
Bennett, Anina. "Visual Language: Writing for Comics. "Bigredhair. Web. 14 Dec. 2009 http://www.bigredhair.com/work/comics.
Bledsoe, glen. Comic Life. Computer Software. Comiclife.com. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. <http://www.comiclife.com/education>.
Ferrari, Alessandro. "Walt Disney Comics." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. Vol. #702. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, 2009. Print.
Fisch, Sholly. "Batman The Brave and The Bold." Comic Strip. Ed. Michael Siglan. Mixed Signals. Vol. 13. New York: DC Comics, 2010. Print.
Snider, Jesse Blaze. "Toy Story: The Return of Buzz Lightyear Part 2." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Disney Pixar. Vol. 1. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, 2009. Print.
Tobin, Paul. "Marvel Adventures The Avengers." Comic Strip. Ed. Nathan Cosby. Vol. 36. New York: Marvel Inc, 2009. Print.
Waid, Mark, and Landry Walker. "The Incredibles." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Disney Pixar. Vol. 4. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, 2009. Print.
Woloszynowicz, Danuta. “Comic Life- A Tool to Motivate Struggling Readers and Writers”. SMCDSB Curriculum/Technology Consultant 2009
Fitzhenry, Kerrie. Intermediate Teacher. Angus Morrison P.S., SCDSB
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