Why should you use comics?

In this blog post from Monica Burns, she shared 5 reasons for using comic creation tools in class.  While there are several free sites, our district does have a subscription for Storyboardthat (my favorite).  See your media specialist for the details.

Looking to use Comics in your classroom?

Here is a blog post from TeachersFrist and student voice and comics. Written by Dr. Ruth Okoye, it contains several suggestions to incorporate cartoons/comics into your classroom.

Editorial cartoons for today

Cartoons in the Classroom provides weekly lessons geared to current events.  This site would be best for older (grades 6-12) students.  From lessons to blank cartoons,  this site also includes previous lessons.  It was recently reviewed by Teachers First here.

Geology goes to the comics

At  One Geology Kids (ideal for grades 1-5), students can select a character to learn all about the earth.  Please see the recent review in TeachersFirst here.

Making economics FUN (grades 6-12)

Image from https://www.newyorkfed.org/outreach-and-education/comic-books

The Federal Reserve Bank of NY has shared a series of comics (and related activities) to help students with the finance basics.  There is a recorded webinar on the site as well. You can find a review of the site here on TeachersFirst.

Comic Ideas

September 25 is National Comic Book Day!  Visit the TeachersFirst site for a list of comic sites (you know I am partial to Storyboardthat!) along with several teaching with comic suggestions.

Cartoons in the Classroom

No, these are not the ones you clip and paste by the door.  The AAEC (The Association of American Editorial Cartoonist) have lessons plans and cartoon templates tied to current events.  Geared to middle and high school students, this could be a creative way to weave today’s topics into your history lessons. Please see their site and a complete review by TeachersFirst here.

Creating comics in Google

Ever wanted to create comics in a Google product but you are not sure where to start?  This blog post (from Matt Miller and Cori Orlando) will provide all the guidance you need to get started and succeed!  Use Google Drawing or Slides- either will work with comics (they also share their own template).

Election Comics

MakeBeliefsComix is a fun online comic creation (while you cannot save to work on in other session, the tools are so robust, your students will be able to finish in one class).  In a post last week from Richard Byrne, he shared the series of election templates.  There are a dozen to choose from (click here)- this might be the perfect addition to your election lesson plans.

Wtty Comics

Witty Comics are three panel sites geared to Middle or High school students.  Select one or two characters and start the conversation. Log in to create an account so you save your work (you will need a valid email account to receive your password). You could create a teacher account and have your students all work in the same account. For the complete post from Free Technology for Teachers,  please click here.

Writing Prompts in Comics

MakeBeliefsComix has some interesting writing starters.  Richard Byrne posted this in his blog on Free Technology for Teachers this morning. There is a free ebook for your students to use. This might make a nice year-end activity.