Comic strips and cartoons are two effective instructional tools to use in class with students from different grades. They are effective because they engage students in meaningful learning experiences where they get to practice key skills such as writing, reading, speaking and communicating.
By definition, a comic strip is “an open-ended dramatic narrative about a recurring set of characters told in a series of drawings, often including dialogue in balloons and a narrative text, published serially in newspapers” (Inge, p. 631 cited in Snyder, 1997). In today’s post, we are sharing with you a some very good resources to help you make the best of comic strips in your teaching.
Ways to Use Comic Strips in Class
Integrating comic strips into classroom instruction opens a creative avenue for both teachers and students, blending entertainment with education in a unique way that can capture the attention and imagination of learners across various grade levels. Drawing from the rich potential of comic strips to enhance learning, here are ten inventive ways to utilize them in your classroom, inspired by both the resources at the bottom of this list and my own experience as an educator:
- Character Analysis and Development: Encourage students to create comic strips focusing on a character’s development over time. This can be a character from a book they’re reading in class, allowing students to explore and express the character’s motivations, conflicts, and growth visually and textually. This activity taps into students’ analytical and creative skills, making them delve deeper into the text.
- Historical Comic Strips: Task students with creating comic strips that depict historical events or figures. This can make history more engaging and relatable, as students have to research facts and then present them in a narrative that’s both accurate and compelling. It’s a fantastic way to promote understanding of timelines, historical contexts, and the human element within historical studies.
- Science Concepts through Comics: Use comic strips to explain complex science concepts, such as the water cycle, photosynthesis, or the theory of relativity. Students can work in groups to create their comics, which helps in reinforcing their understanding by translating abstract concepts into visual narratives that are easier to grasp and remember.
- Math Story Problems: Create or have students create comic strips that present math problems in real-life contexts. This approach can make math more tangible and less intimidating, encouraging students to solve problems in a narrative format that might include superheroes, time travel, or everyday scenarios.
- Language Learning with Dialogues: For language learning, comic strips can be a playful medium to practice dialogue writing, using new vocabulary, and understanding grammatical structures within the context of conversations. Students can create comics in the target language, focusing on scenarios like ordering food in a restaurant, asking for directions, or expressing opinions.
- Exploring Social Issues: Encourage students to create comics that highlight social issues they’re passionate about, such as environmental conservation, equality, or mental health awareness. This can foster empathy, critical thinking, and awareness, as students research their chosen topic and communicate their message through a compelling story.
- Creative Book Reports: Instead of traditional book reports, students can create comic strips summarizing a book they’ve read, highlighting key plot points, character arcs, and themes. This can be a more engaging way for students to share what they’ve learned and can spark interesting discussions among classmates.
- Understanding Emotions and Empathy: Use comic strips as a tool for social-emotional learning by having students create stories that explore different emotions, conflict resolution, or perspectives. This can help students develop empathy and emotional intelligence, important skills in both personal development and academic success.
- Introducing New Topics: Kick off a new unit or topic with a comic strip that introduces the main concepts in an engaging and simplified manner. This can pique students’ interest and provide a visual and narrative context that frames the upcoming lessons, making the material more accessible and intriguing.
- Peer Teaching: Assign students the task of creating educational comic strips to teach a concept to their peers. This not only reinforces the creator’s understanding but also provides varied perspectives on the topic for the class. Peer-reviewed comic strips can then be shared and discussed, fostering a collaborative learning environment.
Comic Strip Makers
The following are some of our favourite tools you can use with your students to create beautiful comic strips and cartoons. We have only included tools that are student-friendly and that are easy and simple to use. These tools provide a wide variety of pre-designed materials such as characters, backgrounds, images, objects, text balloons, dynamic panels…etc. Students select the materials to illustrate their comics, write their content in the provided dialogue boxes and then share their finished product with others.
1- Make Beliefs Comix
A user-friendly platform for crafting comic strips, featuring a wide selection of characters, speech bubbles, props, and backgrounds. It supports creativity with options to print, save, or email the finished comics, making it versatile for classroom and personal use.
2- Comic Creator
This tool empowers students to design their own comics with an array of backgrounds, characters, and props. It’s enhanced by a planning sheet offering detailed guidance, ideal for beginners or those looking to refine their storytelling skills.
3- Pixton
Offers a selection of pre-designed characters and scenes, simplifying the comic creation process. It’s geared towards quick storytelling, requiring users to log in to save their work, making it suitable for short, impromptu classroom assignments.
4- Witty Comics
Offers a selection of pre-designed characters and scenes, simplifying the comic creation process. It’s geared towards quick storytelling, requiring users to log in to save their work, making it suitable for short, impromptu classroom assignments.
5- StoryboardThat
Goes beyond traditional comic strips by allowing the creation of detailed storyboards. It boasts a broader range of features, including a variety of scenes, characters, and the ability to upload personal images, catering to more complex storytelling and planning needs.
Final thoughts
The range of applications for comic strips in the classroom is vast, from enhancing literary analysis to demystifying historical events and simplifying scientific concepts. Tools like Make Beliefs Comix, Comic Creator, Pixton, Witty Comics, and StoryboardThat enable students to bring their learning to life. Besides making the creation process accessible, these tools encourage students to dive deeper into their subjects with enthusiasm and curiosity.
As we’ve seen, the power of comic strips extends beyond mere academic achievement; it touches on the development of social awareness, emotional intelligence, and language skills, making it a multifaceted tool in the educator’s arsenal. Whether you’re introducing a new topic, tackling social issues, or encouraging peer teaching, the versatility of comic strips can transform the educational experience.
- Sources:
- Snyder, E. (1997). Teaching the sociology of sport: Using a comic strip in the classroom. Teaching Sociology, 25(3), 239-243.
- Comic Strips Creation Tools (Google Sites)
- Using Comics in the English Language Classroom (James Whiting, Plymouth State University)
- Using Cartoons and Comic Strips (British Council)
- Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure (ReadWriteThink)
