Comics in the Classroom Workshop

Today I presented a Comics in the Classroom workshop at Alfred University. The participants were a fantastic group of young teachers. Most had already completed student teaching and were working with students in a summer literacy program. Some have been hired for teaching positions at various schools in the fall.

It was a great group of committed educators who have a passion for teaching and compassion for the struggling learners. We completed exercises in using comics in lessons to demonstrate:

1. Fun reading opportunities for students.
   
2. Comic Book Readers Theater. Reading a comic together as a dramatic exercise.
   
3. Comics Conversions. Using existing comic strips as writing prompts and to teach the conventions of writing dialogue.
   
4. Comic Book Book Reports. Using comics to help students summarize what they have read.
   
5. Graphic Novel Graphic Organizers. Using comics to teach the theme of a book (or how a character changes through the course of a story).
   
6. Using comics to teach onomatopoeia, alliteration and hyperbole.
7. Using comics to provide opportunities to discuss bullying and violence prevention.
   
8. Strategies to help students create original cartoon characters and letter their creations with speech balloons.

Our "text" for the day was the Sunday Funnies comics section (courtesy of The Daily Review). Their Comics in Education program is a great way to get multiple copies of the same comics text to use when discussing comics with students.


Here's what one of the participants had to say:

I participated in this workshop presented by Andy and found it to be the most informative and eye opening class ever given by a guest speaker. As a result of what I learned, I am going to co-teach a comic based unit during the summer reading program in a couple of weeks. And, I just returned from the used book store with a copy of Bones for 3 dollars. The vast amount of graphic novels spanning all ages was a reality unknown to me before the presentation. I had heard of Watchmen and 300, and enjoyed the movies. But, was not aware of the many other types. My level of enthusiam regarding graphic novels has increased dramatically. I'm very excited about implementing some of the things learned in the classroom. Thanks a ton Andy. This was a blast.

The participants in this workshop read, wrote and drew to experience various strategies they might like to use with their students some day. They had fantastic questions and it was a great day for me.

Even though most participants weren't art majors, everyone created an original character and made a sketch of it. The results were creative and hilarious!

Comix by Kids

Issue #1 of this comic is now in print! Every year, each of my fifth grade students creates their own character and makes a one-page comic strip. Last year, I chose the 24 best strips and had them published through a print-on-demand publishing company called Ka-blam. The comic looks really sharp and I think the kids will be excited to see their work in print.

I Wonder

I created this quick one page comic and made copies to handout at a teacher inservice I was presenting a while back. It was our first activity -- an icebreaker. My goal was to get teachers thinking about how it can be so easy to want to just approach our classes with an objective and try to yank them out of where there thoughts currently are. Even teachers sometimes have their minds on other things! Are there some times when we can make good use of what our students are obsessing about as a writing or drawing prompt?

Comics by Kids -- Super Winnie

I love to see the comics that kids make. I'm going to start posting some of the best done in my class. This was done by a 5th grade girl named Mara a couple years ago. She did a great job using a variety of points of view -- wide shot, establishing shot, close-ups, etc. It was based on her real life pet. What a great imagination!

Comics in Education Workshop at Mansfield University

Yesterday I presented a workshop at Mansfield University for future teachers and teachers -- both art educators and regular educators. Paul Bozzo took this picture and did a nice write up on his blog. I think he says what I said better than I said it! Check it out here.

I like how Paul summarized that our goal as teachers in using this kind of material is to help kids want to put down their joysticks and read!

Comics in the News

The Miami Herald had an article on Saturday about how a librarian is using comics to capture reluctant readers. The article can be found here.

NPR News has an article about three authors who have become recently captivated by the art form and have started writing for comics.

News From California

I hear that it's common for bloggers to feel as if they're sometimes talking to an empty room. That's why it's really nice to hear from someone who says they've gotten something useful from what you've written. Yesterday I heard from someone in California! They wrote,

Hello and Happy New Year! I work for the literacy department of STAR Education, an afterschool organization. The sites my department primarily services are in Los Angeles public schools and students attend free of charge.

We aim to provide positive and authentic experiences with reading and writing. In addition to our skills curriculum, our teachers implement enrichment projects in ten-week sessions. The upcoming curriculum is "Clever Comics."

Your blog has been very informative. Thank you! I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for our curriculum. I'm open to all suggestion, and have particular questions about teaching dialogue and narration.

Your link to and examples of 52comicchallenges.com have also helped us in our curriculum development. Would it be alright if we gave copies to our teachers to share with their classes?

-- Aarti, CA

The internet has definitely made the world a smaller place, hasn't it? And, I'm more than glad to share anything I make with other teachers who are looking for ways to teach with comics or art!

Comics in the Classroom

I got a call from someone who saw my website Tuesday -- from the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockridge, Massachusetts! It's come to their attention that I've done some workshops on the use of comics to teach in elementary schools. They've invited me to present at their Educator's Symposium in January. This is in conjunction with an exhibit they're having on the Art of the Graphic Novel. My presentation will probably be on how I use comics in my classes to integrate art with writing and reading and the use of the literary devices of hyperbole, alliteration and onomatopoeia.

This is a huge thrill for me. I've always wanted to see this Museum, and this particular exhibit sounds like it's right up my alley.

In a similar vein, I'll be presenting on this topic at the National Conference of Teachers of English in New York City in November.