Cartoons
and Comics
Cartoons & comics are on the rise, when it comes
to education. They help motivate and support
struggling readers, as well as enrich their reading skills. They provide the opportunity to look at pictures
in order and follow the story. As
educators we can incorporate comics and cartoons in our classrooms and
libraries. We do not have to be the best
artists in order to create comics and help our students. There are many sites that allow us to create and
customize our own comics and cartoons. I
have evaluated three sites that both students and teachers can use to create
comics and cartoons.
Easy to Create? This was the first time I created a comic
strip and this site made it very easy to navigate and create it.
Easy to Save? It took me a little while figuring out how to
save and download it.
Lots of Variety? It had lots of options without feeling
overwhelmed. It was easy to find what
you needed.
Student Friendly? This
site is geared for upper grade students, maybe 4th grade and above. Even though it was easy to use, upper grade students
could navigate it more with ease, with minimal directions.
Pixton: is a comic book software
with pre-made templates. With its
click-n-drag motion, the comic strip creation is super-fast.
Easy to Create? The premade templates made this comic strip software
extremely easy-to-create and use.
Easy to Save? It was easy to save, yet if I wanted to
download it or print it, I had to snip it or take a print screen and copy it to
my document.
Lots of Variety? It’s not customizable, yet it provides many
templates for users. It offers the
freedom to choose your character’s gender, hair color, facial features, and
more. It has enough variety for beginners
like me or for students who are learning how to create comics for the first
time.
Student Friendly? This
site is geared also for upper grade or middle grade students, as it requires
more buttons to click and drag. Once
they get a hang of it, this site can be a quick way to create their comics.
Makebeliefscomix: this comic generator
allows you to create comics online and offers an abundance of teaching
resources free. It does not require for
users to register, which is always a plus, when working with students.
Easy to Create? This site was super easy to navigate and use.
Easy to Save? It was easy to save, as well as email it and
share with others.
Lots of Variety? It had a limited amount of options, yet the
options are plenty for students to use.
Student Friendly? This
site is student friendly, because of it simplicity and easy-to-use features.
There are lots of options for how teachers can incorporate
comics and cartoons into their classrooms and lessons. The following list are examples of options
for teachers to think about.
- Sequence of Events
- Digital Storytelling
- Story Elements
- Presentations
- Introduction of topic/skill
- Scientific Method
- Social Skills: Scenarios
- Instructions
- Writing Process
Tellagami: is a wonderful mobile application that allows
users to create and share a quick animated video called Gami.
I created a short Gami and boy did I have fun doing
it. It was easy to use, and I can totally
see our students having fun doing them.
I know once I introduce this app, our library iPad carts will be constantly
check out. Teachers can ask students to
create one after they finish reading a book or a reading passage. I see this used in classes for short
summaries or even for prompting questions.
Due to its 30 seconds (free) limit, I felt a bit rushed, but still was
able to make a short book talk of The Bad Case of Strips by David Shannon, one of
my daughter’s favorite book.
https://tellagami.com/gami/2UUOWQ/
https://tellagami.com/gami/2UUOWQ/
Your Tellagami was so cute! I never thought about making a book preview! Great idea for when summer reading comes along!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with the book review on Tellagami, great way to use that application. I was not able to get an iPad or iPhone to create one.
ReplyDeleteCartoons and comics are a great way to motivate reluctant readers. In the past, I have incorporated them in my classroom library and encouraged certain students to check them out from our school library. I loved your Tellagami video! This is something I will certainly share with my 4th grade team this year.
ReplyDelete