Thanks to Judy's suggestion I gave the comic strip development a whirl. As it turns out, William Zimmerman the creator of the site http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/ came up with the idea as a way to encourage an improvement in student literacy.http://www.iste-community.org/profiles/blogs/using-comic-strips-to will bring you to his blog which will explain his purpose as well as explain how to use the site. After reding through Zimmereman's information, I could not help myself so here's the test run of my very first comic strip. It's corny but I had fun trying to figure out how to work it and think students will too.
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=20028397C685528
Does anyone use comic strips in the classroom.? I have not so far but think that comic strips can be a way for us to teach differently. The purpose is to motivate young readers, to enable them to expand their vocabulary, spark their imaginations and develop a love of reading so that hopefully they will become recreational readers. While they are doing ALL of these things we want them to do... they are having fun.
MaryEllen, you can email the completed comic strip. When I first starting using the site, I used to email a comic strip to my husband at night for him to find in the morning. We have not this in awhile, but it was fun while it lasted. I guess I should try it again. Your students will probably like this simple-to-use tool, even if you are the one making up the comics. You can also try Bitstrips and let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteI have never used Comics in the classroom but the idea is definately one to explore. I bet the kids would get really excited about this! I know my son would love this. Getting him to read "chapter books" is often challenging (Thanks to the Hunger Games for changing this for awhile) but he loves reading comics. I'm thinking that many other boys would find this exciting as well.
ReplyDeleteI have not used Comics either in my classroom. However, one of my students is interested in comics and this would be something great to expose him to. Great comic! I think the kids would love it! It is something different. I wish learning was fun again, and I think if we incorporate technology it can be and still meeting the objectives. Great job MaryEllen!
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