Comic Strip Creator

 

 

While finishing my Final Project, I came across a Comic Strip Creator within my lesson plan, also courtesy of "Read, Write, Think." This online tool helps to generate a comic strip using information given by its author (the students) and allows them to include props, people, and setting. I illustrated below what my students could have done with the lesson plan assignment of “The Tell-Tale Heart” which was for them to use the tool to summarize the story using the comic.

 

 



I was allowed to illustrate using the comic strip what happened to make them man crazy, which took him from thinking he would get away with murder to being extremely paranoid. This is a great tool to check for students’ comprehension in a creative a fun way that doesn’t seem like it is an actual assessment. After using this tool I am able to see what students may like and dislike about using this. For one, the tool allows you to use people, but they are poorly differentiated which may cause students to become frustrated at the lack of creative capability. Another is that there are no panels that allow you to add color, which could be problematic if students are trying to use a specific color to get their point across. For example, if a color is used as a symbol within a specific text like another one of Edgar Allan Poe’s works “The Masque of Red Death,” it would be difficult for a student to discuss the red room and its meaning. Another negative is the lack of props. The props available are very generic. There is a book, a pencil, table and chair (as seen above). There aren’t a lot of creative controls a student could have while using this tool. So as a future educator, I would express to students that they can print out the panels and color or add pictures that were unavailable in the options provided.

            Some of the positives of this tool are the options for captions, which allow students to write in their own caption on the bottom of the panel. The student can get their point clearly across by providing their audience with a concise idea of what is going on in the picture. Also, students are able to use comic bubbles to show what their character is thinking or saying in the panel. This is obviously a benefit and the bubbles also include word captions to express sounds or other types of phrases that aren’t words. For example, “BRRRRRRR” is one of the phrases provided for this action.

The types of activities students could use this tool for are endless, but I think that the pairing of this activity and a story is optimal. Students would be able to portray their favorite part of the story and even put a comical twist on it by providing their own humorous interpretation. I think that would not only show they comprehended the piece, but they were able to further analyze what would make that scene ironic. This tool would also be a good pairing for vocabulary. I think students would be able to do three panels. Each would show a different scenario and sentence (written in where the caption should be) where that vocab word could be used. This would be an alternative to having students write the word over and over again, but instead engage them with the word and how they would use it in everyday life.
Comic Creator: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/comic-creator-30021.html