The document introduces Comic Life, a software tool that allows teachers and students to create comic strips combining images and text. It discusses how Comic Life can engage students and demonstrate their learning through creativity and higher-order thinking. A quote from an education professor supports how multimedia projects help students develop media literacy skills. Examples are provided for how different subject areas can be taught using comic strips.

1. I t’s so easy, it’s FUNNY!!!

2. What is Comic Life? A software tool used to create comic strips Teachers & students can create comic strips using images and text of their choosing A fun and innovative way to demonstrate learning and mastery

3. Why Comic Life? Engagement in higher-level thinking. Application of technology, an invaluable skill in today’s world Engagement & motivation through the use of a highly interesting tool Forces students to focus on the essential information Taps into students’ creativity

4. “ Literacy has always meant being able to consume and produce the media forms of the day, whatever they may be. For centuries this has meant writing essays and reports filled with words and paragraphs. Now it means blending words with images, sounds, music, video, and other media to create the new communication default: the multimedia collage, in the form of web pages, digital stories, YouTube creations and much more. It is up to us to help digital kids migrate from text centrism to media collage literacy in creative, thoughtful, ways. We need to help them cultivate their new media talents, adopt art as the 4th R and use storytelling to convey their ideas in rich, compelling ways. We need to help them create media, stories and projects that are articulate and transformative. And we need to help them collaborate and share their work and talents within the collaborative community of the social web.” Dr. Jason Ohler, Professor of Educational Technology, University of Alaska

5. What do we know about comic books? Story is mostly told in pictures They use speech bubbles to show when someone is talking They use thought bubbles to show what someone is thinking They use boxes within the storyboard to tell us about other things happening or more information i.e. MEANWHILE IN THE HALL

8. Let’s look at some examples!

9. Enhance a Word Wall

10. Language Arts Grammar Dialogue Literary devices Vocabulary use Spelling Riddles, puns, idioms Poetry interpretation Recreate the dialogue from a book or movie. Change the ending of a story Give words to picture books Original Storytelling Biography/Autobiography Map out a novel/story: characters, problem, solution

14. Creative Arts Analysis Comparisons Historical context Periods An artist’s growth & change Reproduce a drama Procedures to follow Classroom rules

16. Social Studies Period newspaper Create a visitor’s guide to your class, public library, fire station, etc. Recreate a key moment in history Conversation/Debate between key figures in history Interview a famous historical figure Timelines Historical figures biography A travel guide Illustrate how an invention has effected people, our world, other discoveries Explanation of a law Explanation of specialized words

18. What are the delegates thinking?

19. Science Recreate eureka moments in science. Give a voice to electrons, leaves, planets, etc. Weather stories Illustrate a cycle Generalize an observation Share discoveries Communicate understanding of a concept Record experiences

23. Math Introduce an authentic problem Explain a concept Demonstrate a process Summarize a math lesson or a skill Step by Step Problem Solving Identification of Math Terms

24. World Languages Illustrate a conversation or dialogue Vocabulary

25. Other Ideas… KWL charts Cause and Effect How to Guides Newsletter Reports Invitations Graphic Organizers Interviews Worksheets Review Sheets Flash Cards Before…After Yesterday…Today…Tomorrow

28. Whole Class Collaboration

29. Images for Comic Life Photos you take Photos the kids take Hyperstudio/Paint drawings Legos Clay figures Toys Paper dioramas Copyright free images from the Internet Scanned drawings

30. Types of Shots Close Up Where you can see a lot of emotion or information – often a close-up of someone’s face or an object Mid Shot With some information or emotion but also some background detail Long Shot Where the background detail or surroundings are more important than the individual people or objects in the shot Point of View Shot (POV) Where the camera is the “eyes” of the person in the story i.e. looking in the mirror/looking down at their own shoes

31. Close-Up

32. Mid-Shots

33. Long Shots

34. Point Of View Shots

35. Planning Plan all of your photos before you take them then go to each location needed in turn – even if this means taking photos out of the order they will be in. This will save you time Try and only take one photo for each one you need – get it right first time by following your planning sheet It helps if someone in your group has the role of “Director” – this person holds the planning sheet and tells the “actors” what to do in the shot and tells the “photographer” what type of shot you need