Category Archives: Comics in the classroom

Super hero

May 13, 2011 3:30 pmLeave a Comment

So this one is a writing exercise. Students write a story about one of four hero pictures provided by the teacher. The teacher can use this as a homework exercise or as an in class team writing exercise. the teacher should provide the students with vocabulary or be prepared to answer vocabulary questions students may have. The students should provide a name for their hero, the powers they have and one thing they are afraid of.

For students with more artistic skill a blank sheet is provided so that they can add their own pictures. I am a firm believer in letting the students pick which super hero they want to write about you could however randomly assign. This activity works wonderfully with a gallery share at the end to consolidate language.

 

pdf here:

super heroes

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Calvin and Hobbes

April 22, 2011 4:57 pmLeave a Comment

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson

Calvin and Hobbes

One of my all time favorite Comics

one of the most successful and longest-running comic strips, was Calvin and Hobbes.  Telling the story of a young boy and his imaginary pet tiger, filled with stories of childhood and growth.

I have always had a soft spot this comic book may be because of identifying with Calvin.  A less than perfect student with an overactive imagination and a peculiar worldview.  Or possibly because it refused to sugar coat the realities of childhood.

The language in Calvin and Hobbes has a great deal of variety.  Calvin sometimes speaks like a normal eight year old boy, and sometimes speaks with a voice well beyond his years. The teacher should be able to find almost any linguistic feature that they were looking for in Calvin and Hobbes.

Published by UPS teachers are allowed to use up to five comic strips from Calvin and Hobbes a year in the classroom.

This comic strip is one of my favorite strips to use in classroom.  Mostly because it has examples of classroom behavior, a great deal of laugh out loud moments  and some really witty insights.

Calvin and Hobbes has recently been collected into a full published version as well are several other collections.

Available from Amazon here

 

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Posted in Book reviews, comics in the classroom