2.1 Comics to Support Literacy

Some teachers create comics so that learners can understand the content topic better. Below are a few examples of comics in various subject areas. We can help struggling readers understand difficult texts by illustrating the information in a comic.
Example of comics on various subjects:
For this task, you will take a text that your students will read in your class and transform that text into a comic. The text should be longer than a paragraph and shorter than 2 pages. Consider any of these texts:
  • a 1 or 2 page article from a magazine or online journal
  • a story from a newspaper
  • a section within a chapter of a book
  • a scene from a novel or play
  • a speech 

Follow these instructions:

1st. Choose one of these suggested webtools to create your comic strip. The comic should have at least 8 frames.

Click on the Comic Tool and Resources list to be led to that tool. Scroll down to see written descriptions of some of the tools.  This resource is continuously updated. 

  • Creaza- Create comics, make movies, edit audio, and more! Embed in a blog or wiki. 
  • Bubblr- Create your comic strip with Flickr pictures and add bubbles to tell your story!
  • Comicmaster- Cool graphic novel creator.
  • Make Beliefs Comix- Two, three and four panel comics that you can create in multiple languages.
  • Comic Strip Generator- You can upload photos or use web images in addition to their library of ready-to-use images.
  • Garfield- You can create comic strips or (in Comics Lab Extreme) comic books.
  • ToonDoo - The site allows students to share their comics, comment on other comics, and even save and edit a copy of a comic.
  • Phrase It- Add speech bubbles to pictures.
  • Comics Head- Free iOS/Android creator in which you can draw, upload your images, and choose from various frame options, templates, character sets, background scenes, and more (great mobile app).

2nd. Please submit the following:

  • Your comic as a jpg and/or image file
  • The url of your comic
  • The text citation (author, date, title, etc.) of the text you translated
  • A link to the text online or a pic of the text. We need to see the words.

Click below on the Add Submission button and upload your file, then click Save and View so that your contribution is recorded. Once registered, you can modify at any time by clicking on Edit my submission, until you send it for grading by clicking on Submit assignment.

The instructor will verify that you have completed this task.