Having students use cartoons and comics is a great
way to interest them in lessons. The
following are three great sites I visited where cartoons can be created for use
in the classroom:
ToonDooToonDoo states that their site is the fastest way to create cartoons in the world. True to their promise, it is fast, fun and easy to create a cartoon using ToonDoo. Their site is easy to navigate. Their menu consists of seven choices, followed my several submenus. The submenus are easy to utilize. For example the menu choice Toons offers many submenus like Create Toon and My ToonDoos. It is all very easy to understand and follow. The choices of people, backgrounds, etc., provided are many. It was easy to save and retrieve the code to embed in my blog. Students will definitely enjoy using this site to create cartoons and comics.
The following is a cartoon created at ToonDoo and can be used on the first day of school for introductions:
Pixton
Pixton is a great site for creating comics. It is very easy to sign up. Once you log in
you have several menu choices: main
menu, home, my comics and Pixton comic templates. The main menu is precise. The Educator Community allows you to go directly
to the Pixton Comics Blog, which contains a wealth of information and
ideas. The Pixton comic templates are
great examples to learn from and follow. You are also given the choice to
create from scratch. I tried downloading
the cartoon I created and was prompted to upgrade to a full version of
Pixton. Retrieving the code to embed the cartoon in my blog was
fairly easy. Students will enjoy using
Pixton in the classroom. The following is a cartoon created on Pixton to teach the difference between homophones "your" and "you're":
MakeBeliefsComix
Make Beliefs Comix is a great site. Creating comics is fun and extremely
easy. Signing up is not necessary. The menu includes many choices. The Create Comix choice provides story
ideas. The Teachers choice includes
lesson plans and writing prompts. The
ESOL/Literacy button provides classroom activities. You also have a choice of over 500 printables. Make Beliefs Comix has received honors from
the American Library Association and the Parents' Choice Foundation among many
others. Parents and educators have provided rave reviews of this website. You
can easily print, save and/or email the comic you have created. It is a wonderful site that I am sure
students will love utilizing.
Click on the link below to view a comic strip
created at MakeBeliefsComix regarding bullying and how students can deal with this issue:
Cartoons and comic strips are great fun and can be
used in a variety of ways in the classroom.
Some ways I would incorporate cartoons and comics are as follows:
1. First
day introductions
2. Vocabulary
3. Book
trailers
5. Introduce
new books
6. Diaries
7. Writing
prompts
8. Informing
students and parents of special events at the library
9. Lesson
on Dewey Decimal System
10. Just
for fun
Veronica, I love your idea of having students create comics to practice using homophones correctly! This is a fun way to reinforce grammar. Before I had only thought about using comics for bigger-scaled lessons, but this reminds me that students can create a quick one-panel comic as a smaller, mini-lesson too!
ReplyDeleteGreat comics. I especially love the cute biographical one from ToonDoo.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought of using comic strips for lessons...but yes I agree, using comic strips is a great way to interest students
ReplyDeleteDamiana Guerrero
MakeBeliefsComix was my least favorite in actually creating the comic, but it is still a valuable website because of the lesson ideas and support it has for educators. I also noticed that the sight encourages educators to contact them with other great ideas on how to use the comic strips. It comforts me to know that these are real ideas that have been used in the classroom and libraries and have been successful.
ReplyDeleteThe comics you created were very creative, I liked your idea of using a comic as an introduction. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that MakeBeliefComix was so highly recommended. Thanks for sharing that information. Since I turned in this assignment, my 5th graders have used it just for fun storytelling. They are so creative!
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