Comics+and+Graphic+Novels

toc =Key Concepts=


 * Conceptual Understanding
 * Motivation
 * Multiple Literacies
 * Readerly v. Writerly v. Producerly Texts
 * Self-expression
 * Visual Thinking

=Key Principles=


 * Concepts trump content.
 * Engage students with important disciplinary concepts and social issues through comics.
 * Focus students' attention on the ways that authors package concepts for target audiences, including aesthetic considerations and rhetorical strategies.
 * Consider the ways in which comics reduce cognitive load and make space for readers to increase their intellectual engagement with the text.
 * Offer students opportunities to exercise their own creativity and self-expression by re-presenting conceptual content and creating social commentary with comics.

=**Comics About Foreign Languages**=

[|Comics Auf Deutsch] - Comic collection in German

[|The Comic Strips]

[|Foreign Language Cartoons & Comics] - From CartoonStock

=**Comics In Foreign Languages**=

[|Language Comics] - Original short comics in French and Spanish for language learners

[|The Center for the Humanities Comics Collection]

=Comics Examples=

[|Gamics.com] - A site dedicated to comics in English made machinima style (from the backgrounds and avatars of popular videogames). These would make interesting examples for similar student projects.

[|Marengo Story Comics (2nd Grade)] - 2nd grade students create comic books to summarize and extend popular children's stories

- Use comic strips as a tool for explaining content!

[|Andy Bobyarchick's Field Trip Comics] - Use comics to share the story of your latest fieldtrip with parents and community members - Use comics to share the story of your latest fieldtrip with parents and community members

=**Comics in Education**=

- A website created by graphic novelist Gene Yang that contains a history of comics in education, reasons for using comics in education, and quality resources (both online and print-based) for educators who wish to use comics in their classrooms. (From [|Gene Yang] )

Comic Life - A great page filled with links to information on the use of comics and graphic novels in education, including lesson plans, sample student projects, software, tutorials, and more. Be sure to take a look at the other tech projects in the navigation bar on the left user:chericem1

- Cary, Stephen. [|Going graphic: Comics at work in the multilingual classroom]. Heinemann. ISBN 0-325-00475-7. A phenomenal book filled with practical ideas and activities for using comics as a tool for language teaching and learning in the K-12 classroom. The book is well-organized, research-based, and contains lesson plans and sample student work.

[|Comic Rubric] - An outstanding rubric created by professional graphic novelist, [|Gene Yang], for assessing the formatting aspects of students' graphic novel projects. (From [|Gene Yang])

[|Escrapbooking] - Links to lesson plans, software options, and step-by-step how-tos for creating comics in PowerPoint with sounds and animation user:chericem1

[|Graphic Novels for (Really) Young Readers]

[|Graphic Novels in the Curriculum] - Concise overview with links to quality resources, including a very nice handout. user:chericem1

- Handouts from an ACTFL 2010 presentation that contain a comic analysis worksheet form, a comic creation worksheet that asks students to analyze complementarity, contrast, and redundant relationships among images and text, lesson plans, project rubrics, and more. user:chericem1

[|Ideas for Using Comics in FL Classes] - A few suggestions to help you start brainstorming user:chericem1

[|National Association of Comics Art Educators] - Look at the Teaching Resources section to find links to [|exercises], [|handouts] , and other online resources designed to help educators use comics in the classroom. (From [|Gene Yang] )

[|No Flying, No Tights] - An annotated list of graphic novel recommendations for children, teens, and adults categorized by age and interest. (From [|Gene Yang])

[|Recommended Graphic Novels for Public Libraries] **-** An annotated list of graphic novels appropriate for ages 12-16. user:chericem1

Schwarz, Gretchen. [|Graphic novels for multiple literacies]. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.// Retrieved February 21, 2007, from http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/jaal/11-02_column/ - A short, teacher-friendly article on how and why graphic novels support student learning. user:chericem1

Starr, Linda. (2004). [|Eek! Comics in the classroom]. //Education World.//

[|Superman Finds New Fans Among Literacy Instructors] - Article re: the expansion of a program that uses comic-creation and graphic novels to strengthen students' literacy skills after a study yielded promising results

- This short guide from Scholastic, downloadable as a PDF, addresses the //whats, whys,// and //hows// of using graphic novels in the classroom. user:chericem1

=** Comics Online **=

- A searchable database of comics in French

[|Gamics.com] - A site dedicated to comics in English made machinima style (from the backgrounds and avatars of popular videogames). These would make interesting examples for similar student projects. user:chericem1

[|GoComics.com] - A very up-to-date site that contains popular comic strips, including many editorial cartoons from international comic strip artists

- An searchable, online encyclopedia of comics, available in Dutch, English, and French that is organized by artist. It contains biographical information about each artist, the history of their work, sample comics, and links to artist's websites and sites containing collections of the comic strips. user:chericem1


 * [|Mangarama]** - An index of Japanese comics that is searchable in English by title, words and phrases, or situation. user:chericem1

- Site in Argentina containing Quino comics

- Type in your zip code to find the comic book shop closest to you. (From [|Gene Yang])

=**Commercial Comic Creation Software**=

- The ultimate in comic book creation software--flexible, functional, inexpensive, and intuitive--students can create their own comics based on digital photos they've taken (Free 30-day trial available. Unfortunately, only compatible with Macs) For free, online software that is very similar, visit [|Comeeko]. user:chericem1

= = =Foreign Language-Related Comics=



- Site in Argentina containing Quino comics

[|Picasso Woman] - Depicts various women, one of whom is done in Picasso's style.

=**Free Animated Comic Creation Sites**=

- Create animated cartoons (with or without audio - which can be recorded via phone)

- Create mini, animated videos from stock elements

=**Comic Creation Sites**=

- Students can create their own Peewee comics by mixing and matching backgrounds, characters, props, adding text, and printing their creations user:chericem1

- Step-by-step interactive comic creation template from //ReadWriteThink//

[|Disney's Surf Swell Comic Creator] - Students can select a famous Disney character, change their facial expressions and clothing, add a title and a short paragraph, and print their work user:chericem1

- Allows students or teachers to use comics and different characters with different emotional body language...You can create stories and apply text and thought bubbles. It goes up to 4 frames, but to do more than one, you can simply create 2 individual sets. It allows you to print and email them after!! But be sure you do! The site does not store them once you've closed the browser!

[|Mai'Nada Comics] - Perfect for artists--lets you sketch and animate your own comic strips (in color) online for free user:chericem1

- Comic generator site lets you select from a number of different characters, change their emotions, overlap elements, rescale things, etc.

-- One of a series of three books filled with reproducible blackline masters of humorous, wordless stories told through cartoons. Great for practicing narration in any language. Ashkenas, Joan. // [|Comics and conversation: Using humor to elicit conversation and develop vocabulary] // Studio City, CA: Jag Publications. ISBN 0-943327-12-1.

- Free, well-designed online software similar to Comic Life that lets you create comic strips and save them for others to view

- Comic strip creation site that will take Chinese characters (and translate them) - courtesy of Aaron Bray

[|Project Cartoon] - This site lets you take a nicely colored version of the tree swing cartoon and customize its captions to suit your own project. It also has a variety of versions of the cartoon in multiple languages designed to be used in a wide array of contexts

- A super site that allows students to select characters and backgrounds from extensive libraries, add text bubbles and titles, and save them online for others to see

- A phenomenal site with stock characters that will appeal to students and allows them to create truly original work

- A really nice site that lets you drag and drop characters, props, and even speed lines, etc. into comic frames. You can position things in front of or behind other things using the buttons at the bottom. Very intuitive and kid friendly. Be sure to click on all the buttons (Suggested by [|vidgan1])

- Comic creation software

=**Information Related to Comics**=

[|All Ages Graphic Novel Created Using Scribus, Inkscape, Gimp] - Describes several open source softwares used to create a graphic novel

- Searchable database of Japanese anime characters produced in Japan since 1917 (From Lee Sherlock & Megan Firestone)

[|The Comic Book Database] - A searchable comic wiki with information regarding characters, creators, imprints, publishers, story arcs, and titles. (From [|Gene Yang])

[|Comics y la cultura de masas] - Contains information in Spanish about a variety of popular comics and what they teach us about the cultures of those who created them user:chericem1

[|Scott McLeod's Inventions] - Contains links to 5 different activities that could form the basis for motivating assignments for students user:chericem1

=Links=

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=**Readings in Spanish Re: Comics**= = =

[|THE 101: UNA LISTA CON LO MEJOR, ARTISTICAMENTE HABLANDO, DE LA HISTORIA DEL COMIC]
=**Scholarship Related to Comic Arts**=

[|Image Text] - An online journal in interdisciplinary comics studies (From Seth Morton)

[|International Journal of Comic Art] - This link will take you to the table of contents for an online journal of scholarship that highlights comic art from different regions around the world user:chericem1

=Tutorials=

[|Comic Tutorial Dropdown]

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