Learning Objective: To understand the terminology and layout elements of a comic.
Overview: In this lesson, students will learn the essential elements of a comic. They will put their new knowledge to use and create a tier comic incorporating some of these elements. They should leave this lesson with the confidence to label and talk about a page of a comic and the features it holds.
Success Criteria:
- I can label the parts of a comic.
- I know the elements of a comic.
- I can apply my knowledge of comic terminology and create a tier comic.
Materials Needed:
- A copy of the Google Slides for this lesson (see below).
- Markers.
- Comic Worksheet or newspaper comics.
- Pixton.
Lesson Plan
Minds-On:
- Open the Elements of a Comic Layout Slide Pack.
- Slide 2: Ask students what they know about comics.
- Can they name any of the parts of a comic?
- Brainstorm the terms and ideas they have on the clipboard.
- Slide 3: Read through the comic and see if they can name any elements.
- Slide 4: Read through the lesson objective and success criteria with the students.
- Slides 5-24: Click through the slides and go through the terminology of a comic.
Inquiry:
- Slides 25-26: Distribute the newspaper comics or Comic Worksheet to students in pairs.
- Have students highlight and label the different elements of a comic.
- You may ask some of the following questions as students are learning:
- What do they notice about each panel?
- What do the speech bubbles show us?
- Can you tell me why you think they used this bubble here?
- What is the difference between narration and speech bubbles?
- Why are there gutters in a comic?
- Perform a gallery walk around the class to view what their peers found.
- see Slide 27 for answers.
Activity:
- Slide 18: Using Pixton, create a comic about something that happened to you on the way home from school.
- Did you see Bigfoot?
- Did you find magical sneakers? You can make this one up!
- Remember to use all of the layout elements!
- Elements to choose from are:
- Panel.
- Sequence.
- Gutter.
- Subject.
- Onomatopoeia.
- Allow students to share their comics with the class.