Lessons Overview

#1 Picture This

#2 Storyboard 2

#3 Lights, Camera, Action

#4 Word and Thought 'Balloons'

#5 Presentation or Publication

Resources

Links to samples

Assessing the Unit

Extensions & Ideas

1. This step is hugely dependent on how specific and complete the advance preparation was. Having said that, some of the best editing decisions are made when the words are laid over (or under) the photos! The visual act can lead to inspiration (in small things)

2. It's important to remember, and to remind kids, the following:
- Tell the story! Don't just have a bunch of 'pow' and 'oh no!' balloons.
- For any age, but certainly more advanced writers, larger captions, or even a whole photoframe can be replaced with text.... comic makers do it, and their stories are better when context and detail are done in text.

3. Special Note: Working with balloons easily and flexibly is one of the great benefits of using 'ComicLife'. However, in Microsoft Word, or better Appleworks, it's a good idea to make sure students are comfortable and quick with basic processes like copy/paste, Word Art, and changing fonts, font size. The page layout process gets a bit finicky as they decide what part of a photo is okay to cover with text.
Again...... make sure that the option is clear(for teacher & student) to use big captions and whole frames for text. That will really help with time spent on the computers, and meeting the objectives for writing content.

4. Differentiate! Even though all students should meet certain end objectives.... this step is a great time to talk, listen, and be open to the solutions that kids come up with. Not everyone is at the same level in manipulating words, so help them 'take a stance' on their choices.... if they can make a case why they are using 'less' words, or letting the photos do more of the talking.... be open to these steps into critical thinking.