Cartoons and Comics

Cartoons and Comics

Growing up, I enjoyed reading graphic novels such as Caption Underpants, but when I became I teacher I noticed not many of my students enjoyed reading graphic novels. It was not until this past school year (2019-2020) that my students finally started to find graphic novels interesting. Luckily, my school library had all the Dog Man books available, because those are the ones my students enjoyed reading and it seemed to be a common interest for all the students in the campus. With the rise of interest in graphic novels, incorporating comics in a classroom or library setting is sure to  grab the attention of students and they too may be excited to create comics of their own. 

Here are three websites I used to create a comic and my experience working with each one. 

1. Fotojet- This website was my least favorite to work with. I would say the only positive that came from using this website is the fact that I was able to create my account using my Gmail. With a free account there really isn't much that you can do. A lot of the templates and features to use for your comic are restricted and are only available with an upgraded account which does require you to pay. With Fotojet, there also isn't much you can do that makes it look like a comic. I would not recommend this website to teachers or librarians because I do not think it is worth using. Fotojet is not very easy to use, and with the little feature available, students may be more frustrated that excited to create a comic. In my comic, I had to use my own Bitmoji to give it a comic-like feature because there wasn't much to use. 

I decided to create a comic that I would like to post in the library to inform students on a upcoming AR night. 

2. MakeBeliefComix

This website does not require an account to create a comic, but I did need to create one in order to save my comic to my laptop. I would not recommend middle or high school teachers or librarians use MakeBeliefComix with their students because I believe they would not be satisfied with it and would want more for their comic. Middle and high school students would probably want to add more details that MakeBeliefComix does not offer. However, I could see elementary students enjoying this website to create a comic as it has really cute features that are available, and the website was simple to use. After I created my comic, I created an account using my Gmail and I was able to easily download it as an image. 

Here is a comic I created with the idea of having it posted in the library to promote a upcoming AR night. 

3. Pixton

Pixton was by far my favorite website! With a free account that was easy to set up with my Gmail, there were a lot of features available to me. Students will enjoy being able to change and add details to their comic, and the website was very easy to use. I had a lot of fun detailing my character, the background, and I loved how there were many facial expressions to choose from. After I created my comic, I was able to save it under my account and download it. If I would like to create another one, my first comic is still saved and available to me. I recommend teachers and librarians share this website with their students because there are many types of comics that can be created using Pixton. 

Here is a comic I created that can be posted in the library during AR nights. 

Interested in using comics in your classroom? 

Here are some examples as to how you, the teacher, can incorporate comics into your classroom. 

• Have students create a comic to practice reading skills (comprehension, prediction, fluency)
• ESL students can create a comic in a less structured format to practice writing and reading skills
• Have students create a comic to get started during the beginning of the day 
• Use comics as a formative assessment for various content/material
• Have students work in groups to create a comic based on learned material and then have them present their comic
• Have students create a comic about having a positive school/classroom environment (these would be great to have posted in the classroom year round) 

The possibilities are endless!

 Students are sure to have fun creating a comic whether its for fun or for educational purposes!