Introduction begins with defining comics while looking at ancient examples of illustrated writing in various media. Students discuss panels in a Little Sammy Sneeze comic strip from 1905. They review speech bubbles, captions and play a group activity requiring drawing and organizing panels into stories about three caricatures. Instructions below–
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| Lesson plan (click to enlarge) |
Four panels of the above caricatures created and sequenced by elementary to high schoolers–
New characters made by 2nd graders
Older students usually practice drawing with pencils to express volume through shading while observing personal objects at home or assembling a still life in the classroom. More studies have included self-portraits and perspective drawings from both memory and observation.
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| 9th graders |
Classes typically look at more illustrated and literary devices from Masters of American Comics before individually storyboarding and final drafting a comic.
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| Autobiographical comic, 9th grader |
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| "What is evil?" by 10th grader |
Storylines selected from monthly writing prompt lists
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| 3rd grader |
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| 5th grader |
An assignment to depict a metaphor
