Comics and
Comprehension:
Do They Go Together?
Presented by Paula Raines
Technology Conference 2010
Why Use Comic Strips?
• Students get excited by a new way of presenting what they
have learned.
• Students who are intimidated by drawing become actively
engaged and confident.
• Students become writers without realizing it.
• Teachers can quickly determine when a concept is
understood.
• Finished products have a polished and professional look.
• Comic strips are ThinkShow projects waiting to happen.
• Working on the computer is cool!
Where can I go to
build the comics?
•Make Beliefs Comics
•Myths and Legends Story Creator
•Read Write Think
•Pixton
•Strip Creator
•toonlet
•Toon Doo
•Bitstrips
Make Beliefs Comics
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Co
mix/
 Characters are predetermined.
 Story starters are included.
 Very easy to use. (younger students could be
successful)
 Black and white comics can be printed and colored
 IT’S FREE!
 Because it is free, there are animated ads that can be
distracting
Myths and Legends
http://myths.e2bn.org/story_creator/
 Fun to use!
 Preset characters and backgrounds
 Sounds can be added.
 Finished products can easily be printed.
 Set in medieval times
 Story board feature
Read Write Think
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/inter
actives/comic/
• Backgrounds, characters, props, and text bubbles are
available.
• Limited number of characters.
• Finished work is easily printed.
• Finished product has a real comic look.
Pixton
http://pixton.com/
 Requires a log in with email address
 There is an account exclusively for schools.
 There is a fee.
 There is a lesson bank with suggestions for using the
comics in the classroom.
 Many characters and scenes are provided; students may
create their own avatars.
Strip Creator
http://www.stripcreator.com/
 Requires a login and email address
 Easy to find a character and create a dialog
 Preset backgrounds and characters
 Advertisements may be inappropriate
toonlet
http://toonlet.com/
 Characters in “toons” are limited to upper body only
 Many choices of facial and torso details
 Characters are in black and white; background can be a
variety of colors
 FREE
 Opportunity to buy products with toons imprinted on
them
 Tutorial on the site
ToonDoo
http://www.toondoo.com/Home.toon
 It’s FREE; there is an educational portal which is
private; it does come with a fee. Students can share
their work here.
http://www.toondoospaces.com/pricing/
 There are many characters and props to create any kind
of comic.
 There is the capability of importing pictures from a file
to help create a character.
Bitstrips
http://www.bitstrips.com/
 Students can create characters or use characters from
the library.
 Props and scenes are available.
 Requires a login (email address) and password.
 There is now an educational portal where teachers can
control what students publish and share with each
other. Only the portal requires a fee.
http://bitstripsforschools.com/pricing/
ToonDoo vs
Bitstrips
Examples of Student Created
Bitstrips
Examples of Student Created
Bitstrips
Examples of Student Created
Bitstrips
Examples of Student Created
Bitstrips
Examples of Student Created
Bitstrips
Suggestions for Comics in the Classroom:
•Compare/Contrast
•Retell an event/story
•Apply a concept such as a law of nature or rule
of government
•Cause and Effect or Sequencing
•Students/Teachers could create comics for
review questions and answers.
•Provides a means to work through
conflicts/problems
•Service projects; students could use the comic
builder to create greeting cards.