Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Comics in the Digital Age ELL Classroom

Katie BurnsTitle III Resource Teacher

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Why Comics?

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Why Comics?

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Why Comics

• Motivation• Differentiation• Offers Choice• Writing as a Language Domain• Engagement through dense material

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Why Comics?- “Digital Natives”

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Think about this…

• 21st Century Student• Paper books are slowly (and sadly) becoming

obsolete• ELLs have the cognitive ability to comprehend

the material. Some however, can understand the language of the content more comprehensively with a visual alongside the text.

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Research Support• Graphic narrative materials are an excellent means to

reduce the “affective filters” of anxiety and lack of confidence blocking student pleasure in learning L2. They can spark student interest, thus increasing acquisition of L2 and invigorating kids to become “autonomous acquirers” (Krashen, 2004b).

• Students drawing their own comics to tell the basic narrative of a text they are reading, or to invent a comic of their own (Carter, 2008b; Zimmerman, 2009), is a form of active multimodal production – individual and collaborative -- that teachers can readily experiment with in their own classrooms everywhere (Chandaran, 2009).

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”Comics for English Language Learners

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Student testimonyPark Rd Montessori, 2012-2013 School Year

• “It helps me write stories and paragraphs and it’s fun!” Leslie, 4th grade

• “I like [digital cartoons] because you can make your own videos, slideshows, you create your characters, background and you get to talk. You can watch your video with friends” Ariel, 3rd grade

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

So now let’s have some fun

• Make Believe Comics• Toontastic• Pixton• Story Jumper• Strip Generator

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Now it’s your turn!

• Pick a content standard and ELL student that you teach and think of an expected product for your ELL student. Use any of the programs shown to you today.

• How would you differentiate the task for their level? • What would the end product look like? • SHOW US! Be creative!

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Remember

• Lay out the ground rules and expectations• Model appropriate digital behavior• Differentiate process and product• Use a rubric • Provide descriptive feedback

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Rubrics

Source: http://toondooguide.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/rubric2.png

Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

Resources• Carter, J.B. (2008b).The comic book show and tell: a lesson in comic book scripting.

www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=921

• Chandaran, H. (2009). The effectiveness of teaching literature through graphic supplement. Unpublished M.Ed. project thesis. Faculty of Education, University of Malaya.

• Krashen, S. D. (2004b). Applying the comprehension hypothesis: Some suggestions. Presentation, 13th International Symposium on Language Teaching, Taipei, 13 November. www.sdkrashen.com/articles/eta_paper/index.html

• Templer, B. (2009). Graphic novels in the ESL classroom. Humanising Language Teaching 11(3). Retrieved February 19, 2010 from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun09/mart03.htm

• Zimmerman, B. (2009). Make Beliefs Comix. www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/