TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 22, 2019

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive

 

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Webcomics Web Archive - Library of Congress

Grades
8 to 12
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The Library of Congress presents this collection which features comics created explicitly for the web beginning in 2014 and ongoing. Selections include award-winning comics as well...more
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The Library of Congress presents this collection which features comics created explicitly for the web beginning in 2014 and ongoing. Selections include award-winning comics as well as those featured based on significance in the field of comics. Browse through the collection items or use search features to narrow your selection by different criteria including format, date, subject, and location. Please note that all content is provided in its original form and may not be suitable for all ages.

tag(s): artists (77), comics and cartoons (54), politics (113)

In the Classroom

Include this collection in art classes during the study of comic book art. Share comics with students in history classes along with newspaper comics to demonstrate the use of comics to depict historic events or share political beliefs and satire. In literature classes, include this site along with others to share comics depicting characters in novels. Have students create their own comics or cartoons to summarize story events or depict characters and events from history using a comic creation tool like ToonyTool, reviewed here, to create single frame cartoons. Find more uses for using comics in the classroom by viewing the archive of our OK2Ask session Engage & Inspire: Comics in the Classroom, reviewed here.

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ToonyTool - ToonyTool

Grades
2 to 12
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ToonyTool has a simple canvas to quickly create a single-frame comic, a cartoon strip, or an animation. With ToonyTool, you can add a dash of humor to get the message ...more
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ToonyTool has a simple canvas to quickly create a single-frame comic, a cartoon strip, or an animation. With ToonyTool, you can add a dash of humor to get the message across. Start your canvas and choose a single comic, a comic strip, or a video from the tab in the upper left corner. Choose one of their background pictures, or upload one of your own. Create a title or type part of your message in the Meme text bar. Choose a character or two, add a prop, and select speech bubbles to type a message. Everything is easy to move around by just dragging and dropping. At the bottom of the page, find tools to share and edit your comic. Share via print, download, email, or online. There is no registration required.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), communication (136), creative writing (122), digital storytelling (142), summarizing (22)

In the Classroom

There is a multitude of ways to use comics/cartoons in the classroom. For instance, create one-page discussion starters to help students keep up with current political issues. Use comics to show sequencing of events, for example, explain the sequence of a story, a science concept, or current event! When studying about characterization, create a dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Use comic strips for literature responses. Another idea - why not use the comics for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or draw the pictures) than use the actual words. Emotional support and autistic support teachers can work with students to create strips about appropriate interpersonal responses and feelings. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialogue strips as an alternative to traditional written assessments; summarize through a comic. Challenge students who move through other assignments more quickly to create a cartoon for review of a topic studied in class. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year using Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator includes features for students to easily create digital books using their own text, videos, and images.

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Marvin and Milo - physics.org

Grades
2 to 7
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Marvin and Milo demonstrate a simple physics experiment through cartoons, offering a new experiment each month. Try activities such as the Sew an Icecube or Spinning Eggs following...more
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Marvin and Milo demonstrate a simple physics experiment through cartoons, offering a new experiment each month. Try activities such as the Sew an Icecube or Spinning Eggs following the easy step by step directions. In addition to the cartoon, each activity includes a list of materials, instructions, and results and explanations. Use the top drop-down menus to view countless past experiments.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), experiments (52), science fairs (19)

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site as an excellent resource for science experiments. Engage students and extend their knowledge with the activities from the site for science fair projects. If you are lucky enough to have a parent helper in your classroom, allow them to come in and complete experiments with your students each month using ideas found on the site. Challenge students to complete experiments at home and share results with the class. Have students create videos using FlexClip, reviewed here, and share the experiment and results using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.

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Printable Comic Strip Templates - Donna Young

Grades
K to 12
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Find several different comic strip templates at this simple, yet useful site. Choose from templates with various numbers of panels and squares or arch tops. Click on any ...more
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Find several different comic strip templates at this simple, yet useful site. Choose from templates with various numbers of panels and squares or arch tops. Click on any template to view and print the PDF version.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54)

In the Classroom

Have small groups of students each create one panel as a summary of what the class just learned. Use comics in math and turn a word problem into a comic strip/cartoon. In social studies create a comic strip/cartoon about a historic event, person, place, or speech. In language arts take a novel or non-fiction book and create a comic strip/cartoon depicting the characters and plot. Have students write summaries of current events or responses to reading assignments. With younger students, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to create a class comic on a current topic of study, such as the different parts of a plant, the planets, or a butterfly's life cycle. Use these templates for students to plan out storyboards for more involved projects, such as videos. Alternatively, have students use one of the templates for a rough draft before creating and online comic. In emotional support or autistic support classes, create comics to show how people interact. In world languages or with ENL/ESL students, create comics to reinforce correct language. Looking for even more comic resources? Check out TeachersFirst's complete collection of Comics and Cartoons.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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XKCD - XKCD

Grades
8 to 12
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Get ready to have a good laugh. Come on over to XKCD, a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. Find comics with stick figures featuring mathematical, scientific, and cultural...more
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Get ready to have a good laugh. Come on over to XKCD, a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. Find comics with stick figures featuring mathematical, scientific, and cultural humor. Scroll down the page to find Comics/Enjoy! Dig through the archives to find the perfect one for you! Creative Commons License allows reprinting of the comics. Each comic has an individual URL that can be shared to direct students to that specific comic. Be sure to PREVIEW before you share any comics with your class. Our editors found a few that may be questionable depending on the maturity of your students.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), humor (16)

In the Classroom

Add humor to your science, math, language, and current events classes to lighten the mood! Spice up professional presentations with humor, and keep your audience involved. Share the direct URL to any comic that relates to your curriculum or specific topics. Encourage students to create comics with your current content. Have students use one of the tools and ideas included in this collection. Keep your class website humorous with a few comics from XKCD.

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Witty Comics - WittyComics.com

Grades
K to 12
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Use this tool to design a comic with dialogue between two characters. Use the pre-drawn backgrounds and characters. Add a title for each scene/page and add dialogue between the two...more
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Use this tool to design a comic with dialogue between two characters. Use the pre-drawn backgrounds and characters. Add a title for each scene/page and add dialogue between the two characters. These are quick and easy three page comics. You can create without an account. However, if you want to SAVE, you must register for a free account (email required).

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), communication (136), summarizing (22)

In the Classroom

Create dialogues that introduce new content topics in your classroom. Students can use this "witty" tool to introduce topics from research or to practice a speech to be given in class. Use comics to create a dialogue discussing misconceptions in the content and a discussion of the actual facts to dispel the misunderstandings. To view more comic creator tools and ideas view this collection. Some suggested comic creators are Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, ToonyTool, reviewed here, Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.

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Stick Figure Hamlet - Dan Carroll

Grades
9 to 12
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Stick Figure Hamlet brings comic visuals and imagery to this classic work of Shakespeare. Each act and scene is represented. Simply start at the beginning to view all cartoons or ...more
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Stick Figure Hamlet brings comic visuals and imagery to this classic work of Shakespeare. Each act and scene is represented. Simply start at the beginning to view all cartoons or choose any act or scene desired. This site is sure to motivate and interest even the most reluctant reader!

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), hamlet (8), literature (217), shakespeare (93)

In the Classroom

Add Stick Figure Hamlet to your arsenal of tools when reading Shakespeare. Share images from the site throughout your class reading of Hamlet on your interactive whiteboard. Invite students to interpret what is happening in the comics. Challenge students to find omissions in the retelling or to draw their own, better versions. Share the link for students to view at home. The images may be very helpful to visual learners in understanding the content of this work. Browse the TeachersFirst Shakespearean collection for other ideas to use with Hamlet. Use this site as inspiration and have students create their own comics for any piece of literature. Find many ideas at TeachersFirst's Comics Collection.

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Dr. Seuss Went to War - UC San Diego

Grades
6 to 12
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Explore a rich collection of Dr. Seuss' political cartoons during World War II. Seuss shows his very serious side in this collection of over 400 political cartoons related to the ...more
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Explore a rich collection of Dr. Seuss' political cartoons during World War II. Seuss shows his very serious side in this collection of over 400 political cartoons related to the war. The collection is sorted by year and by battle, people, places, and issues. Each cartoon includes full citation and copyright information. Most are copyrighted and allow permission for scholarly use but cannot be copied or shared outside of "fair use." In other words, you cannot use them in online projects or make copies beyond classroom or offline student projects. You can easily share each cartoon via Twitter, Facebook, etc. Click the enlarge arrows to see the image in its own separate window and copy its URL.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), dr seuss (6), world war 2 (149)

In the Classroom

This collection offers rich opportunities during the study of World War II. Students can trace the tensions and events of the war year by year or by issue. Redefine students' learning by having pairs or small groups create their own comic about a current event and explain it using Phrase.it, reviewed here, an image annotation tool that allows you to reference images by URL, add text, links, audio and video.

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Write Comics - Write Comics

Grades
K to 12
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You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animals, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, ...more
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You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animals, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, supplied by Write Comics. This site is extremely easy to use. There is no need to sign up or register. Once you click Finish, you will receive a link. Go to your link and print your comic or upload it to your webpage.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54), communication (136), digital storytelling (142), summarizing (22)

In the Classroom

Create a comic to put on your website. Share this tool and the 10 Tips for Writing Good Comics with your students. You might want to use Write Comics to display the vocabulary word of the day, the math puzzle of the week, a concept your students are learning in social studies or science as an example and to engage students. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and have students tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book will become the most read classroom book of all in an elementary classroom. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

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Comics Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
3 to 12
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about and create comics in any subject area. Comics have become mainstream in...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about and create comics in any subject area. Comics have become mainstream in "graphic novels" and can express or explain major concepts, portray the underlying tensions behind an issue, or simply help students remember terms and definitions. The storytelling potential of comics goes back to cave drawings and can be as simple as a stick figure or as elaborate as a photograph annotated with voice bubbles. Explore these resources for tools and ideas to "draw" comics into your classroom as a tool for learning. Many of these resources trace the history and technique of various comics, providing an interesting area of study or examples for student-made comics.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (54)

In the Classroom

Choose a comic creator tool for students to use in your class to reinforce curriculum concepts. With younger students or those who need examples, create the first comic(s) together on interactive whiteboard or projector as a closure activity to reinforce concepts before a test. Gradually allow students to create their own comics (or collections of comics) to tell stories, review concepts, or make political comments. More techno-savvy students will appreciate the variety of tool options offered here.
 

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