Creating Comics as Story Writing

Do you want to get you students excited about writing? Here is a great free resource mentioned by the tech chicks in their recent podcast. It is an online educational comic generator called makebeliefscomix.com.

First, you can choose the # of panels in your comic strip. The two panel option can represent a First-Then structure for younger students.




The three panel option can represent a beginning-middle-end structure. Older students can add more detail with the four panel option.





Next you choose the characters and their mood.








Finally, you write their words and thoughts. Each panel gives you a dialog prompt.

This is very easy to use. Click here, click there to drop characters into frames. Now you are ready to tell your story. There is even a list of story ideas to get started.

I love this because it is so flexible. It can be used to create a simple cause-effect story. At the same time, it can call on higher order thinking skills. The tech chicks suggested making a current event into a comic. This involves summarization, reframing, evaluation and making judgements.

Start now to tap into your students' creativity. To see a sample, check out the Hosmer student blog post, How to Appreciate Teachers.