6/25 Lesson #1

I had a great time cruising around the internet looking at sites that might work with my classes next year. Most of us don’t get time to do this while we’re teaching, much less when we’re taking a few classes in the summer, so this was guilt-free web surfing, and I loved it.

I started out with a few sites I already knew, but had not been to in a while. Then I used some of the links from the web site for my other class (CI 5410 – Teaching Writing through Digital Storytelling), and that really got me rolling.

One of the sites I have gone to several times this year is for the PEW Internet & American Life Project (http://www.pewinternet.org). It always has something interesting, and a few times I was able to use the results of a study to generate some class interest and discussion.

Rationale:
As far as using it for a lesson based on what we’ve studied so far in this class, I am interested in pursuing what we were talking about last week with multi-modal projects for the students. As one of the most recent studies from the PEW group shows that the majority of teens are creating content beyond their Facebook or MySpace pages.

While the focus of my Mass Media class has been to help students become savvy consumers of media, showing them how to critically analyze the myriad messages with which they are inundated daily, I think I am going to change things up a little next fall. While I’ll still pursue that objective, I will also work at helping the kids prepare for their roles as media content creators.

With that in mind, I have put together a lesson based on using a tool I just started toying with in 5410 called ComicLife (http://plasq.com/downloads). ComicLife lets you quickly and easily create your own comic book or graphic novel, and publish it online. My lesson plan lets the students create an alternative ending to a novel, and use the exercise as an opportunity to further analyze the characters and their actions, and also think critically about their response to the piece and the author’s choices.

Objectives for Learners
Enhance their critical thinking skills through creative adaptation/embellishment of literary characters using ComicLife software.

Materials:
• Computer with internet access and ComicLife software (free downloads are available);
• A copy of the young adult novel, Feed, by M.T. Anderson


Anticipatory set
Students come into class and sit in groups of three and four. When class starts they are shown a few frames from selected graphic novels and comic books on the large screen. Each group is assigned one of the stories and asked to come up with ideas for the next panel. After two minutes they draw their panels on the white board and explain them to the class.

Body of the Lesson:
On the big screen I will demonstrate ComicLife for the students, showing them the basics, plus a few options. Next, they get with their partners and receive the handout with lesson instructions.

Students will come up with an alternate ending that stays true to what we already know about each character, but is significantly different from the book. Once they’ve agreed on the concept for the ending, they can write a script for the characters’ dialogue, as well as the narration boxes. They need to produce from three to five pages of comic panels.

Next they move to the computers and begin putting their stories together using ComicLife, and any other online tools they choose. This will take the rest of the class period, plus one other full day of class.

Closure:
Groups will share their new ComicLife endings with the class, explaining how and why theirs is a feasible alternative.

Assessment:
Each student team will turn in their version of ComicLife for review and assessment. Assessment will be based on completeness, depth of inquiry, appropriateness of the ending, and how well they communicated their points.