Comics in the Digital Age ELL Classroom

1. Comics in the Digital Age ELL Classroom Katie Burns Title III Resource Teacher Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

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

3. Why Comics? Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

4. Why Comics? Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

5. Why Comics • Motivation • Differentiation • Offers Choice • Writing as a Language Domain • Engagement through dense material Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

6. Why Comics?- “Digital Natives” Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

7. 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

8. 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

9. “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”Comics for English Language Learners Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Rubrics Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013 Source: http://toondooguide.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/rubric2.png

15. 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 Teaching11(3). Retrieved February 19, 2010 from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun09/mart03.htm • Zimmerman, B. (2009). Make Beliefs Comix. www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ Katie Burns, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-ESL Dept, SI 2013