Cartoons and Comics

Cartoons and comics are an excellent way to engage students in fun, creative, and higher order thinking activities. As a future librarian, I plan on sharing ideas on how to implement comics in the classroom. One fun beginning of the year activity would be to create an “All About Me” comic to share with students and have them create their own to share with classmates. Another way would be to have students write or retell stories using cartoons and comics to practice cause and effect and sequence of events among other reading skills. In math, this can be used to explain the process of solving a problem. The ideas are endless, it's just a matter of collaborating with teachers to show them these amazing tools. Below you will read about my experience with some websites that offer cartoon and comic creating tools. Enjoy!

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FotoJet

I love that I was able to create an account quickly and easily by signing in with Google. The website is simple to use. You can choose from several comic templates to get started. When I picked mine, I was able to play around with the text and text bubbles. In addition, I think it’s great the website allows you to upload your own photos or images as well as from their website. In Fotojet, I uploaded photos of myself and my family to create an “All About Me” comic.

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Pixton

The Pixton account was also very easy to set up. I like that you can create characters for your comics on Pixton. You can choose from a variety of characters and edit their clothes, expressions, and poses. The website also offers free backgrounds to include on the comic strips, but you may need more options depending on your theme. In order to have access for a larger variety of characters, backgrounds, or uploading your own photos, you need to subscribe for a monthly or yearly fee. However, it’s easy to get creative enough with the options available. One setback I found was that I was not able to save my comic on the website. So, make sure to download or share before you exit the website. Check out the comic strip I created below.

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Make Beliefs Comix

Make Beliefs Comix was also a simple account to create. Of all three, it was the website that looked the most appealing because it was colorful and bright. When using the website, it took me a while to get the hang of creating the comic and using the tools. However, I was able to create a comic I was very happy with. I like that there are many tools, backgrounds, characters, and themes to use. I can really see students liking this website more for all its options. However, I think it may be to complex for young students. The best option for them would be FotoJet and Piston.