level+3+Comics

​ = = ** Level 3 Comics: Steve Watling ** Comics can cover a number of literacy and integrated study areas. At Level 3 (grade 3 and 4) students can learn and explore comics in a way that will allow teachers to assess their students against the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS). On this page I have talked about the VELS and highlighted any key areas that are covered and produced a list of ideas for teachers to use.


 * Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS): **
 * __Reading____:__**

At Level 3, students read and respond to an increasing range of imaginative and informative texts with some unfamiliar ideas and information, vocabulary and textual features. They interpret the main ideas and purpose of texts. They make inferences from imaginative text about plot and setting and about characters’ qualities, motives and actions. They infer meaning from material presented in informative texts. They identify how language is used to represent information, characters, people, places and events in different ways including identification of some simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes. They use several strategies to locate, select and record key information from texts.

** At Level 3, students write texts containing several logically ordered paragraphs that express opinions and include ideas and information about familiar topics. They write narratives which include characters, setting and plot. They order information and sequence events using some detail or illustrative evidence, and they express a point of view providing some information and supporting detail. They combine verbal and visual elements in the texts they produce. They meet the needs of audiences by including appropriate background information.
 * __ Activity Ideas for Reading: __
 * **Comprehension tasks** – this could either be done by reading the entire comic as a large group or during learning centers allowing the teacher to choose a comic for each group that suits their developmental stage. Students should then be asked questions that relate to the meaning and purpose of the text, these questions should be molded to suit the level of each group of students. //(Progression Point 2.25: understanding of author’s purpose for writing a text; for example to inform and how well the text achieved its purpose.) (Progression Point 2.25: comprehension of ideas in informative and imaginative texts.)//
 * **Predicting events** – Students can be give a comic strip with parts of the writing removed, they must then predict what they think are the missing words. //(Progression point 2.25: prediction of likely events and inferences about the consequence of actions represented in the text.)//
 * Applying Question-Answer Relationships to Pictures - Lesson plan at - []
 * __ Writing: __**

They write a variety of simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They use punctuation to support meaning, including exclamation marks and quotation marks, and accurately use full stops, commas and question marks. They use vocabulary appropriate to context and spell most one- and two-syllable words with regular spelling patterns, and frequently used words which have less regular spelling patterns. They use sound and visual patterns when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.


 * __ Activities for Writing: __**
 * Write a short story and then transform it into a comic strip.
 * Read a familiar comic strip and then expand the story into a proper written narrative.
 * Using the following link, ask the students to create a comic online using a limited number of pictures. (Link: [] )
 * Listen to the recording provided below and then ask the students to create a comic that relates to what they have heard.
 * Braingstorm words (meta language) that cause emotions when they are read. Once this is done ask the students to create a word bubble that suit the type of emotion being represented. Remind them that this is called Meta Language in cimcs.



At Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They project their voice adequately for an audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information.
 * __ Speaking and Listening: __**

They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions, volunteer information and justify opinions.

** ** media type="file" key="wiki reading.mp3" width="240" height="20" __**Links to documents that apply to this topic:**__
 * __ Activities for Speaking and Listening: __
 * Students record a story of their choosing; once they have done this another student can listen to the recording and create a comic from that reading. //(Progression Point 2.75: retelling of some main ideas after listening to stories and viewing videos. Progression Point 2.5: communication with others in small group situations.) //
 * Students to act out their comics as a group. This could also be recorded as a video and the edited into a movie//. (Progression Point 2.75: modification of tone and pace of speaking when communicating with others. Progression Point 2.5: communication with others in small group situations.) //
 * __ Other Activities: __
 * Use the blank comic character outlines to introduce characters to the students. These can be found at the Marvel Kids Website (see below). To Extend this activity, students should be asked to create their own story using the character they have been given.
 * Research the history of comics.
 * Create a short movie from a comic of the students choose. Could be a published comic or one that the student has created themselves.
 * To introduce the topic to the children it would be a great idea to immerse them with as many comics or websites to do with comics as you can possibly do. This should then be followed by asking the children what they would like to learn about comics. This will then influence where your lesson should be taken. (This is inquiry learning).
 * Finish the unit off with a comic show. Allow classes from around the school to come and read the comics, or have the children read the comics to the younger children. You could also extend this to the parents. (This will work on the students communication skills)
 * Find a book and read part of it, then get the students to create a comic from what they have heard. To extend this you could also get them to predict or make up what the ending to the story is going to be. An example can be found on the following link:
 * [[file:Comic Handouts.pdf]]
 * [[file:comic_book.pdf]]

Using comics in literacy has a large link to the arts, communication and design, creativity and technology. The lessons that are provided in this wiki use a combination of all these to produce impressive comics.
 * __ Links to other areas of VELS: __**


 * __ Interesting Websites: __**

Comic Art Community - [] Marvel Kids Website - [] The Red Grade Blog - [] CG Cats Links Page - [] Think Finity Website - [] The Makeshift Miracle; Tutorial about Word Bubbles - [] Read, Write, Think Website - []

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 * __Interesting Videos relating to teaching comics in our classroom:__**

This video is a lesson on how to design the layout of a comic and / manga comic. It is narrated by Mark Crilly who is a well known Author / Illistrator. Further information can be gained from his website - []

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This video talks about how to add a word bubble to your comic strip.