Understanding By Design

Lesson Plan Format

Title: Comic Relief

Subject Matter Emphasis and Level: Reading/Communication Arts – Grade 7

Author: Betsy Knodel

School District: Menno Public School District #33-2

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Brief Description of the Lesson/Unit:

The students will create a comic strip book depicting what they did this summer by using descriptive language. The students will focus on using vivid vocabulary and create illustrations that add meaning to the comic strip. The students create their own cartoons aimed at a specific audience and with a specific purpose using computer art as the presenting medium.

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

1.  What enduring understandings are desired?

Students will determine the relative importance of details to identify the main idea of a passage.

2.  What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching/learning?

What can illustrations tell us about a story? How can I show my audience what I experienced through my own words? How can I find words that best describe what I did? How do illustrations help me enjoy a story more? Which are more effective in a story words or illustrations?

3.  What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?

v  Students are able to apply various reading strategies to comprehend and interpret text.

v  Students are able to evaluate text structures, literary elements, and literary devices within various genres to develop interpretations and form responses.

v  Students are able to revise writing to improve clarity.

v  Students are able to create an organizational structure that includes an introduction, clear focus, effective transitions, and a conclusion.

4.  What prior learning, interests, misconceptions, and conceptual difficulties might be brought to this unit?

Prior Learning / Interests / Misconceptions / Conceptual Difficulties
v  Vocabulary / v  Summer / v  Everyone knows how to draw / v  Visualization
v  Literary elements / v  Comics / v  Everyone has a summer story / v  Vivid language
v  Transitions / v  Fun / v  Organizational structures
v  Visualization / v  Literary devices

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

1.  What evidence will show that students understand?

Performance Tasks:

v  Use a model to show a comic strip about my summer.

v  Use a vocabulary sheet to show use of synonyms, adjectives, adverbs, and adverbs.

v  Use the Hollywood High CD-ROM to create a comic strip about an event from summer.

v  Use resources on drawing illustrations.

Other Evidence:

Quizzes, Tests, Prompts, Work Samples (summarized):

v  Comic Relief Prompt – There are many things that happen during summer break that could be considered comical. Think of a time this summer when you experienced something comical and create a comic strip to describe the event.

v  Vivid Speaking Worksheet – Create a paragraph for students to revise that has words that need to be changed to more vivid language.

v  Icky Illustrations – Create a worksheet of illustrations that students can draw as a part of the comic strip book.

v  Hollywood High – Creating a comic strip movie for the class using Hollywood High CD-ROM depicting the first day of school.

Unprompted Evidence: (observations, dialogues, etc.)

v  Group discussion sharing fun summertime activities

v  Peer editing of comic strip

v  Presentation of the comic strip to the class

Student Self-Assessment

v  Peer editing

v  Student rubric sheet

v  Self critique

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

1.  What sequence of teaching and learning experiences will equip students to develop and demonstrate the desired understandings?

Major Learning Activities:

v  Creating a comic strip that contains six scenes of an event from the summer that was comical in nature using illustrations and vivid language.

Materials & Resources (technology & print):

v  Comic Strip blocks

v  Vivid Word List

v  Thesaurus

v  Illustration CD-ROM programs (Picture It!, Printmaster, Photoshop, Publisher, etc)

v  Unit worksheets (attached)

Management:

v  Two weeks

Support Services and Special Teacher Notes:

v  ESA Region III

v  Administration

v  Local artists

Extensions and Adaptation:

v  Hutchinson Herald newspaper – publish cartoons in the local paper

v  Menno School web page – publish cartoons on the school web page

v  Young Illustrators contest

Lesson Plans:

Lesson One

Setting the Objectives

Discuss the objectives of the unit with the class. ie.

·  understanding how cartoons are created,

·  knowing who they are intended for,

·  creating a cartoon of their own,

·  using the computer as a tool to create cartoons.

Clip cartoons and comic strips from newspapers and magazines. Discuss children's favorite cartoon characters. Determine prior knowledge - what they already know about cartoons (group brainstorm). Students could participate in setting up rubrics for peer and self assessment at this stage. Talk about the summer and the fun things that took place on vacation.

Lesson Two

Viewing cartoons

Close examination of a humorous cartoon.

Group discussions:-

·  Why was it created (purpose)?

·  Is it funny?

·  What does it tell us?

·  Who will enjoy it (audience) ?

Provide each group of six students with five cartoons and copy of analysis grid and explain how to use it.
Class discussion of observations.

Lesson Three

Exploring language

Students to explore the meaning of key words that will be used in the study: pun, onomatopoeia, personification, caricature, distort, stereotyping, ambiguity, cliche, proportion, slapstick, satire, exaggeration, pathos, innuendo, ridicule, irony. Use of thesaurus will be important. Can students find words with similar meanings? Can students find words that would be more vivid?

Lessons Four and Five

Exploring features of cartoons

  1. Try copying other cartoons.
  2. In groups examine a number of cartoons and decide how the cartoonists portray:

·  movement

·  emotion

·  speech and loud speech

·  sound effects

  1. Put the information gained from the previous activity to use by showing emotions on "smiley faces". Provide students with a blank template.
  2. Students to examine their faces in a mirror and attempt to sketch their features as they change expression to suit a particular emotion.
  3. Provide the students with a copy of a cartoon with at least two characters carrying out an activity. Put in whatever additions are needed to create the impression of movement.
  4. Cartoons without text. Students work in pairs to show characters thinking then talking.
  5. Caricatures - matching photographs with caricatures. How easy are they to identify when their features are distorted and elongated.
  6. Allow them to make a cartoon of their own without dialogue. Swap with another student and put in dialogue.
Lesson six

Visit by local artist.

Students to visit or to be visited by a local artist. It would be a good idea for the children to prepare interview questions before the visit.

Lesson seven

Importance of text

Matching activity - Provide text separate to the cartoon and students are to match these (use both captions and speech bubbles). Students will need to focus on choice of words and using a thesaurus to enrich his/her vocabulary.

Lesson eight

Telling a story

Tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood in humorous comic strip using the LCD projector. Use captions for the text. Repeat the activity using speech bubbles for the text.

Lesson nine

Share a funny story of a summer event with your students. Show the students the same story put into a comic strip using Hollywood High CD-ROM. Discuss how Mrs. Knodel got the ideas for her characters. Try some faces of your own.

Lesson ten

Using computer art to create a cartoon.