Comic Strip Maker

I found this comic strip maker that is great for lower grades. There is no account set up required, and they have options that let you select characters with different emotions, objects and sizes. Finally, you can print right it right away and/or email it to someone.

I used this with my third grade classes as an extension to their learning about communities and invasive species. The students were immediately engaged as I showed them the site. Their favorite part: selecting characters. We discussed how comic strips are organized - as a dialogue between people and why the consistency of characters is needed. They immediately caught on to the concept.

This activity reinforced mastery of a subject they were learning about in a engaging way. Student interest drove the cast of characters and dialogue. Most of them had read comic strips/books and were familiar with the real world application of this activity. Finally, it reinforced their writing skills in the area of dialogues between subjects. Despite a few technical glitches, they were all enthused about the project, with some working past the class ending time to finish.