Visual Narrative and Comicbook teaching resources:

Quickstart guides for using ComicLife on either a Laptop or ipad. PDF

An introdution to Showing Narrative using Sequential Art. PDF

As reflected in many of our publications, Anna Kirova and I have collaborated with a number of children doing research and storytelling using the fotonovela form as a vehicle for merging, body language, dialogue, narrative and sequential art:

Starting out as a photography club, this fotonovela involved a small group for grade 4s and 5s, all of whom were recent immigrants to Canada. Presented with the opportunity to use photography and tableau to create comicbooks that would be interesting, understandable and helpful for the next new kids, This group chose to create a book explaining who the lunch routine worked. See the lunchtime fotonovela.

Another theme for our young researchers involved belonging. In this fotonovela they explored the body language, words, misunderstandings and conflict around joining a game on the playground. Once the young researchers created this comic, they also create wordless versions of the sequence and invited students in another class to tell the story in their words. This cartoon survey showed the range of attitudes kids have about belonging on the playground. See the playground fotonovela

With another class of grade 5s, we collaborated with a councellor and the children as they explored various scenarios and strategies for responding to bullying.

See scenario 1 fotonovela.

See bullying scenario 2 fotonovela

See bullying scenario 3 fotonovela.

Finally, in another school entirely I invited a bunch of pre-service art education tachers to work with a grade 5 class to develop stories about life in their school. The result was the collection, Eastwood Comix. See comic.