I have to work on my post titles!
This post is going to focus on a website that all teachers can utilize in his or her classroom immediately and it is very easy to use. The site is called “Toon Doo”. Toon Doo is a free open application that allows anyone to create a comic strip. All it takes to sign up is a username and password. Easy enough! And no spam e-mails!
Here is how you can get started on Toon Doo…
Here is an assignment that I assigned for my class for our initial reading of Hamlet.
- Read Act 1 of Hamlet
- Take notes on the lines or passages you find important.
- Provide at least 5 passages (one for each scene, but you can use more than five).
- Provide the Act, scene and line number in this format I, i, 1-10
- Provide a brief summary (short paragraph) of why you chose that passage.
This was their homework and the next day we discussed and reflected on their first reading in class. Then I had the take their passages and translate them into a comic strip via Toon Doo. Here was my model that I showed them.
I feel Toon Doo can be used in any classroom at any level and it is easy for students and teachers to create. Plus, it will give you something that you can print out and post on your bulletin board for back to school night or simply for your Administrators to see! Here are some more ideas for other disciplines:
Math and Physics – Create a Toon Doo for a three-step equation. You can use symbols and text and if you wish to make it flashy and creative you can have characters embedded as well. When you are finished, you can hang them around on a bulletin board or post on your class website.
Special Education – The possibilities are endless for your students! Have them create a Toon Doo simply for fun! Or you can give them a specific task to create a Toon Doo for, possibly a life skill task or conversation skills between two people. I’d be interested to hear feedback on what you used Toon Doo for!!!
History and Government – Like language arts, you can create a Toon Doo for a specific moment in History. Example: The signing of the Treaty of Paris.
Foreign Language – Have students create a conversation between two characters in the language you teach. Or you can create a conversation between two people in English and have the students translate into French, Spanish or German.