Monday, July 9, 2018

Make Mythology Fun & Interactive with Comics


There are two things that I really love about Story Board That: first, it appeals to my visual learners (and I have a lot of them, myself included); second, it allows students who don't consider themselves great artists to create and customize top-notch, professional-quality visuals.

I became interested in using comic books in the classroom a few years ago, after reading about the story-telling power of graphic novels. I love the fusion of text and imagery to create meaning, and having students exercise their inference skills as they interpret these rich, visual texts.


Recently, I have been revising my curriculum to include a more student-centered instructional approach. When I began thinking of ways to revamp my mythology curriculum, my thoughts immediately went to having students create their own comic book versions of myths. If you teach Greek mythology, regardless of the grade level, Story Board That is worth your time! They have tons of characters, creatures, settings, and items based on myths, and you can have students make something short--like the one-panel image at the beginning of this article--or something more detailed and in-depth: I have my students create 6 panels and include a human, a god/goddess, a magical item or metamorphosis, and a moral.


My students love Story Board That so much that I took two students to the State Capitol to share how they are using comics in the classroom with teachers and state legislators. It was a huge success!


Want to see all of the bells and whistles? Check out my time lapse screencast!