Students research dinosaur facts and use several images to create a simple one page comic strip. The students may use information about dinosaurs found in their books, and research additional information on the internet.

The program used is Comic Life Deluxe. Students can use a digital camera or a shared webcam to take headshot pictures of themselves. Their pictures can be made available on a common shared network folder or uploaded to an online photo gallery for easy access by students.

Grade 2 and up

Finished Example:

Dinosaur Comic

Instructions:

1) Download the research handouts, make copies for students to fill out.

2) Download the images of the dinosaurs and make them accesible for students.

3) Take headshot pictures of the students with a webcam or digital camera.

The headshots and dinosaur images can be made available on a shared network folder or on a shared online photo gallery for student access. Advanced students may be able to find and save images from the internet.

4) Demonstrate and model the usage of the Comic Life application.

Students drag and drop their headshot and the dinosaur images onto the comic strip. Students then narrate the images using speech boxes and bubbles. Students should save their work before exiting the application. Comic life allows saving the students' work as images, pdf files, html web pages, or movies.

5) Create the projects and have fun!

This lesson could likely be done with 2nd grade students in about 2-4 sessions of 45 minutes or more each. One session may be needed to familiarize students with the program, allowing them time to experiment and explore the interface and it's features. Additional sessions would be used for research and creation of their project.