𝓗𝓾𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮!

Institución oferente: Instituto Superior Goya

Autor y tutor del curso: Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini
Año: 2023

WEEK 3

1 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

WEEK 3 – USING CARTOONS/COMIC STRIPS IN CLASS

WHAT IS A CARTOON?
A cartoon can be a satirical or humorous drawing, a series of illustrations (also called
a comic strip), or an animated film. A cartoon makes a brief, funny comment using
illustrations and is often found on television, in a newspaper or in a magazine.
Cartoons and comic strips are a powerful and creative forms of communication.
With a few simple lines, teachers can convey thoughts and they are a great way to
teach students different topics.

USING CARTOONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

Working with cartoons to start a class discussion is an excellent idea because visuals
help to stimulate our students’ creativity. We should use topic-related cartoons so
they can focus on one topic at a time. Let’s see some examples:
Activity 1

Technology-related discussion

 What can you see?

 What are the images trying to tell you?
 Are any of the pictures relevant to your own life?

2 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 2
A great website is https://www.glasbergen.com/ created by Randy Glasbergen who
is an American cartoonist. His cartoons are seen all over the world in newspapers,
magazines, greeting cards, books, calendars, advertising textbooks, social media and
more.
Here we can find lots of ready-made cartoons organized according to different
topics which makes the website a fantastic resource for teachers. For example, some
of these categories are about business, family, animals and love.

Family-related cartoons
- Who are they? What is their relationship? Where are they?
- What are they doing? What do they really mean?

3 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

USING CARTOONS FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR
It is essential to learn grammar because it helps learners understand the English
language better. Grammar enables them to understand how sentences are formed.
It also allows them to write good essays and articles that can be understood by
people who do not know much about grammar. But let’s face it. Lots of students
find grammar structures difficult to understand and sometimes they do not know
how to use that particular structure in real life. So, it is a good idea to use cartoons
to introduce or practise grammar. Let’s see some examples:
Activity 3
Use the following cartoons to present certain verb tenses or structure.

You can use the same (or different) cartoons to practise the verb forms by removing
the verbs and letting the students complete the sentences.

4 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 4
Use the following cartoons to introduce verb patterns.

USING CARTOONS FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY

As we already should know, images are directly related to vocabulary. Using
flashcards is one of many ways we have to teach and incorporate vocabulary. Realia,
objects and material from everyday life which are used as teaching aids, is another
option we have to teach vocabulary. However, using cartoons and images can be
motivating and funny. Let’s see some examples:
Activity 5
Students can see how to use indefinite pronouns in a funny and interesting way.

5 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 6
Find good pictures to teach adjectives or descriptions.

Activity 7
Here you have different ways of showing the meaning of specific vocabulary.

6 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 8
The Language Nerds is an interesting webpage that contains lots of different contents.
For example, you can find different funny illustrations of literal meaning of words
and/or idioms. See the following link: https://thelanguagenerds.com/2020/20-clever-
and-funny-illustrations-showing-the-literal-meanings-of-
idioms/?fbclid=IwAR3VSkjGYztWrqlydO_qabl_IC0HBCDORzzh7aCH5iQ2gZj3Qd6k4tN
NbX4#google_vignette
Let’s see some examples:

USING CARTOONS FOR TEACHING PUNCTUATION

The use of punctuation marks is important because they guide readers to
comprehend the meaning of a sentence. Certain use of punctuation, or lack of
punctuation, can give a sentence a completely different meaning. Nowadays,
children and teenagers do not use punctuation marks as they should due to instant
messaging.
We, as teachers, need to show our students the importance of the correct use of
punctuation and how a simple comma or question mark can change the meaning.
Let’s see some examples:

7 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 9
Show your students the following pictures. The students have to explain why they
are considered funny or confusing. Then they have to put the missing punctuation
marks.

USING CARTOONS FOR TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

Pronunciation is not just about producing the right sounds or stressing the right
syllables, it is also about helping students understand what they hear. So, how we
use cartoons in our lessons? Let’s see some examples:

8 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

Activity 10
Ask the students to explain the following cartoons using the phonetic alphabet.

CREATING YOUR OWN CARTOON/COMIC STRIP

Nowadays, we can find different websites that allow us to create our own comic
strip. This is essential as, sometimes, it can be difficult to find or adapt a comic strip
for our lesson or we just want something more specific. Let’s see some examples:

CANVA
One useful website that allows us to create almost anything is Canva
(https://www.canva.com/). As you may know, you can choose from a wide range of
types, for example infographics, social media posts, cards and, of course, comic
strips. There are two versions: the free one and the pro that you have to pay.

PIXTON
Pixton (https://www.pixton.com/) is a comic and avatar maker. It uses comics and
graphic arts to help build students' art skills, stretch their creative muscles, and help
them think critically about sequencing, context, and story structure.

MAKEBELIEFSCOMIX
MakeBeliefsComix.com (https://makebeliefscomix.com/) is a website to create your
own world of comic strips. A choice of characters with different moods gives you the
chance to write words and thoughts. This site is a safe place where you feel
empowered to create and to test new ideas and ways to communicate through art
and writing.

9 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini

References
Glasbergen, R. (2023). Glasbergen Cartoon Service. https://www.glasbergen.com/
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (2014). Sixth Edition. Pearson.
The Language Nerds. 20 Clever and funny illustrations showing the literal meanings
of idioms. https://thelanguagenerds.com/2020/20-clever-and-funny-
illustrations-showing-the-literal-meanings-of-
idioms/?fbclid=IwAR3VSkjGYztWrqlydO_qabl_IC0HBCDORzzh7aCH5iQ2gZj3
Qd6k4tNNbX4

10 Prof. Lic. Griselda Mazzuchini