Super Adventures

Super Adventures lesson plan

Drawing cartoons is a great way to encourage young writers and illustrators.

  • 1.

    Study the styles of distinguished cartoonists. Examine the relationships among illustration style, character development, and story line.

  • 2.

    Imagine a story about a dreamer, inventor, or explorer. Where might they go? What might they do? Imagine a scary, silly, or serious situation. List the scenes to help plan how many cartoon frames are needed to tell the story.

  • 3.

    With a ruler and Crayola® Colored Pencils, measure and draw a cardboard or oak tag cartoon frame template. Make a square or rectangle shape in a cartoon-like size. Cut out the center of the frame with Crayola Scissors.

  • 4.

    On construction paper, trace around the template as many times as needed with colored pencils. If desired, leave space between frames to draw dialogue lines.

  • 5.

    Sketch the story characters and background with light lines. Write dialogue and draw balloons around the words.

  • 6.

    Complete the figures and background with Crayola Fine Tip and Washable Markers. Outline words and dialogue balloons.

Benefits

  • Children grow in their awareness of distinguished cartoonists' illustration and writing styles.
  • Children measure and cut a square or rectangular cartoon frame template.
  • Students increase their ability to select an imaginative theme and then write and illustrate a story sequence with this theme that includes settings, characters, plot, and dialogue balloons.

Adaptations

  • Create a class adventure strip, adding a new frame every day so everyone has an opportunity to participate. Post each day's frame in the hallway so other students can follow the adventure. Be sure to date the frames, just as famous cartoonists do.
  • Children, especially those with less writing experience, may benefit from jotting down their story and outlining what will appear in each scene before beginning to draw. Or focus only on the beginning, middle, and end scenes.
  • Publish a book of all the cartoons, making color copies for everyone. Design a cover, title page, any borders, and adjust the margins or cartoon sizes so everything fits.