WHAT IS A COMIC?

THE COMIC AS A TEACHING

•

TOOL HISTORY OF THE COMIC • HOW TO BUILD A

COMIC
CARTOON: • PARTS
HUMAN OF A COMIC
TRAFFICKING •
GROOMING • NO TO SEXUAL ABUSE
 Why comics as a

teaching tool?
Comics are one of the most popular graphic forms of
communication in the contemporary world.
Nowadays, our relationship with images, particularly those
linked to a text, is practically indispensable. So if educators
were to abandon the use of comics and this clear influence of
popular culture, they would be wasting an excellent
pedagogical and didactic resource.
The comics that accompany this presentation are designed to
help understand historical events, culture and traditions, our
personal, family and social values, feelings and thoughts,
among other aspects of daily life. They present different levels
of understanding, so each teacher must evaluate which ones fit
the ages of their group of girls and boys.
All the comics are accompanied by “suggested activities” to
work on. These can serve as support to begin to deploy a
battery of proposals and tasks that each story can awaken in
educators and also in boys and girls.

The interesting thing here is the natural and spontaneous way in which children will carry out this
What is comics?
learning; that is, recognizing how to read a comic strip: from left to right and from top to bottom; also
recognizing its components,
A comic strip is a narrativefigure, backgrounds;
sequence made explanatory and descriptive texts, as
up of vignettes or frames within which well as monologues and dialogues
enclosed in balloons; and the
correlation of these; finally,
recognizing in their figures,
gestures, expressions and socially accepted iconic
signs.
integrate drawings, text in balloons,
explanatory text, narrative voiceover, silences,
onomatopoeia, kinetic lines (movement), visual
metaphors, iconic signs, among other
resources. Correct reading implies recognition
of these resources, of these implicit codes, in
such a way that the reader must learn them in
order to achieve a comprehensive
understanding.

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History of comics
The birth of comics is usually placed towards the end of the 19th century.
Until the appearance of the first color comic supplement in the press, in the New York World on
December 24, 1893, no one had yet told an illustrated story using explanatory speech bubbles. When
this innovative advance finally took hold, without any awareness of the “creative perspectives it had just
opened up,” it was nothing more than a consequence of the almost accidental evolution of a humorous
theme featuring a weekly cartoon character that was developed in the “World.” This first character was
the famous Yellow Kid, created by Richard Felton Outcault (1863 – 1928), and was an ambiguously Irish
and oriental boy, with gapped teeth and a nightgown, who won the public's attention. Before long,
Outcault incorporated some funny slogans into the front of the Kid's nightgown (predating the phrases
on today's T-shirts), and then, in a stroke of genius, came up with the idea of having the Kid express
himself through the nightgown in a sort of wacky speech bubble.
On October 25, 1896, under the title "The Yellow Kid and his New Phonograph," a series of sequenced
vignettes appeared for the first time instead of a single isolated vignette. It was about a parrot that,
hidden inside a phonograph, addressed Kid verbatim in such a way that the episode was meaningless if
the balloons were not read carefully in conjunction with the drawing. The result was a comic strip
episode, the first one ever drawn.
From there, the comic book genre spread rapidly. Between the 1930s and 1940s, comic books began to
emerge and achieve notable success. The first comic and fantasy stories were joined by others that
reflected family life, social problems, realistic and everyday plots; and this is, undeniably, a resource of
great importance for those who are dedicated to the task of transmitting and facilitating concepts, ideas
and values. Today, no one doubts that it is one of the most popular graphic forms of mass
communication in the contemporary cultural world.
It can be said that today comics are much more than simple entertainment or pastime. It is currently
understood as an artistic expression, as a cultural fact of great significance.

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How to build a comic strip?
A comic strip is a narrative sequence made up of vignettes or frames, within which different resources or
codes are integrated and combined in such a way that they make possible not only the interpretation of
each particular vignette but of the entire comic strip in general.

2. Text enclosed in different types of balloons, each of which suggests to the reader the “way” in which
Some of those
the character
resources
expresses are:
himself.

1. Drawings, or
not.

3. The choice made for each of the balloons is as important as the “place” they will occupy within the
vignette, since these
must allow an orderly
and correlative
reading of the
dialogues and the text BASE VOICE or \ ARVANTE-
THE SERIOUS FOR I
in general, so that it is HE'S PEEKING. H16ORNETA. understandable
for the reader.

4. Other resources are silent

vignettes and kinetic or movement
lines. There are also explanatory or
off-screen texts, which are
commonly enclosed in a rectangle
within the vignette.

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The use of comics in school can be extremely broad, since it not only allows us to work on their
“content”, that is, the idea that the comic conveys, but it also makes it possible to deal with the technique
and resources used for its construction. In this way, the teacher will be able to use it in countless
derivations.
Some examples:
1.Fill in the blank balloons.
2.Individually or in a group, invent a short story.
3.Find funny comics.
4.Explain what type of texts they are, what these texts are used for, how to show emotions, ideas and
movements without the characters speaking, etc.
5. Fill in the blanks.
6. Arrange bullet points presented without a logical sequence.
7. Transform the comic strip into a story or vice versa.
8. Give it a title.
SOME SUGGESTED PAP ACTIONS:

1- READ AND WATCH TOPOS THE PETALLS PE THE CARTOON.

2- VIGNETTE 1 - HOW DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT THE BALL IS MOVING?

VIGNETTE 2 - THE LETTER IS SMALLER AND THE LINE IS BROKEN. WHAT DOES IT SUGGEST?
VIGNETTE 3: IS MANUEL SPEAKING OUT LOUD OR DOES HE JUST THINK THAT HE GOT CLOUDY?
VIGNETTE 4: WHAT IS AN "ONÜMATOPOEIA"? WHAT DOES WHAT WE SEE IN THIS CARTOON SUGGEST? DO YOU KNOW ANY
OTHERS?
VIGNETTE 5: WHAT IS A "SILENT VIGNETTE"? IF YOU WANT IT TO STOP BEING SILENT, ADD A TEXT INSIDE A BALLOON.
VIGNETTE 6: MINOR BALLOONS ARE DETACHED FROM THE TEXT BALLOON. BECAUSE? WHAT DOES IT INDICATE?

3- EXPRESSIONS TRANSMIT FEELINGS TO US: MANUEL APPEARS SCARED, ANGRY, HAPPY, AND ALSO WORRIED.
WHERE?

4-TELLIE WHERE MANUEL IS (SCHOOL, CLUB, COURT, PARK, ETC...) AND DRAW A BACKGROUND FOR THE VIGNETTES.
THERE MAY BE OTHER GUYS TOO.

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 HUMAN TRAFFICKING, WHAT IS IT?
HERE IT SAYS: "...WE HAVE TO END WITH THE WHEN A PERSON, BE IT A GIRL, A BOY, A They use
HUMAN TRAFFICKING. BUT WHAT IS "HUMAN WOMAN OR A MAN IS CAPTURED OR
TRAFFICKING"? DOES KIDNAPPED, BOUGHT, SOLD OR RENTED TO
SLAVERY DO HARMFUL TASKS FOR OTHERS, THAT IS
A comic strip is • WELL... HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS STILL EXIST?! "SLAVERY." GRAPHIC
WHEN WE TRAFFIC PEOPLE —
a story told in AND THEN... SIGNS

VIGNETTE and LINES OF

MOTION
S
Their characters And
and what ONOMATOPEIAS
BUT... THAT IS VERY SAD AND A GREAT
happens
this IT IS SLAVERY.
IT EXISTS. ONLY NOW IT IS CALLED "HUMAN
TRAFFICKING." INJUSTICE! SNIF... are also used.
DRAWING^/ HOW IS A GIRL “CAPPED”? IF YOU FEEL THAT A PERSON
WHOM YOU DO NOT KNOW OR
PERSON?
WITH
WHOM YOU DO NOT FEEL
What they say COMFORTABLE
BECAUSE HE HAS "STRANGE"
ATTITUDES
TOWARDS YOU, HE INVITES
charactersapp YOU TO A SEPARATE PLACE QUESTION
TRYING TO "CATCH" YOU, /
ear NOTIFY AN ELDER. MARKS
REPORTING IT IS
A WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF. AND
EXCLAMATION
inSPEECH SHE IS CAPTURED WHEN, THROUGH
IT'S TRUE, JOSE. THIS HAPPENS.
ONE WAY TO PROTECT OURSELVES MARKS
They are
IS TO NEVER TRUST A STRANGER,
DECEPTION, PROMISES OR BOYS AND ESPECIALLY GIRLS ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WE HAVE very
important
BALLOONS, THREATS, SHE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM MUST TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES MADE CONTACT WITH ONLINE.

which may
HER HOME OR FROM THE
PROTECTION OF
AND PAY ATTENTION.
because they
have
X, YOUR LOVED ONES, help ideas
to transmit
forms according to what is
wish to express.
different
 HUMAN TRAFFICKING
We suggest that students:
• Listen to the teacher and other classmates read.
• Read the comic to them and then out loud. Exchange reader roles with your bench partner.
• Understand, discuss and debate the message that the comic leaves you with.
• Review, explore, observe and read comics that you find in the classroom library. Analyze the media
in which comics appear (newspapers, magazines, Internet pages, among others).
• Recognize the particular characteristics of comics with the help of the poster.
• Bring comics to share in the classroom.
• Make a list of comic book characters.
• Vote for the comic book characters you like the most by making a ranking.
• Gather data to learn about comic book characters from yesteryear.
• Share what reading comics generates for you.
• Create a mural with your favorite comics so you can continue reading and enjoying them in the
classroom.
• Investigate who makes comics and why they make them. For example, visit Nik's website to learn
about this comic creator.
• Together, create a new comic strip explaining what human trafficking means to them.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING, WHAT IS IT?

HERE IT SAYS: "...WE MUST END HUMAN WHEN A PERSON, BE IT A GIRL, A BOY, A SIGNS are used
TRAFFICKING. BUT WHAT IS IT WOMAN OR A MAN IS CAPTURED OR
"HUMAN TRAFFICKING"? DOES SLAVERY KIDNAPPED, BOUGHT, SOLD OR RENTED TO DO in them
SLAVERY!! STILL EXIST?! HARMFUL TASKS FOR OTHERS, THAT IS
1
A comic strip is ------WELL... HUMAN TRAFFICKING
"SLAVERY." GRAPHICS and
IS WHEN WE TRAFFIC PEOPLE -
a story. AND THEN... ____________________- 'LINES OF
\ told in IGLUPI MOVEMENT
(VIGNETTES)

And ONOMATOPEIA
are also used.
IT EXISTS. ONLY NOW IT IS CALLED "HUMAN BUT... THAT IS VERY SAD AND A GREAT
IT IS SLAVERY.
TRAFFICKING." INJUSTICE! SNIF...

HOW IS A PERSON "CAPPED"? IF YOU FEEL THAT A PERSON WHOM

HA HA. ~ THAT'S YOU DO NOT KNOW OR WITH WHOM
WE MUST YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE
NOT TRUE. THOSE THINGS TAKE CARE OF BECAUSE HE HAS "STRANGE"
What they say OURSELVES.
PRO
ATTITUDES TOWARDS YOU, INVITES
YOU
TO A SEPARATE LUSAR TRYING
TO "CATCH" YOU, GIVE NOTICE
TO AN ELDER.
( The SIGNS
characters REPORTING IT IS A WAY TO
PROTECT YOURSELF.
OF QUESTION
appear in
AND
DIALOGUE
EXCLAMATION
BALLOONS,
which may IT IS CAPTURED WHEN, THROUGH
IT'S TRUE, JOSE. THIS HAPPENS.
ONE WAY TO PROTECT OURSELVES
IS TO NEVER TRUST A STRANGER,
They are
DECEPTION, PROMISES OR THREATS,

have
IT IS TAKEN AWAY FROM HER HOME BOYS AND ESPECIALLY GIRLS MUST ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WE HAVE
TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND MADE CONTACT WITH ONLINE.
important very
because
OR FROM THE PROTECTION OF TAKE CARE
different loved ONES.
PAY ATTENTION.
OF they help to
forms according to what transmit ideas.
is wish to express.

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Your own comic strip
• Observe the elements that cannot be And also, ONOMATOPEIA are used.
missing in a comic strip.

A comic strip is a story told in VIGNETTES.

Its characters and what happens is DRAWN.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING WHAT IS IT?
IT SAYS HERE: "...WE MUST END HUMAN WHEN A PERSON, BE IT A GIRL, A BOY, A
TRAFFICKING. BUT WHAT IS "HUMAN WOMAN OR A MAN IS CAPTURED OR
TRAFFICKING"? DOES SLAVERY KIDNAPPED, BOUGHT, SOLD OR RENTED TO DO

They use GRAPHIC SIGNS and MOVEMENT LINES.

- WELL..., HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS
SLAVERY!! STILL EXIST?! PITIFUL TASKS FOR OTHERS, THAT IS
"SLAVERY"

WHEN WE TRACE PEOPLE _______

_V THEN...________________________

iSLUP!

What the characters say appears in DIALOGUE BALLOONS, which can have different shapes
depending on what you want to express.

• Now follow these steps and build your own comic ITon your sheet.
EXISTS. ONLY NOW IT IS CALLED "HUMAN BUT... THAT IS VERY SAD AND A GREAT
IT IS SLAVERY
TRAFFICKING" INJUSTICE! SNIF...
Think orally or in Use:
HOW IS A PERSON "CAPPED"?
Perform a
IF YOU FEEL THAT A PERSON WHOM

writing: What Vignettes to form yourE.comic THINGS • DON’T strip. TAKE CARE OF metacognitive
HA HA. P E S O I S I N T R
WE MUST
YOU DO NOT KNOW OR WITH WHOM
YOU DO NOTcontrol.
FEEL COMFORTABLE
HAPPEN. . BECAUSE HE HAS "STRANGE"
OURSELVES.
scenario will it take? Speech bubbles to write what the characters BUT HOW? Ask yourYOUquestions. I TRYING
ATTITUDES TOWARDS YOU INVITES
TO A SEPARATE PLACE
TO "CAPT" YOU, TELL AN ELDER.
What characters are are saying. corrected your YOURSELF.TO PROTECT
REPORTING IT IS A WAY

going to appear? Onomatopoeia to convey ideas. Question teacher'sOHinstructions.

and exclamation marks in your sentences.
REALLY
What conflict are they Clean up your comic
going to have? Capital letters when beginning sentences
SHE IS CAPTURED WHEN SHE IS ONE WAY TOand so thatISit becomes
PROTECT OURSELVES
TAKEN AWAY FROM HER HOME OR IT'S TRUE, JOSE. THIS HAPPENS. TO NEVER TRUST A STRANGER,

How is it going to be when writing proper

THE PROTECTION OF HER LOVED
ONES BY MEANS OF DECEPTION,
BOYS nouns.
AND ESPECIALLY GIRLS
TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND
MUST
your final version. TAKE
ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WE HAVE
MADE CONTACT WITH ONLINE.
PROMISES OR THREATS. PAY ATTENTION.
resolved? Punctuation marks
1- PEOPLE WITH LESS FINANCIAL RESOURCES ARE THOSE MOST EXPOSED TO BEING CAPTURED AND USED AS SLAVES. WE TALKED TOGETHER: IN
CARE OF

WHAT WAYS ARE PEOPLE USUALLY DECEIVED IN ORDER TO BE “CAUGHT” AND TAKEN OUT OF THEIR HOME? SOMETIMES TO OTHER CITIES OR
COUNTRIES.
2-WE THINK ABOUT HOW A “MISLEADING NOTICE” REQUESTING A YOUNG EMPLOYEE COULD BE READ. WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE A GIRL WHO
• Build
a large board to place all the final
ACCEPTED THE JOB OFFERED IN ONE OF THESE MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS?

versions of the comics created in the grade.

QUESTION and EXCLAMATION
MARKS are very important as
they help convey ideas.

Plan your comic strip Make your draft version Make your final version

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 I'M NOT SO DUMB AS TO NOT REALIZE THAT I'M NOT THAT BIG.

JOSEFINA IS FURIOUS MI6UEL IS ALSO FURIOUS JOSEFINA AND MIGUEL'S PARENTS ARE
WORRIED; AND THEY HAVE REASON TO
BE.
DON'T GET INTO - WHAT DO YOU THINK?
MY LIFE!! —— AM I A ONE-YEAR-
OLD BABY, PERHAPS? '— WE KNOW'
WHO ARE NOT ONE YEAR OLD;
BUT THEY STILL NEED OUR .
____ PROTECTION. )

WHETHER YOU ARE SCARED OR NOT, WE SHOULD KNOW WHO LUCKILY, JOSEFINA AND MIGUEL, TALKING WITH THEIR PARENTS
THEIR "FRIENDS" ARE, WITH WHOM THEY ARE CONNECTED. AND TEACHERS, WERE ABLE TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE NOT
BABIES. DO YOU KNOW HOW?

'I ACCEPT THAT WE ARE NOT BIG YET AND /

HELLO. MY NAME IS UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF SENSE '
JASMINE AND . I AM THAT THROUGH THE NETWORKS COULD TO
TWELVE YEARS TEACH US EASILY. / /
OLD. DO YOU WANT
TO BE MY FRIEND?

WHAT A PRETTY
UNDERSTANDING THAT WE NEED THE SUPERVISION OF ADULTS,
2 IS JASMINE!
FAMILY AND TEACHERS WHO LOVE US, CARE FOR US AND WANT
THE -i I ACCEPT. -
fb: Claudia Re (Clad THE BEST FOR US.

My family thinks that... I think that...

I accept friend requests from strangers.

Consider people we meet through social networks as

friends.
Send friend requests only to people you know.

Tell what we do on social media.

Share photos publicly for everyone to see.

Making deals with people we meet on social media

Have passwords and don't share them.

 WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T GO www.humor-clau.com.ar
WELL
MA&UI IS DOING A TASK BUT IT IS NOT GOING WELL.
A SNIF...-------------------— -
I'M GOOD FOR NOTHING. I
— I BETTER DON'T UNDERSTAND
PICK IT UP ANYTHING. I DON'T GET IT
FROM THE HEAD... -
GROUND...

TO HELL
WITH THIS!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? AND YOU, DO YOU GET VERY ANGRY WHEN
DOES MAGUI HAVE A And what happens to SOMETHING DOESN'T GO THE WAY YOU
POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE me is that sometimes I ONLY WANT? ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPROVE? DO
ATTITUDE WHEN DOING SOMETIME YOU ACCEPT THAT IT IS NECESSARY TO
don't have PUT EFFORT AND PATIENCE INTO THE
HOMEWORK? , S?
PATIENCE... , TASKS THAT ARE MOST
WOW... Yo
DIFFICULT FOR US?
4 SHALL WE ASK HIM ----------------------------1 , DIFFICULT?
•—j WHAT HIM 7
( HAPPENS? / ,

ALWAYS,
SOMETIMES
OR NEVER?
 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
• Read the comic. Talk to your classmates and your teacher about what he or she says.
LET'S SAY LOUDLY NO TO SEXUAL ABUSE!!
AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO ABUSE! SEXUALLY,
TO KEEP IN MIND: ALL THE GIRLS AND ALL THE BOYS IN THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS "REPORT IT."
THE WORLD ARE THE GOOD ONES IN OUR OWN BODY AND THAT NO ONE, NO
i/
WE HAVE RIGHTS OVER IT.
ONE, NO ADULT;
WHETHER A STRANGER OR A
KNOWN PERSON TO US, HE 4 WHERE
CAN I REPORT IT? WHO WILL
BELIEVES HE HAS THE RIGHT TO LISTEN TO ME? -V WILL YOU
HARASS US, INTIMIDATE US OR BELIEVE ME? s-
TRY TO USE OUR BODIES AT HIS
WILL TO MAKE US DO THINGS.
THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO OR
TO TOUCH US IN A WAY THAT WE
DON'T LIKE. /

SOCIAL NETWORKS CAN MESS YOU UP. IT IS VERY EASY FOR A BIG ONE TO KNOWING HOW TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES IS A WAY OF
GET THE LITTLE ONES TANGLED. LET'S BE CAREFUL, LET'S REPORT ANY SHOWING OURSELVES THAT WE LOVE OURSELVES AND THAT WE
SUSPICIOUS SITUATION OF ABUSE THROUGH THE INTERNET. ARE OUR PROMISED. WE WISH THE BEST FOR OURSELVES.

MY NAME IS S 1 PA, MA... COME

ANGIE AND I HAVE AND SEE
12 YEARS OLD. _ THIS... r REPORT AND > SAY NO TO
CAN YOU SEND ME A ANY SITUATION OF CHILD
PHOTO OF SEXUAL ABUSE AGAINST
YOURSELF? YOU OR SOMEONE CLOSE
7 I WANT ( TO MEET TO YOU. /
YOU.

| fb: Claudia Re (Clau)

• Answer on your sheet.

What do these phrases mean in the comic strip? How would you explain them in your own words?
• “All the girls and boys in the world are the owners of our own bodies.”
• “Social media can get you into trouble.”

To investigate:
• Find out where to go to report sexual harassment in your area.
Write down the phone numbers and addresses. With this information, create posters to distribute in
businesses in the school's neighborhood.
• Answer on your sheet: What can happen when we use social networks? What do you know about
what is known as grooming?
• Mark with an X the ways in which you take care of your body:

You bathe every You scratch your body with a pencil.

day.
You put on cream after You don't allow anyone to see your
you shower. private parts.
o You lie to your parents and you underwear every day.
don't bathe. o You change your

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