Bringing Georgia History to (Comic)Life Audience: This learning activity is targeted towards 8th grade students studying Georgia history.

Purpose: To reinforce the students knowledge and understanding of the Historical Understandings section of the 8th grade Social Studies Georgia Performance Standards (GPS)

Learning Objectives/Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this learning activity students will be able to transform facts and concepts about Georgia History into comic strip form. Students will use storyboard techniques to lay out their story before using the Comic-Life software application to create their finished product. They will then present finished comic strip to the rest of the class.

Materials/Resources: Computers with Internet access for researching topics, Blank paper for brainstorming Blank storyboard template (see Appendix A) Comic-Life computer application for creating comic strips Classroom projector system for sharing results

Step-by-Step Procedures: The students will be strategically paired by the teacher and assigned one of the Historical Understanding topics listed (Appendix B). These topics are taken directly from the Georgia Performance Standards for 8th grade social studies. The students will use the media center and available computers to research their assigned topic. Students will work with their partner to brainstorm a central theme and storyline about their topic. Students will use the blank storyboard template (see Appendix A) to further develop their story to include 2 or more characters including dialogue about their assigned topic. Students will use the computer lab or mobile computers to access the Comic-Life software application and input their story. Their finished comic strip must contain at least 6 but no more than 9 frames. Students will exchange their finished comic-life productions with another group and “teach” it to them. After learning the details about the comic strip, the 2nd group will present it to the rest of the class. After presentation, the original creators will make final changes and/or corrections and then post it to the schools intranet page.

Assessment Strategies: The students are required to create a comic strip based upon their assigned topic. Students will be graded upon accuracy of content, completeness, creativity, and presentation. The following rubric will be used: Category Accuracy of Content

Completeness of writing and story development.

Transitions & Layout

Creativity and Artwork

Overall Presentation of Completed Comic

4 Information presented is accurate with no noticeable errors The story has a well developed beginning, middle, and an ending.

3 Information presented has 1 or 2 errors of minor value

No misspelled words or grammatical errors.

The story has a beginning, middle, and an ending with 2 of the 3 well developed. Only one or two misspelled words or grammatical errors.

Most panel-to-panel transitions are wellplanned and appropriate to the information and/or emotions conveyed. Panel order and word balloon order within panels are always clear. The artwork is consistently readable and understandable. Characters are always distinguishable from one another. The art style closely matches the tone of the story. The artwork is consistently readable and understandable. Characters are always distinguishable from one another. The art style closely matches the tone of the story.

Some panel-to-panel transitions are wellplanned and appropriate to the information and/or emotions conveyed. Panel order and word balloon order within panels are usually clear. The artwork is usually readable and understandable. Characters are usually distinguishable from one another. The art style loosely matches the tone of the story. The artwork is usually readable and understandable. Characters are usually distinguishable from one another. The art style loosely matches the tone of the story.

2 Information presented has 1 or 2 errors of a major value The story has a beginning, middle, and an ending with 1 of the 3 well developed. A few misspelled words or grammatical errors. One or two examples of wellplanned panel-topanel transitions. Panel order and word balloon order within panels are sometimes confusing.

1 Information presented has numerous errors or The story has an underdeveloped beginning, middle or ending and/or is missing 1 of the 3 elements. Many misspelled words and/or grammatical errors. Most panel-to-panel transitions are random and haphazard. Panel order and word balloon order within panels are consistently confusing.

The artwork is sometimes illegible. Two of the characters look the same. The art style neither adds to nor takes away from the tone of the story.

The artwork is illegible. Many of the characters look the same. The art style contradicts the tone of the story.

The artwork is sometimes illegible. Two of the characters look the same. The art style neither adds to nor takes away from the tone of the story.

The artwork is illegible. Many of the characters look the same. The art style contradicts the tone of the story.

Follow Up Strategies: Each student will be given an assessment sheet based upon the rubric. They will grade each Comic-Life comic strip presented based upon the criteria provided. A quiz will be given to the class after the presentations have been completed. Each pair of students will provide 3 questions pertaining to their assigned topic and covered by their Comic-Life presentation.

Reflection: Challenges, Surprises I was able to discuss this project with Arnall Middle School’s 2011-2012 Teacher of the Year, who happens to teach 8th grade Social Studies. I explained the Comic-Life project and he showed me some similar activities he does with his class. Those activities involved the folding of a sheet of paper so that it leaves an area for the students name and project heading and then 4 “frames” that the students will tell a story using colored pencils and dialogue boxes. I’m sure using Comic-Life to do the same thing will grab the students attention in some ways that “coloring” will not. There is an element of “learning the application” that would be involved in doing this activity for real. As a teacher I would have a series of mini-lessons that would expose the students to the different areas of the Comic-Life application in preparation of doing this activity. This presents a problem as many schools have a limited number of computers available for their students to use. Also, the Comic-Life application costs money after the initial 30 day trial period is over. Either the school system or the teacher would need to purchase Comic-Life in order to do this project.

Appendix A – Storyboard template

Appendix B - Historical Understandings

SS8H2a- Explain the importance of James Oglethorpe, the Charter of 1732, and reasons for settlement (charity, economics, and defense), Tomochichi, Mary Musgrove, and the city of Savannah. SS8H3b- Analyze the significance of people and events in Georgia on the Revolutionary War; include Loyalists, patriots, Elijah Clarke, Austin Dabney, Nancy Hart, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Battle of Kettle Creek, and siege of Savannah. SS8H4b- Describe the role of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention of 1787; include the role of Abraham Baldwin and William Few, and reasons why Georgia ratified the new constitution. SS8H5b- Evaluate the impact of land policies pursued by Georgia; include the headright system, land lotteries, and the Yazoo land fraud. SS8H5d- Analyze the events that led to the removal of Creeks and Cherokees; include the roles of Alexander McGillivray, William McIntosh, Sequoyah, John Ross, Dahlonega Gold Rush, Worcester v. Georgia, Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, and the Trail of Tears. SS8H6c- Analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia and other southern states, emphasizing Freedmen’s Bureau; sharecropping and tenant farming; Reconstruction plans; 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution; Henry McNeal Turner and black legislators; and the Ku Klux Klan. SS8H7b- Analyze how rights were denied to African-Americans through Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, disenfranchisement, and racial violence. SS8H7c- Explain the roles of Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, John and Lugenia Burns Hope, and Alonzo Herndon. SS8H8c- Discuss the impact of the political career of Eugene Talmadge. SS8H9d- Discuss President Roosevelt’s ties to Georgia including his visits to Warm Springs and his impact on the state. SS8H10b- Explain how the development of Atlanta, including the roles of mayors William B. Hartsfield and Ivan Allen, Jr., and major league sports, contributed to the growth of Georgia. SS8H11a- Describe major developments in civil rights and Georgia’s role during the 1940s and 1950s; include the roles of Herman Talmadge, Benjamin Mays, the 1946 governor’s race and the end of the white primary, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1956 state flag. SS8H12b- Describe the role of Jimmy Carter in Georgia as state senator, governor, president, and past president.