Graphic Novel, Page Two and Beyond

The rest of the pages are similar to the first one.  Each page must have a background, narration, characters and speech bubbles.  I teach the children to save often.

Once you have shown the children the basics, they just need time to work.  Some get so excited about this project that they bring home their PP work each night on a flash drive.  You may find that you have children creating their own Graphic Novels at home.

Publishing

Depending on the class, I have several ways to share their work.

1. Have the parents view their child's Graphic Novel during conferences.

2. Have the children open their stories and then walk around the lab reading each other's work.

3. Have a 'movie' afternoon where you watch each other's novels.

4. At the end of the year, send home a copy of the PowerPoint on a flash drive.

5. Print each PowerPoint on a colour or black and white printer.  This can be expensive.

6. Save the novel as a .jpeg file and print as photos.  Glue these photos on paper and laminate.  These books will be a favourite read in your classroom.   Saving as a JPEG will change your PP to photos forever - be sure to change the name of your file so that you can still view the PP.

Assessment

I mark these as a piece of writing.  The children know this from the start and use a marking guide to help them plan and write.  My school uses the '6 Traits' method for writing instruction.  I usually assess these for ideas, organization, voice and word choice.

I also look at presentation, the overall look to their novels.  Depending on the ages of the children, I expect the font and pictures to be well placed on each page, and the overall novel to look pleasing to the eye.

I include a comment, usually in Language Arts, about how the child has done with their Graphic Novel creation - that is using the computer as a tool to make a story.