Inspiring Songs & Energizing Activities
Presented by Jules Reid (email: [email protected])
“I can read the Bible, Homer or Dylan Dog for days on end.” - Umberto Eco
A comic strip (fumetto) is a sequence of (cartoon) drawings.
Key Vocabulary: character, script, frame, speech bubble, thought bubble, strip.
Cartoons and comic strips are an excellent way of introducing new vocabulary and grammatical structures in class. More importantly, they are fun and can stimulate young learners. Older students can be attracted to satirical or political cartoons. ‘Sequential art’ can tell a complex story with relative ease. From prehistoric cave paintings to Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, sequential art has for millennia been born out of our natural desire to communicate effectively with one another.
Think of some of your favourite cartoon characters from your childhood. What were their names? What was it that you liked about them?
Look at the three cartoons below and discuss questions 1-3 with a partner.
1. Why is Garfield angry? Why is this situation funny? 2. What cheers you up? What do you do whenever you feel low? 3. Spiderman can climb on walls and ceilings. Superman can fly and has X-Ray vision. If you could have one special power what would it be and why?
1 Let’s consider some famous cartoon characters and their characteristics:
Name: ______
Appearance: ______
Time/Place: ______
Sidekick: ______
Special Powers: ______
Catchphrase: “______”
Mission: ______
(Bugs Bunny’s famous catchphrase: "Eh, what's up, doc?" was My cartoon character translated in Italian as: "Che succede, amico?")
“Why doesn’t Hello Kitty have a mouth? Because she speaks from her heart.” - Sanrio
Now, use your imagination and create your own cartoon character profile. Your artistic ability (or lack of!) is irrelevant because you can always use ‘stick’ figures like the examples shown.
When you have created your character profile, the next step is to think of an idea and a script for either a single or a multi-frame comic strip. Then, write out the language that will be used in the speech and thought bubbles and bring your creation to life. Remember: Keep it simple.
2 More Activities
Create a ‘human’ comic strip using photographs and speech bubbles. This could be a class project that you photocopy and give to parents. Have your students prepare a script and then act out the individual frames. Take photographs and add dialogue.
Ask your students to summarize a well-known story using four frames. This could be a fairytale like “The Frog Prince” or a sporting event like Italy winning the World Cup in 2006.
Cut up a comic strip and mix-up the frames. Ask your students to put the frames in the correct order.
Choose a number of comic strips and remove the dialogue using white-out or tip-ex. Photocopy the strips and ask your students to rewrite the dialogue. Alternatively, remove key items of vocabulary and ask the students to guess the missing items.
To practice listening skills with comic strips, place various frames/strips on a large piece of paper. Read different dialogues to your class and ask them to match the dialogue to the corresponding frame/strips.
There are also many excellent websites on which cartoon characters and strips can easily be created. The Marvel Comics website has a wonderful application that enables you to ‘Create your own Superhero’.
Link to Course Material
1. Go to www.acle.it 2. Under “Formazione,” click on “Excite Your Students”. 3. Towards the bottom of the page, click on " Course Material Download".
Here are some useful websites that will provide you with ideas and inspiration: http://www.aclezones.it/ http://www.teachchildrenesl.com/ http://mashable.com/2010/10/24/create-your-own-comics/ http://superherosquad.marvel.com/create_your_own_comic http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/teaching-tips/using-cartoons-comic-strips
3 4 5 Do You ♥ Love Me? by The Contours
The auxiliary verb do, has no equivalent in Italian, which can often lead to mistakes such as: You speak English? What you do? or I no like German food. One of the most difficult things about learning English is understanding how auxiliary verbs work and how to use them correctly. We use “do” to indicate questions and to indicate negatives. Do you speak English? Yes, I do. Do you love me? No, I don’t.
Do You Love Me? I can really MOVE
Do You Love Me? I’m in the GROOVE
Do You Love Me? Do You Love Me?
Now That I can Dance!
I can Mash Potato (Repeat)
I can Do the Twist (Repeat)
Tell Me, Baby (Repeat)
Do You Like it Like This? (Repeat)
TELL ME! (X3)
Do You Love Me? (X3) Repeat
Now that I can Dance! 6
Questions to ask your students:
Who is this? (Bob Marley) What is this? (A bird)
Is it a big bird or a little bird? How many little birds are there?
What is this ? In the morning does the sun rise or fall?
What is the bird doing? (Singing sweet songs) What are the birds doing?
What is mummy bat saying to baby bat? (“Don’t worry…”)
Bob Marley was born in Jamaica in 1945.
His father was a white Englishman and his mother was a black Jamaican woman.
His band were called ‘The Wailers’. They played reggae music.
Bob was a Rastafarian and wore dreadlocks. He died of cancer in 1981
His album ‘Exodus’ was named ‘Album of the Century’ by Time Magazine.
His ‘Greatest Hits’ album ‘Legend’ has sold more than 25 million copies.
Songs include ‘One Love’, ‘Redemption Song’, ‘No woman, No Cry’ and ‘Three Little Birds’.
D______s ______The W______L______R______
His Message:
The word reggae comes from the Latin regi which means "to the king". Reggae music started in Jamaica in the 1960s and influenced punk groups like The Clash as well as Eric Clapton and The Beatles: Paul McCartney wrote the famous song ‘ob-la-di, ob-la-da’ in a reggae style.
8 ‘One Love’ is a song by Bob Marley & The Wailers:
It calls for unity, peace and love.
One H . Beg & E .
Get T & Feel A . Give T and P .
One Love, One Heart - Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright (X2)
Hear the children crying (X2)
Give Thanks and Praise to The Lord
And I will feel alright - Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright
As it was in the Beginning, So it shall be in the End
Give Thanks and Praise to The Lord And I will Feel Alright
Let’s Get together and Feel Alright
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