Comics with kapow Qx_Teach Primary 31/08/2011 10:59 Page 2

KS2 BOOK TOPIC

Free! Dr Who ebook Get your free ebook from Pearson Bug Club. Visit www.pearsonprimary.co.uk/ doctorwho 51

Comics with KAPOW! Graphic novels are perfect for tempting pupils into a wider Written by Peter Gutiérrez Based on the television script “Victory of the ” world of reading, and can stimulate creativity in literacy. by With the help of Dr Who, Steve Bowkett shows you how... uite recently I met a appropriate material which children’s interest in comics and teacher who disapproved cultivates any kind of reading in graphic novels as a bridge to fully Qof comics because she felt children who might not otherwise text-based stories and, beyond they led to ‘lazy reading’ and bother is to be encouraged (and of that, to the development of insisted that ‘proper books’ were a course in children who read books literacy and of creative thinking superior form of literature. While I anyway). The canny classroom skills in general. This article offers take her point, I think that practitioner can also exploit some ideas along those lines. Picture courtesy of the BBC Picture Comics with kapow Qx_Teach Primary 31/08/2011 11:00 Page 3

KEY STAGE 2

The example story I’ll use is the photonovel Victory of , one of the Bug Club titles published by Pearson (get your free copy at www.pearsonprimary.co.uk/doctorwho). I was delighted when this was suggested as, many years ago, it was the very first Dr Who novel ever to be published (Dr Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker) that kick-started my own interest in reading for pleasure and, a little later, writing for pleasure too. In Victory of the Daleks has been asked for help by Winston Churchill. But his bitter enemies the Daleks are waiting there too in the Cabinet War Rooms below the streets of war- torn London. Does Churchill really think they are on his side…? The photonovel offers a quick and easy read with plenty of action and excitement. Here are some ways of taking the children’s interest further.

The narrative line Draw a line on a large sheet of 1paper. This represents the basic beginning-middle-end linear structure of the story. Ask the groups to mark out the chapters (in the photonovel there are five plus an 52 opening scene and an epilogue) and then make notes along the line of key events from the plot. Children might also use drawings and clip art etc to make their narrative lines more colourful and detailed. Using a story grid :_Xgk\i)1¿@8dK_\;fZkfiÀ TIP A story grid is a 6x6 table A larger wall ALL RIGHT, SOLDIER — display using this 2filled with words and pictures pertinent to a particular story or a technique makes for a !! G ! genre, such as the Science Fiction N good class project and A L grid shown in figure 1. one that will help C My previous article ‘No Wrong children to remember DEFEND YOURSELF!! MAKE HIM STOP, PRIME MINISTER! MAKE HIM PUT Answers’ (which you can read at the story for a long time. DOWN THAT WRENCH! DOCTOR, teachprimary.com/resource_uploads) PLEASE! goes into more detail about how Take it further story grids can be used in various SO … YOU DO > Extend the narrative line at both NOT DESIRE TEA? ways. Basically, in constructing ends and talk through ideas for a grid: prequels and sequels to the story. > Draw a second line parallel to the A) Make sure that some words main narrative line. Use this to think COME ON! FIGHT BACK! YOU and/or pictures are specific to the about possible subplots. For KNOW YOU WANT TO! WHAT kind of story to be written. This helps ARE YOU WAITING FOR? example, Professor Bracewell TEA AGAIN?! LISTEN, YOU HATE ME. to familiarise children with the motifs kidnaps and either she YOU WANT TO KILL ME. WELL, GO ON, and conventions of the genre – e.g. has to escape or be rescued. The THEN. THAT IS WHAT I DESIRE – FOR YOU TO SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS! that you can have spaceships in an subplot could either remain separate SF story but not fairies or winged from the main story, or be linked in horses. at various points. Encourage discussion of how this would alter B) Include a few ambiguous images the structure of the main story. KILL ME! and some words that can carry > Recreate the story in another different meanings, depending on period of history – the Roman How did To answer that, we’ll have their context of use. invasion of Britain, for example. things reach to do a bit of time-travelling such a boiling ourselves – back to that Children can research to add detail point? distant period known as … Play the game by rolling two six and (some!) historical accuracy. 12 sided dice to choose boxes at Comics with kapow Qx_Teach Primary 31/08/2011 11:00 Page 4

BOOK TOPIC

Alternative endings Fig 5

BRAINSTORM DIFFERENT ‘WHAT-IF’ SCENARIOS BASED ON VICTORY OF THE DALEKS > What if Bracewell had come over to the Doctor’s side earlier? > What if Churchill was kidnapped by the Daleks? > What if the Daleks had teamed up 53 with the Axis forces? > What if at least one new generation had been left on Earth?

Fig 1

PULL OUT, NO! PULL OUT!

WE’VE LOST A PLANE, SIR! OVER. THE BEAM IS STILL WORKING, SIR.

either on the previous idea or on the story more generally. ‘How can the scientist fix the computer?’ 5/5 – THEN SEND THEM IN AGAIN! The RAF planes regroup and attack again. the computer runs on light and a But the Daleks superior technology seems to be gaining the upper hand. new laser needs to be installed. DANNY BOY TO THE DOCTOR ... Then ‘follow the question trail’. As the story begins to emerge, it’s not necessary to roll the dice each time.

ONLY ME LEFT NOW, AND THE DISH SEEMS TO BE Children can simply choose items PROTECTED. ANYTHING YOU 34 CAN DO, SIR? OVER. from the story grid that fit in with the developing plot. random – there's a good and 4/5 asteroids in space. One basic elements found in most opportunity here to introduce or storyline might be that clusters of stories – ‘How does the villain get Take it further revisit co-ordinates. Start at the asteroids are heading to Earth involved?’ or ‘What problem does > Make a story grid based on bottom left and go ‘along the and scientists are trying to find a the scientist face in perfecting his Victory of the Daleks. corridor and up the stairs’. way of stopping them. Maybe the formula?’ > Create further stories Choose two boxes initially and scientist in the picture is devising Taking that last question, roll by featuring several of his enemies, ask ‘Using these pictures, what a chemical that dissolves rock the dice to choose a box at past companions or incarnations of could the story be about?’ Many super-fast. random that will supply an the Doctor. children are likely to have ideas Once you have a basic answer or clue; 4/6 – the > Use a 6x6 grid to make a new but if you are demonstrating the scenario, ask a question that computer that the scientist is enemy or alien ally for the Doctor. game to the whole class just pick moves the story on. This can be using breaks down, and time You can use features from his one to work on. simply ‘what happens next?’. Or is short! known enemies or friends but also So for example – 2/5 a scientist you can remind the class of some Ask a further question, based ideas from the world of mythology. Comics with kapow Qx_Teach Primary 31/08/2011 11:09 Page 6

Pages, panels, bubbles and Fig2 Fig4 3balloons Comics and graphic novels are often highly sophisticated in their layout, so that as children read they demonstrate a high order of ‘visual literacy’. We can exploit what they already do well in making sense of the comic’s narrative structure by linking their skills to more text- based stories. Use a selection of simple shapes – circles, squares, starbursts, rectangles etc. If these were panels on a page, what function would they serve? For instance, the landscape-oriented rectangle PULL OUT, NO! shown in Fig 2 above is the ideal PULL OUT! shape for setting the scene of the isolated castle lost amidst the WE’VE LOST A craggy mountains. Placing the PLANE, SIR! OVER. THE BEAM IS STILL castle in the centre of the long WORKING, SIR. panel enhances the sense of its isolation. Combine the children’s raised awareness of panel shapes and page layouts by asking them first to sample photonovel a fairly limited articulate what’s happening on a range of shapes is used. Show the page, i.e. to tell that portion of the class further examples (see Figure 4) and ask them where some of these story. The page shown here in THEN SEND THEM IN AGAIN! Figure 3 has no words, so the telling The RAF planes regroup and attack again. might fit story to highlight the emotional tone of would be entirely descriptive. Then But the Daleks superior technology seems ask them to comment on how the to be gaining the upper hand. the words. visual layout of the page not only DANNY BOY TO Link speech balloon and thought THE DOCTOR ... helps to guide the reader’s eye but bubble shapes to ly-adverbs. Take a 55 also enhances the scene. simple sentence such as ‘I don’t think In this example, one class’s so’. In what tone of voice would this

to be to material permission for kind their given have who Hill Education), (McGraw Press Open University by published Bowkett, Steve by comments included – be said if the words appeared in > “We are floating closer to the bubbles / balloons of different castle, hovering outside the shapes? Try the same activity with window then go into the lab.” ONLY ME LEFT NOW, ANDverbs. What shape speech bubble THE DISH SEEMS TO BEmight this fight into ‘ ‘I don’t think so!’ > “We see what the scientist is up to PROTECTED. ANYTHING YOU he raged. Or ‘I don’t think so.’ His last of all – the page makes us wait!” 34 CAN DO, SIR? OVER. voice trembled.

Fig3 > “It’s very spooky. The world is still. Take it further Only the scientist is busy.” > Apply what the children have learned to support their further In Victory of the Daleks, page one writing. Comic pages can act as a has plenty of details to comment ‘visual analogue’ to the writing on. Notice also the use of sound process itself. In Fig 2 on the previous effects (an opportunity here to talk page, the use of small panels focuses about onomatopoeia), and how attention on particular details and the placing of speech bubbles increases pace, while the repeated guides the reader’s eye across and image of the bomb heightens down the page. tension. Ask children to tell that Use the insights the children portion of the story and then literally have already gained by looking write out their thoughts within the more closely at speech balloons blank panels that mirror the structure and thought bubbles. In the of the page. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Bowkett writes children’s fiction and educational books on literacy. He is an old-school Dr Who fan and believes that stories are like the TARDIS – bigger on the inside than on the outside, and they take you on amazing journeys in time and space. Fig. 1 first appeared in Developing Literacy and Creative Writing Through Storymaking: story strands for 7-12 year olds (2010) year 7-12 Storymaking: for story Through strands Writing and Creative Literacy in Developing 1 first appeared Fig. reproduced. Artwork by Russell Figs 2-6 are taken from Using Comic Art to Improve Speaking, Reading and Writing: Kapow! for 8-13 year-olds (2012) by Steve Bowkett and Tony Hitchman, to be published by David Fulton Books who have given their kind permission for their kind permission given Books who have Fulton David be published by to Hitchman, and Tony Bowkett Steve (2012) by year-olds 8-13 for Kapow! and Writing: Speaking, Reading Comic Art Using Improve to from taken are 2-6 Figs Russell by Artwork reproduced. Hitchman. Tony by Artwork be reproduced. to material