As a child, I looked forward to reading the comics. I enjoyed the exploits and escapades of Blondie and Dagwood, Nancy and Sluggo, the savvy prehistoric characters in B.C., the ne'er-do-well Andy Capp, the good-hearted green witch, Broom Hilda, and the curmudgeonly Shoe.

But tucked away, not always on the comics page, was a simple single-frame comic: "Love is ..." The comic, developed by New Zealander Kim Casali, was based on love notes she wrote for her husband-to-be. Following Casali's death, her son Stefano took over the comic and paired with artist Bill Asprey.

The comic is published internationally and features a white male character and a white female character, not intricately drawn, and they demonstrate what love is. It's true that you may find the characters and some messages stereotypical and rather anachronistic, but the comic can be used for a delightful imaginative thinking, writing and art activity.

In "Using Comics with ESL/EFL Students," Justine Derrick notes that using comics builds necessary visual literacy skills and "they also lead to productive and relevant discussions in the second language classroom." Among other advantages to using comics, Derrick observes, is that "they provide language learners with contextualized comprehensible input" and engage learners to read more.

Rocco Versaci observes, "Aside from engagement, [comics] also help to develop much needed analytical and critical thinking skills." Amy Baker concurs: "Incorporating text and visuals causes readers to examine the relationship between the two and encourages deep thinking and critical thinking." Finally, using comics encourages the comprehensible input Stephen D. Krashen has espoused for decades.

This activity can be adapted to all levels.

Instructions

1. Go to LoveIsComix.com/ and review the options. There are 79 pages of comics going back to 2009. You can use the Archives feature or the Random feature. Here are some suggestions:

2. Copy and paste a half-dozen comics into individual Word documents. Print the documents, and white out all the text so you have only the art. Photo #1

3. Copy and paste one comic into an individual Word document. Print the document, and white out the caption. Leave "Love is." Photo #2

4. Copy and paste an original comic. Leave all text. Photo #3

5. Use Photo #1 projected on the overhead (or make enough copies for each student) and ask students what is happening in the picture.

6. Write their answers on the board, then introduce the term "caption." Ask if students know what a caption is; write the answers on the board and provide the definition.

7. Ask students what they think an appropriate caption would be for the comic, and ask them to explain how they came to their answers. Students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups.

8. Have students present their captions.

9. Give students additional comics to caption and have them present their work.

10. Then, show students Photo #2.

11. Ask students to caption it and present their work.

12. Then, show students Photo #3.

13. Once students have practiced, have them create their own comics:

  • Students draw their own art and do not caption it. They should not simply copy the "Love is" couple.
  • Students exchange their art with another student, who captions it.
  • Students present their work to the class, with the artist explaining her process for creating her art and the writer explaining his process for the caption.

14. Teacher and students create a class publication of their work.