Recently I’ve been teaching some comics classes in elementary and middle schools, and these are worksheets I made for two different workshops I taught (though they cover much of the same material). The top one was for a class of sixth graders who had just come back from Outdoor School (an environmental education program) and they worked on a one-page comic about that experience. The bottom one was for a group of 2nd-7th graders at a synagogue, who worked on a six-panel comic about Passover (or a comic about celebrating any Jewish holiday).
I wanted to show examples of some really basic aspects of comics storytelling, and I like making original content for the kids, but I have some mixed feelings about them. Sometimes kids build on them too much in their own work and I wonder if it seems like I’m telling them the “right way” to do it. But then again maybe these worksheets give them a jumping off point? I’m not quite sure. It’s something I’ll continue to work with and revise.
yeah, i think for young kids it’s ok for them to start off with the idea that this is the right way to do it. it makes it easier to get started that way, and once they start making comics more regularly they can work more on figuring out what works best for them (and what works best for a specific story).