Habitat Comics

Lesson Summary

Students reviewed animal habitats and ecosystems (SOL4.5) by researching an animal of their choice and creating animal habitat comics. First students select a wild animal of their choice. The instructor helped them brainstorm a variety of wild animals so they all didn’t pick similar ones. Once they picked their animals, they researched their animals’ habitats, predators, and prey utilizing online and print resources. Next, students navigated to StoryboardThat to create their comics. Using the basic three-panel layout on StoryboardThat, each panel should explained one of the three topics researched: habitat, predators, and prey. Students used the Scenes tab to drag and drop images of the animals’ habitats into the panels. Then they clicked the Characters tab to find images of the animals. They also utilized the Search feature to find additional images as needed, such as fruits, nuts, etc. Finally, students added speech bubbles and type the relevant facts in complete sentences. Students were encouraged to write like a television documentary or a nature show. Students shared their finished comics in and online gallery.

TIPC Ratings

Research & Information Fluency

Rating:Approaching – Explanation: Students could choose which animal they wanted to research. They could choose to use print or digital resources. The instructor provided them with the topics to research (habitat, predator, prey). They displayed their information in their own words in comic form.

Communication & Collaboration

Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students could work with partners, groups, or individually on this project. They shared their finished comics online with a question for their classmates to answer. Classmates responded to the questions in the comments.

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students had to find the essential information on a page with nonessential information. They reworded the information into a different format (tv show). They generated questions for their classmates, who then responded to those questions, using information from their comics.

Creativity & Innovation

Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students created a unique storyboard for a tv show about their animal and its interactions in its habitat. They chose how to design the scenes and characters. They changed the facial expressions and poses of their characters to reflect what was happening in the scene, often in a humorous way.