Create a Comic Strip

When you think of writing skills, you probably remember long essays, research reports, tests, or other stressful school assignments. But communicating using the written word doesn't have to be tough! It can be as simple as telling a story, as rudimentary as writing a wish list, or as fun as composing a comic strip. And while these tasks may not sound like much, getting your child comfortable with writing, no matter the context, will help him find the fun in even the most challenging writing assignments down the road! Here's what you need to get started:

What You Need:

• Colored pencils or markers
• Drawing Paper
• Pencils
• Ruler
• Newspaper comic strips

What You Do:

Step 1.

Look over the newspaper comic strips, and discuss some of the common features with your child. For example, they usually feature:

• 1-2 sentence conversations between characters
• 1 picture per frame with somewhat close-up perspective
• Humorous situations or dialogue

Step 2.

Brainstorm with your child to come up with a subject or scenario for his comic strip. Is the strip about the trials of being a kid? Is it about something that happened at school? Or does it take place in other location, such as outer space or the age of the dinosaurs? Encourage your child to be creative - there are no rules, and no one is grading him on his performance! Once your child has settled on a plan for the strip, he can get started on actually drawing it out.

Step 3.

Use the ruler to draw a rectangle the length of the paper, and divide the rectangle into 4-5 squares. Your child will need to make certain that the squares are large enough to draw the picture and add in the text while being both visible and legible.