ComicLife Article Review

The article, How to use ComicLife in the Classroom, by Charles Thacker is an article that discusses many possibilities of the uses of ComicLife in a classroom. Thacker introduces ideas of why ComicLife is beneficial for a classroom. He states that ComicLife is an asset to a pre-reader because “a comic can be purely graphical in nature and help provide practice with sequencing as well as concrete to abstract transitions using illustrations instead of written words. The written component of a comic can be introduced when the early readers are ready to connect words with images” (Thacker, 2007). The illustrations within the comic help children learning to read associate words with images to give them a better understanding of what is actually taking place in the story. “For more advanced readers, comics can contain all the complexity of 'normal' written material which the student must decode and comprehend, such as puns, alliteration, metaphors, symbolism, point of view, context, inference, and narrative structures. A comic can also be a stepping-stone to more complex and traditional written work. A single pane in a comic can represent paragraphs worth of written material in a manner that is enjoyable and effective for the early or challenged reader” (Thacker, 2007). Thacker also explains that ComicLife works to meet students of different learning styles.

Thacker continues to elaborate on many ideas of how to incorporate ComicLife into the classroom. “Some ideas that he suggests ComicLife can be used for are timelines, historical figures, step-by-step instructions, character analysis, plot analysis, storytelling, post-reading tool, and his list continues to add other ideas” (Thacker, 2007).

Thacker’s article continues to give the reader a better understanding of what ComicLife is and what it can do in the classroom. Thacker gives a brief tutorial which demonstrates how to design a ComicLife example of your own. He finishes the article with an example that he built about his experience adopting a child from China. His rendering of this story is rather comical despite all of the complications that his family had when they were trying to adopt his youngest daughter.

ComicLife is a great asset to have for a teacher to have at their disposal in the classroom. It enables students to explore new possibilities in the classroom and put a unique twist to the situation. It also allows teachers to display information for students in a more elaborate and meaningful way, which, in turn, reaches more students. ComicLife is a tool that it beneficial to anyone in a classroom, teachers and students.



Thacker, C. (2007). How to Use Comic Life in the Classroom. Retrieved September
20, 2009, from MacInstruct Technology in Education Website:
http://www.macinstruct.com/node/69