Rationale and Background

This lesson is designed for students in fourth through eighth grade. Students have always been intrigued by comics. They have long been recognized as a very appealing medium for young people. But it has been in the past several years that there has been an explosion of interest by educators in using this genre to boost reading and writing skills. Increased use in classrooms along with more research in the field confirms that comics not only build literacy when used in combination with other approaches, but also address some of Howard Gardner’s array of multiple intelligences.

Comics trace their roots back to political cartoons. A political cartoon is a single panel often showing a caricature that makes a point. The first political cartoon in this country came at the start of the French and Indian War. In 1754, the British government convened a colonial congress in Albany, New York. Their goal was to keep the Iroquois loyal to the British as war spread across the Ohio River valley. Ultimately, Britain wanted more colonial unity in order to ward off the encroachments of France in North America. Just before the congress began, Benjamin Franklin published his famous “Join or Die” cartoon showing colonies as the separated parts of a snake. The Albany Plan of Union did not produce colonial unity then, but was a precursor to colonial bonds later on during the America Revolution.

Comic strips as we know them in the modern age with multi panels that tell a story have been around since the late 1800s and have also been a powerful tool for expressing ideas. The first ever comic strip was the “Yellow Kid and His Phonograph” published in 1896 by the New York Journal during the time of intense competition of newspapers at the end of the 19th century. The creation of this comic strip was a way for publisher William Randolph Hearst to increase readership, circulation, and profits. In addition, Hearst used this comic strip to comment on the plight of the common person during the Progressive Era. Widespread interest in the adventures of the Yellow Kid helped Hearst spread his ideas and increase sales of his newspaper.

Today, comic strips can be found outside of newspapers in their own publications. Consequently, their popularity has grown over the years and has become embedded in American culture. In this lesson, “comics” do not mean Spiderman or Superman. Rather, it uses the sequential, visual approach that students are so familiar with to show historical events, places and people. Hopefully, students’ enthusiasm for the comic strip is transferred to an interest in learning about and portraying history in this way.

Sources

“Contest for Empire: French and Indian War” in Cobblestone. September 2005, Vol. 26, No. 6.

“Revolutionary Rumblings” in Comix with Content by Bentley Boyd. Chester Comix, 2003.

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