TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 11, 2025
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Martin Luther King Jr. Primary Source Resource - National Geographic Kids United Kingdom
Grades
K to 6
This set of downloadable teaching resources features a comic that introduces students to Martin Luther King Jr. and his role as a civil rights leader and a Microsoft Word document ...more
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This set of downloadable teaching resources features a comic that introduces students to Martin Luther King Jr. and his role as a civil rights leader and a Microsoft Word document that includes a supporting classroom activity. The two documents are available by clicking the link under "Download primary resource." Additional information on this site provides correlations to English and Scottish teaching standards.
tag(s): civil rights (215), comics and cartoons (55), martin luther king (46)
In the Classroom
Include this activity with your other resources when teaching students about Martin Luther King, Jr. Find additional lesson ideas and information at the TeachersFirst collection: Martin Luther King, Jr. Resources, reviewed here and this primary-level teaching unit, Remembering Martin Luther King, reviewed here. Use the comic book format to engage and extend learning by asking students to create comics to tell the story of Martin Luther King in their own words. For younger students, help them create single-frame cartoons of specific events relating to Martin Luther King using ToonyTool, reviewed here, then create a class book that includes your students' work using Book Creator, reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Free Comic Strip Maker - Adobe Express
Grades
K to 12Easily design and share comic strips using one of the many templates available from Adobe Express. Select any shared templates on the home page to begin, or sign in to ...more
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Easily design and share comic strips using one of the many templates available from Adobe Express. Select any shared templates on the home page to begin, or sign in to your Adobe Express account and select comic strips from the template options. Searching through the templates is most accessible by viewing only free designs. After choosing a template, use the dashboard to add and modify the contents of the comic strip. Options include changing backgrounds, adding text and images, adding shapes, and much more. When finished, download your design as a JPG, PNG, or PDF document. Then, use the publish option to create a link, share to Google Classroom or Teams, or choose from other social media sharing options.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), graphic design (49)
In the Classroom
Engage students by using the templates to display the day's vocabulary word, the math puzzle of the week, or a concept your students are learning in social studies or science, for example. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting, and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book is likely to become a class favorite! Use comics to show the sequencing of events. For example, when studying characterization, they create a dialog to show (not tell) about a character. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternative to a formal assessment. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Cartoon Comic Maker - Magazine Pro
Grades
4 to 11This comic book maker is a fun and free resource that is easy to use and suitable for any grade level. Students can create comics quickly and easily using this ...more
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This comic book maker is a fun and free resource that is easy to use and suitable for any grade level. Students can create comics quickly and easily using this step-by-step comic template. Choose from a list of pre-made templates, then start creating! Ready-made clipart characters and speech bubbles are provided; students can upload their own pictures, or search the free Pixabay library, reviewed here, within this website.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), creative writing (125), descriptive writing (42), digital storytelling (155)
In the Classroom
Creating comics can have many practical and engaging uses in the classroom. Students can retell stories to demonstrate comprehension or show their knowledge of scientific processes in a way that allows them to be creative. Comics can also be used to enhance social and emotional learning skills by having students create scenarios they might encounter in daily life. Teachers may also wish to create comics to provide a fun way to relay information, or as an engaging set to a lesson.The Role of Women - Digital Inquiry Group
Grades
8 to 12Students use a political cartoon as a starting point to determine how the evidence supports a historical argument. The focus of the 1912 cartoon is on the shift of women ...more
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Students use a political cartoon as a starting point to determine how the evidence supports a historical argument. The focus of the 1912 cartoon is on the shift of women from more traditional roles at home and their move toward non-traditional places in the workforce. Register for a free account to access the materials, including directions for the assessment, a rubric, and links to Library of Congress materials.
tag(s): 1900s (72), 20th century (62), comics and cartoons (55), politics (118), womens suffrage (52)
In the Classroom
Include this assessment as part of any American History lessons focused on the changing role of women and lessons about life in the early 1900s. Use the ideas found in this quick assessment with other political cartoons of the time. Running for Office - Cartoons Of Clifford K. Berryman, reviewed here, is a resource for finding additional cartoons from the early 20th century. After students spend time assessing the features that make up political cartoons, enhance learning and ask them to create their own cartoon using Comic Strip Templates from Canva, reviewed here. Extend learning by sharing student-created cartoons using Odyssey, reviewed here. Use Odyssey to share and compare the political feel of the time through stories told across the country.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Comic Strips Templates - Canva
Grades
K to 12Design and share high-quality comic strips using the many free templates from Canva's Comic Strip Templates. Choose from numerous colorful designs in various formats, including single...more
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Design and share high-quality comic strips using the many free templates from Canva's Comic Strip Templates. Choose from numerous colorful designs in various formats, including single strips or comics with multiple frames. Begin by clicking Create and using the dropdown box to find free templates for comics, narrow choices by color if desired. After selecting a template, choose the link to customize. Each template includes several pages that form a complete cartoon, a blank frame, and illustration sets to enter with your design. The share option offers the ability to share creations with others and allow them to edit the comic. When complete, download your finished cartoon to your device as a PDF file or PDF, JPG, or GIF image.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), graphic design (49)
In the Classroom
Engage students by using the templates to display the day's vocabulary word, the math puzzle of the week, a concept your students are learning in social studies or science as an example. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting, and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book is likely to become a class favorite! Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying characterization, create a dialog to show (not tell) about a character. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to a traditional assessment. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.New York Fed's Educational Comic Books - Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Grades
6 to 12Learn about basic financial concepts and the Federal Reserve's part of the process through these free, downloadable comic books created for middle and high school students. Many of...more
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Learn about basic financial concepts and the Federal Reserve's part of the process through these free, downloadable comic books created for middle and high school students. Many of the comic books also include lesson plans for middle and high school levels correlated to state and social studies standards. Download the comic books in color or black and white PDFs.
tag(s): banks (8), comics and cartoons (55), financial literacy (95), money (114)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these free comic books and lessons when teaching economic and financial lessons as a supplement to your current teaching materials. Instead of printing each comic for individual students, provide a link to students using Padlet, reviewed here. Create a Padlet to share all of your online resources for your unit in one place. Use these comic books as inspiration and modify student learning by asking them to use a comic creation tool like ToonyTool, reviewed here, to create single frame cartoons explaining financial concepts. Find more uses for using comics in the classroom by viewing the archive of our OK2Ask session Engage & Inspire: Comics in the Classroom reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Webcomics Web Archive - Library of Congress
Grades
8 to 12The Library of Congress presents this collection which features comics created explicitly for the web beginning in 2014 and ongoing. Selections include award-winning comics as well...more
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The Library of Congress presents this collection which features comics created explicitly for the web beginning in 2014 and ongoing. Selections include award-winning comics as well as those featured based on significance in the field of comics. Browse through the collection items or use search features to narrow your selection by different criteria including format, date, subject, and location. Please note that all content is provided in its original form and may not be suitable for all ages.
tag(s): artists (86), comics and cartoons (55), politics (118)
In the Classroom
Include this collection in art classes during the study of comic book art. Share comics with students in history classes along with newspaper comics to demonstrate the use of comics to depict historic events or share political beliefs and satire. In literature classes, include this site along with others to share comics depicting characters in novels. Have students create their own comics or cartoons to summarize story events or depict characters and events from history using a comic creation tool like ToonyTool, reviewed here, to create single frame cartoons. Find more uses for using comics in the classroom by viewing the archive of our OK2Ask session Engage & Inspire: Comics in the Classroom, reviewed here.ToonyTool - ToonyTool
Grades
2 to 12ToonyTool has a simple canvas to quickly create a single-frame comic, a cartoon strip, or an animation. With ToonyTool, you can add a dash of humor to get the message ...more
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ToonyTool has a simple canvas to quickly create a single-frame comic, a cartoon strip, or an animation. With ToonyTool, you can add a dash of humor to get the message across. Start your canvas and choose a single comic, a comic strip, or a video from the tab in the upper left corner. Choose one of their background pictures, or upload one of your own. Create a title or type part of your message in the Meme text bar. Choose a character or two, add a prop, and select speech bubbles to type a message. Everything is easy to move around by just dragging and dropping. At the bottom of the page, find tools to share and edit your comic. Share via print, download, email, or online. There is no registration required.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), communication (130), creative writing (125), digital storytelling (155), summarizing (22)
In the Classroom
There is a multitude of ways to use comics/cartoons in the classroom. For instance, create one-page discussion starters to help students keep up with current political issues. Use comics to show sequencing of events, for example, explain the sequence of a story, a science concept, or current event! When studying about characterization, create a dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Use comic strips for literature responses. Another idea - why not use the comics for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or draw the pictures) than use the actual words. Emotional support and autistic support teachers can work with students to create strips about appropriate interpersonal responses and feelings. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialogue strips as an alternative to traditional written assessments; summarize through a comic. Challenge students who move through other assignments more quickly to create a cartoon for review of a topic studied in class. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year using Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator includes features for students to easily create digital books using their own text, videos, and images.Marvin and Milo - physics.org
Grades
2 to 7Marvin and Milo demonstrate a simple physics experiment through cartoons, offering a new experiment each month. Try activities from the left menu such as the Sew an Icecube or Spinning...more
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Marvin and Milo demonstrate a simple physics experiment through cartoons, offering a new experiment each month. Try activities from the left menu such as the Sew an Icecube or Spinning Eggs following the easy step by step directions. In addition to the cartoon, each activity includes a list of materials, instructions, and results and explanations. Use the top drop-down menus to view countless topics about physics.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), experiments (55), science fairs (20)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site as an excellent resource for science experiments. Engage students and extend their knowledge with the activities from the site for science fair projects. If you are lucky enough to have a parent helper in your classroom, allow them to come in and complete experiments with your students each month using ideas found on the site. Challenge students to complete experiments at home and share results with the class. Have students create videos using FlexClip, reviewed here, and share the experiment and results using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Printable Comic Strip Templates - Donna Young
Grades
K to 12Find several different comic strip templates at this simple, yet useful site. Choose from templates with various numbers of panels and squares or arch tops. Click on any ...more
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Find several different comic strip templates at this simple, yet useful site. Choose from templates with various numbers of panels and squares or arch tops. Click on any template to view and print the PDF version.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55)
In the Classroom
Have small groups of students each create one panel as a summary of what the class just learned. Use comics in math and turn a word problem into a comic strip/cartoon. In social studies create a comic strip/cartoon about a historic event, person, place, or speech. In language arts take a novel or non-fiction book and create a comic strip/cartoon depicting the characters and plot. Have students write summaries of current events or responses to reading assignments. With younger students, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to create a class comic on a current topic of study, such as the different parts of a plant, the planets, or a butterfly's life cycle. Use these templates for students to plan out storyboards for more involved projects, such as videos. Alternatively, have students use one of the templates for a rough draft before creating and online comic. In emotional support or autistic support classes, create comics to show how people interact. In world languages or with ENL/ESL students, create comics to reinforce correct language. Looking for even more comic resources? Check out TeachersFirst's complete collection of Comics and Cartoons.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Witty Comics - WittyComics.com
Grades
K to 12Use this tool to design a comic with dialogue between two characters. Use the pre-drawn backgrounds and characters. Add a title for each scene/page and add dialogue between the two...more
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Use this tool to design a comic with dialogue between two characters. Use the pre-drawn backgrounds and characters. Add a title for each scene/page and add dialogue between the two characters. These are quick and easy three page comics. You can create without an account. However, if you want to SAVE, you must register for a free account (email required).
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), communication (130), summarizing (22)
In the Classroom
Create dialogues that introduce new content topics in your classroom. Students can use this "witty" tool to introduce topics from research or to practice a speech to be given in class. Use comics to create a dialogue discussing misconceptions in the content and a discussion of the actual facts to dispel the misunderstandings. To view more comic creator tools and ideas view this collection. Some suggested comic creators are Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, ToonyTool, reviewed here, Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Phrase.it - phrase.it
Grades
7 to 12Add cartoon speech bubbles to any photo in seconds using Phrase.it. NO membership required! Choose a photo from your Facebook feed, computer, or from the site's random stock photo collection....more
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Add cartoon speech bubbles to any photo in seconds using Phrase.it. NO membership required! Choose a photo from your Facebook feed, computer, or from the site's random stock photo collection. Pick one of the 4 different types of speech bubbles, drag to any part of the image, and type in text. Change fonts by clicking the text box until satisfied. Change your image by applying one of the optional filters or leave it as is. When finished, click on the Save button and add your email if you want to receive a download link. You are also able to mark your photo PRIVATE. Once the image is saved and rendered, you can simply copy its URL, share via email, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter), or download to your computer. The Terms of Use require students to be 13 to use this site.
tag(s): bulletin boards (15), comics and cartoons (55), communication (130), images (265)
In the Classroom
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Teach parts of speech and grammar by having students write captions using colorful adjectives, adverbs, or specific sentence structures on a random photo. Make classroom signs and reminders. Caption the homework directions on your teacher web page. Ask your students to create captions for class photos for all sorts of reasons. Use this site for back to school fun. Post a photo of yourself with a caption on your class website introducing yourself to the class during the summer. Challenge each student to find/share a photo of themselves either the first week of school (or even prior to school). You will want parental permission before posting any student photos on your class website. Use photos or digital drawings from your classroom, such as pictures taken during any hands-on activity. Have students draw in a paint program, save the file, and then add a caption. Spice up research projects about historic figures or important scientists. Have literary characters "talk" as part of a project. In a government class, add captions to photos explaining politicians' major platform planks during election campaigns. Caption the steps for math problem solving. Make visual vocabulary/terminology sentences with an appropriate character using the term in context (a beaker explaining how it is different from a flask?). Students could also take pictures of themselves doing a lab and then caption the pictures to explain the concepts. Share the class captions on your class web page or wiki. Leave directions to your class (for when a substitute is there). Use at back to school night to grab parent attention to important announcements. Have students make talking photos of themselves as a visual tour of their new classroom for parents attending back to school night. World language classes can create images explaining and using new vocabulary. Use the site's random photo offerings for clever caption contests in your new language. Have gifted students create Phase.it pictures to explain new knowledge they gain in going beyond the basics. For example, as the class studies plate tectonics, they could make a collection of volcano images "explaining" their own history or describing the Ring of Fire. Gifted students of all ages can make simple Phrase.it images to share their own thought provoking questions about curriculum content, such as "Which figure of speech would Shakespeare be willing to give up?" Be sure to include these thought provokers on a class wiki or blog for others to respond! (No need to single out the "thinker" by mentioning who created it if it would cause ridicule.)Dr. Seuss Went to War - UC San Diego
Grades
6 to 12Explore a rich collection of Dr. Seuss' political cartoons during World War II. Seuss shows his very serious side in this collection of over 400 political cartoons related to the ...more
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Explore a rich collection of Dr. Seuss' political cartoons during World War II. Seuss shows his very serious side in this collection of over 400 political cartoons related to the war. The collection is sorted by year and by battle, people, places, and issues. Each cartoon includes full citation and copyright information. Most are copyrighted and allow permission for scholarly use but cannot be copied or shared outside of "fair use." In other words, you cannot use them in online projects or make copies beyond classroom or offline student projects. You can easily share each cartoon via X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, etc. Click the enlarge arrows to see the image in its own separate window and copy its URL.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), dr seuss (12), world war 2 (161)
In the Classroom
This collection offers rich opportunities during the study of World War II. Students can trace the tensions and events of the war year by year or by issue. Extend students' learning by having pairs or small groups create their own comic about a current event and explain it using Phrase.it, reviewed here, an image annotation tool that allows you to reference images by URL, add text, links, audio and video.Comic Creator - ReadWriteThink.org
Grades
2 to 12Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author,...more
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Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author, caption, and of course, the dialog that goes into the speech bubble. The 'creator' chooses the number of panels, type of characters, style of speech bubble, and various props. Two actions are needed: clicking and dragging the items to go into the comic strip, and typing dialog into the bubbles. Then, presto....a genuine comic appears, ready for printing. The tool DOES support accent marks pasted from Word.
(Unfortunately, there is no way to save your comic masterpieces.)
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), sequencing (17), summarizing (22)