Free Classroom Book Guide for Teachers & Students
The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol is becoming a favorite classroom book for teachers from grades 4 through 9. For younger students, it makes a great Halloween story for the whole class to read and discuss. For middle grade students it’s a great resource for discussing literary elements such as character, plot, setting, alliteration, similes, metaphors, themes and much more. For older students, the book provides a great opportunity for comparing/contrasting A Halloween Carol with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Book Talk & Literary Discussion Guide for A Halloween Carol
Book groups and classroom teachers are discovering the joys of reading and discussing The Legend of Decimus
Croome: A Halloween Carol. On this website, you can find The Legend of Decimus Croome discussion guide with a list of literary questions and a collection of illustrated quotes from the classic Halloween novel. Feel free to pick and choose which questions are most appropriate for your book group, student grade and teaching objectives. Most of the questions are open-ended and cover a wide range of literary and reading objectives. Below is a wonderful lesson plan for student-created comic books and graphic novels as a wonderful project to accompany your Halloween reading unit. The plan utilizes the wildly popular (and free) website Canva.com. It allows students to demonstrate their comprehension and understanding of literary elements while also allowing them to participate in a fun and multi-sensory lesson.
Reading & Literature Lesson Plan for Student Comic Books
TITLE OF LESSON: Making Comic Books Based on The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol
Student Outcome: Turn a popular Halloween novel into comic book format.
ACHIEVABLES
● Students will create a comic book based on a classic Halloween book using the free Canva.com website.
● Students will combine literary elements like setting, characters, and dialogue.
● Students will show their understanding of the story by creating a comic book.
SUGGESTED LEARNING OBJECTIVES
● Use graphics and visuals to tell a story.
● Make a comic book that incorporates a variety of literary elements for the purpose of telling a story.
● Develop an appreciation for graphic novels and comic books as a form of storytelling.
PREPARATION
● Read The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol in paperback or e-book format.
● Show students the Canva Tutorial (free graphic website) a brief tutorial.
● Show students an example or examples of a comic book or graphic novel & explain how stories are told using both images and words.
SUGGESTED LEARNING FLOW
Part I: Story ideas and storyboarding
Setup (5 minutes)
● Discuss with students that there are different ways that they can publish writing. Show students multiple examples including comic book pages.
Brainstorm (5 minutes)
● Ask students to make a list of story ideas from the book that could fit into a comic book.
Storyboard (25 minutes)
● Ask students to tell the story or part of the story in a series of frames. They can draw their own storyboard adding boxes for different parts of the story or you can provide a graphic organizer for them. Have students sketch out the events of the story placing each event in a different box. This rough outline will help them tell their story using Canva.
Part II: Creating a comic book
● Using their storyboard outline, students will open up Canva to create their comic book. They may want to use the Line or Shape tool to divide their page into boxes. Ask them to import a character or find an icon that can be duplicated throughout the different boxes they have created.
● Students may want to refer back to the book and/or their storyboard outline as they create their comic book. They will have to make decisions based on what colors and graphics will set the tone for the story they are telling.
● As students are working to create their comic book stop them periodically to show off different features on Canva and from the example comic book you used to kick off the lesson. This is an opportunity for them to make connections between their own creation and comic books that are published for larger audiences.
Part III: Including literary elements
● Students will spend the last part of this lesson making sure that they have included a variety of literary elements. You may want students to start off by sharing what they have made so far and asking peers for feedback.
● As a whole class have students make a list of what type of features should be included in a comic book. This might include: dialogue, setting, action words, captions, characters, etc.
● When students go back to their Canva creation have them use the list that they have created as a class as a checklist for revising their work.
HOMEWORK/EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
● Have students create a film or animation that brings their comic book to life. They can include a link to what they have made as a QR code on the bottom of their comic book.
● Ask students to write a traditional narrative that accompanies their comic book. This writing can be displayed next to their graphical representation.
- Students may want to visit iPetitions.com and vote for making The Legend of Decimus Croome into a movie and comic book.
- Students may want to see what is posted on the PurdyBooks Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest sites for further information about The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol and other fun books.
