A Comic Strip to Explain

Animated Book 1

Objective

The students will create an animated book that will be made accessible on-line. This comic-strip-style book will allow the students to imagine a scenario related to the Deportation.

Preparation

  • Present the intended learning results.
  • Present the proposed activity:
    • Setting:
      • Since 1755, many artists have used the Deportation as inspiration in the creation of their works. For example, in 1893 the painter George H. Craig created a masterpiece entitled "La Déportation des Acadiens, Grand-Pré, 1755". The painting is on exhibit at the Musée acadien of the Université de Moncton, along with Henri Beau's "La dispersion des Acadiens", which was awarded the bronze medal at the Paris "Exposition universelle" in 1900. The theme of the Deportation can also be found in the works of contemporary artists such as Claude Picard and Nelson Surette.
      • The works mentioned above work well with the exercise. They can be found in the Stories section: The Arts. The teacher must choose a work of art with which the students will work.
    • Start-up question for the students:
      • What do you think happened to the people in the painting? With the students in your class, create a comic strip that explains what might have happened before and after the scene depicted in the painting.
    • Essential elements to create the animated book:
      • Material seen in class.
      • Stories section: The Arts, to choose a piece of art to work with.
      • The Didapages software for animated books. The explanation sheet for the use of this software (available to the teacher only).
      • Before starting the activity, initiate a discussion about the Deportation of the Acadians and the era when it took place (rapidly compare the daily life of Acadians of the time to their own experiences: clothes, means of transportation, houses…).

How-to

  • Ask the student to complete the task:
    • To answer the start-up question:
      • The students will first have to consult the piece of art selected by the teacher in the Stories section: The Arts. The idea is first to look closely at the piece of art and to identify the elements that seem essential.
      • Who is the central character of the work?
      • What kind of expressions do the characters have?
      • What do you notice that relates to that era (clothes, means of transportation…)?
      • What is going on in that scene?
      • During a class discussion, have the students imagine a plausible scenario in which the scene depicted in the painting could be a part. (Consult the History section for examples of scenarios.)
      • What could have happened before and after that scene?
    • To create the animated book:
      • Option 1: Divide the class into groups that will be responsible for one step in the creation of the book.
        • Group responsible for writing the texts in the comic strip
        • Group responsible for the drawings, images and digitization
        • Group responsible for technical assembly
      • Option 2: Divide the class into groups and assign them one part of the scenario. Each group will be responsible for the entire creation of that section until all the parts are put together.
      • Consult the Didapages explanation sheet (see Essential and optional resources) for technical details on creating the animated book and putting it on-line.
    • At different times during the project, have the students become aware of the steps that led them to imagine the scenario and create an animated book.

Integration

  • Have the students become aware of what they have learned as well as the method they used that led to this new knowledge.
    • Why did you choose to do it this way?
    • Why do you think you have succeeded?
    • How satisfied are you with your work?
  • Ask the student to propose other strategies to present the information collected.
  • Question the students on how they proceeded:
    • Had they ever created a comic strip?
    • Had they ever used similar software?
    • Would they be able to reuse it?
    • Has this activity helped them understand certain contemporary situations? Is it a contemporary question?

Essential and optional resources

Essential resources

Optional resources

  • Web site: 400 ans de présence française au Canada, 1604-2004
    http://www.umoncton.ca/2004
  • See also the following comic strip, as it has many adventures that deal with Acadie, including an episode on the Déportation:
    Aventures en Amérique française, scenario by Paul Toutant, drawings by Loupi, Montréal, Art global, 2005.