ReadWriteThink: November 26, 2008: Charles Schulz, the creator of the <i>Peanuts</i> comic strip, was born on this day.

November 26, 2008

		For more than 50 years, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts characters entertained millions of newspaper readers across the United States and around the world. Charles Schulz’s legacy to the world of comics lives on in the hearts and minds of the readers of Peanuts. image © 2009 clipart.com

Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, was born on this day.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

Invite students to use the Comic Creator to write summaries of stories or other short works of fiction. Comic strips have a well-known, established format. Basically, they tell a story in 4 to 6 frames. The first frame introduces the characters. The second frame illustrates the conflict. Frames 3 through 5 show the major events in the story and the climax. The last frame tells the resolution of the story. Students can illustrate their comic strips with clip art, drawings, or other artwork.

Lesson Plans

Buzz! Whiz! Bang! Using Comic Books to Teach Onomatopoeia
Using comic books and strips, this lesson has students in grades 3–5 find onomatopoetic words, develop a vocabulary list from the words, and discuss why writers, especially writers of comics, use onomatopoeia. Students then use an online tool to create their own comic strips using onomatopoeia.

Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Genre Study
In this ReadWriteThink lesson plan for grades 3–5, students examine the genre of comics, learning more about their uses, purposes, and subgenres. (See also Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure.)

Book Report Alternative: Comic Strips and Cartoon Squares
In this ReadWriteThink lesson plan for grades 6–8, students use the interactive Comic Creator to create comic strips or cartoon squares featuring the characters in the books they are reading. (See also Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic Strips.)

Web Links

Snoopy.com
This website provides the history of the Peanuts comic strip, some samples of the strip, and information about the different characters. Your students can also send an e-card, play word games, and read some Peanuts trivia.

Peanuts FAQ
Do you and your students have questions about the Peanuts comic strip and its characters? Answers may be found at this website.

No Flying, No Tights
Explore graphic novels at this site that features Top Ten lists, book reviews, definitions, and links, all of which show the classroom application of graphic novels. Users can select from areas designed for kids, teens, or older teens and adults.

Cartoon Analysis Worksheet
Students can use this worksheet from the National Archives to analyze visuals and words in comics. They can cite cartoons and comic strips following the citation guidelines provided by the University of Florida.

Texts

Schulz, Charles M. 2001. Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz. Pantheon Books.
This book features a collection of Schulz’s comic strips and commentary from art critics. Readers learn about Schulz’s career and the evolution and personalities of his characters.

Schulz, Charles M. 2000. Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year of the World’s Favorite Comic Strip. Ballantine Books.
This book includes a compilation of the 50th anniversary strips of Charlie Brown and his friends.

Schulz, Charles M., and Matt Busch. 2002. How to Draw Peanuts. Troll Communications.
This book offers illustrations and step-by-step directions for drawing all the Peanuts characters.

Hart, Christopher. 1988. How to Draw Cartoons for Comic Strips. Watson-Guptill Publications.
This book provides advanced cartooning instruction in drawing multiple characters, using body language, and creating simple layouts.