Show, Don’t Tell: Implied Meaning and Subtext with Evidence

(Session One) 

1. Together with the class, look only at the pictures from Mo Amer and Raj Panjabi in Great Immigrants, Great Americans. These two comics, specifically, make particularly good use of background details and supporting characters in a short comic. Students should not yet read the comic text, only scan and digest the visuals. Ask them what they notice and what they think each story might be about before reading.
2. Ask students how they could tell what elements of the story or the characters might be relevant just by the images without being told through text explicitly what is important. These two steps should take about 10 minutes total.
3. Now have students read both comics in their entirety. Briefly discuss how their predictions were correct or differed from the text. This step should take no more than 10 minutes.
4. Provide students with an introduction paragraph starter to write down. For example: “Many immigrants to the United States overcome adversity as children and use those experiences to become successful adults. The stories of comedian Mo Amer and doctor Raj Panjabi from Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book, show how they each persevered after immigrating to the United States. At first, Mo Amer ____________, but then he ____________. In the beginning, Raj Panjabi _____________, but then _____________. Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book shows how Mo Amer and Raj Panjabi both used their experiences as child immigrants to the United States to live their own American Dream.”
5. As a class, fill out the first two blanks about Mo Amer. For example: “At first, Mo Amer struggles to fit in, but then he becomes a popular class clown.”
6. Skip the blank fill-ins for Raj Panjabi for now and instead brainstorm with the class what a body paragraph about Mo Amer might look like. Come up with a basic claim and some evidence. This can more closely resemble an outline with bullet points. For example:

“Mo Amer, a Palestinian, struggled at first in his Houston, Texas, grade school, but humor in the classroom led him to become a successful comedian.

• Born in Kuwait—war/seeking asylum
• British accent
• Dressed differently
• Dad died
• Skipped school
• Teacher made a deal to let him do comedy/read Shakespeare in class
• Graduated early/toured world with USO”

Steps 4–6 should take no more than 20 minutes.

Note: This is the halfway point of the lesson.

7. Have students repeat these lesson steps for Raj Panjabi on their own. Remind them that evidence could be visual and presented through subtext. Remind them to see and notice details like facial expressions, movement, colors, foreground and background, other characters, etc. This should take no more than 20 minutes with support as needed.
8. In the last 10 minutes, ask some students to share their claim and some pieces of evidence for Raj Panjabi.
9. With any remaining time, ask students to create a visual and textual representation of themselves using either a blank sheet of paper, a graphic organizer of your choice, or the “Draw Your Own Comic” pages from Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book as a printout. Students are encouraged to use vivid color, imagery, and words to express their own identity and story in a nonlinear fashion.