Math | Grades 5-7

Comic BookAlgebraHow can we as comic bookdesigners build superhero worlds

that teach others about math?

Project Summary

Although the worlds of comic book superheroes are fantastical, they are alsofilled with complex mathematical problems to solve, such as “How manyaliens will have come through the portal before Shuri manages to close it?”“How many people can Iron Man rescue before the building explodes?”

In this project, students are challenged by a comic book publisher to createan engaging and mathematically meaningful comic book that will teachothers about algebraic reasoning and mathematical modeling. Studentsexplore the imaginary world(s) of superheroes in order to generate problemsthat their favorite characters might face. They model these problems usingalgebraic expressions or equations and use these ideas to create their ownalgebra comic books. Throughout the project, students will reflect on theways in which the problems they create in their comic books mirror real-lifesituations.

Learning GoalsKey standards

Common Core State Standards—Mathematics

7.EE.A.1 Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factorand expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.

7.EE.B.3 Solve multistep real-life and mathematical problems posed withrational numbers in any form. Assess the reasonableness of answers usingmental computation and estimation strategies.*

7.EE.B.4 Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world ormathematical problem and construct simple equations and inequalities tosolve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

Common Core State Standards—ELA-Literacy

W.7.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.*

W.7.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop andstrengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, ortrying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience havebeen addressed.

*These standards are only partially addressed in this project.

(CCSS are listed for Grade 7, but this project can be applied in Grades 5−7.)

Key Vocabulary

This is a suggested list to get you started. Determine the key vocabularywords and terms you need to teach based on your focus content and theprior knowledge and needs of your students.

EquationEvaluateExpandExpressionFactorInequalityVariable

Literacy Skills

Reading visual textsNarrative writingPlanning, revising, editing, and publishing

Success Skills

CollaborationCreativity

Major ProductsIndividual Products

Variable expressions and equations for given scenarios

Final reflection on learning

Team/Whole Class Products

Algebra comic books that incorporates problem scenarios generated by the

students, which can then be represented or solved using an algebraicexpression or equation

Making It Public

A school-wide Math Comic Con and/or submitting comics to major comicbook publishers

ConsiderationsConsider Your Students

Which students in your class love to draw? Which students may need support from peers or from online comicprograms such as Pixton? For students who are not as interested in well-known comic bookuniverses, what other interests can they connect to that might makegood comics, manga, or graphic novels?

Consider the Context

Are there any members of your community who regularly draw comic-style artwork and would be willing to speak with your class, for example,a parent, a group of high school students, or an art teacher? What technology do you have access to that might aid students in theircomic book creation? Are there any teachers in the school who might be interested incollaborating with you for this project, for example, an art teacher or anEnglish teacher?

Consider the Content & Skills

How familiar are your students with variables and with using variablesto represent real-world concepts? How much support will they needbefore they are able to generate problems and their related variableexpressions independently? Are there any students who already have a strong grasp of expressionsand equations? If so, how can you extend their thinking? What routines do your students already use in English classes forplanning, revising, and peer-editing stories? How can you adapt theseroutines for the comic book process? How will your students imagine problem scenarios that can be tackledusing algebra? Are there specific scenes from a superhero movie thatcould be used to generate conversations on this concept? What types of problems are students likely to see on state tests? Howcan you incorporate these problems into your lessons? Which problemscan be modified to fit the context of comic books and superheroes?Which problems will need to stand alone?

Introducestudents tothe projectthrough theentry event.

Obtain a letter from a member of a comicbook publishing company that asks forstudent submissions or a letter from anorganizer of the Math Comic Con that youplan to use as a culminating project. Makesure that the letter outlines the need forcomic books that are fun and interestingto middle school students and that willalso teach them about algebra. Includespecific types of math that the publisherswant to see, such as variables,expressions, equations, inequalities, andrational numbers.

Consider referencing a specific source ofinspiration for these comic books, such asGene Luen Yang’s TEDTalk, or thecompetition they face from SolutionSquad. View these resources with yourclass to provide additional context for theproposed project.

Review theprojectinformation

Discuss the expectations for the finalproduct.

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Project MilestonesMilestone 1: Why has the CEO of [comic bookpublisher] contacted us?Students will engage in the entry event—responding to a letter from the CEOof a comic book publishing company asking for their help.

Estimated Duration1 dayAssessment(s)

Need-to-know questions (whole group)

Comic scene brainstorm and sorting activity (team)

Key Student Question

Why has the CEO of [comic book publisher] contacted us?

Activities

sheet, therubric, andthe drivingquestion.

Capture students’ need-to-know questionsabout the topic and the project.

Ask questions such as these to promptstudent thinking about what they knowand need to know:

What is the CEO of [comic bookpublisher] asking you to do andwhy? What do you need to know in orderto successfully complete this task?How will you know if you have beensuccessful?

Authentic student curiosity should drivethis process, but you may need to provideprompting and support to help studentsarrive at questions such as those listedhere:

What makes a comic book fun andinteresting to read?How can comic books be used toteach math?What new math skills do we need tolearn in order to meet thesubmission requirements?What kind of math belongs in acomic book story?

Begininvestigatingthepossibilitiesfor math incomics.

Have students brainstorm their favoritecomic books, graphic novels, manga,superhero cartoons, and movies. Splitstudents into groups based on theirinterests and have them start to list theirfavorite scenes from specific stories. Havestudents write these on individual indexcards, which can then be sorted into threecategories: definitely involves math,might involve math, does not appear tohave any math. Have students then sorttheir scenarios into the three categories,which provides a rich source of student-generated comic scenes to refer back tothroughout the unit, as well as enablingyou to assess the extent to whichstudents can identify potentialmathematics in different scenarios.Encourage students to update the need-

to-know questions as they complete thisactivity.

Notes

Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such asthe following. For more information about structuring reflection in PBL, seethe Reflection strategy guide:

What are your first impressions of the project? What are you excited about? What might be challenging for you?

How do you feel about comics, superheroes, manga, and so on? If you enjoy them, what type of characters and stories are mostinteresting for you? If you don’t like them, what types of stories and characters fromother genres do you like? How might you incorporate the things you love into this project?

A sample editable project information sheet and rubric have been provided.Before sharing these documents with students, customize them to align withthe standards/grade levels you teach, the resources you plan to use, and thepathway you plan to take through the project.

Note that authenticity and community engagement can really help to bring aproject to life. Think about the following questions when exploring ways toenhance these aspects of the unit:

Are there any family or community members involved in the comic bookindustry? What are their roles in the industry and at what stage of theproject would be the best for them to get involved?What makes the most sense for your students and school: hosting aMath Comic Con or having students submit their work to a publisher?What will you need to work out in advance in order to make theseevents happen?Are there any teachers in the schools interested in collaborating on thisproject, especially an art teacher or an English teacher? What aspects ofthe project will you need to change in order to incorporate the othersubject?When do you want to form the teams for the final comic? Assigningthem early in the process allows time for students to beginbrainstorming ideas and work out team roles and contracts beforebeginning the storyboarding process. Waiting to assign teams a bit laterin the unit enables you to see how students are performing and whattheir interests are before creating teams.

Create a project wall to help visually scaffold this project and promotestudent self-management. Use a word wall section to track key vocabularystudents learn throughout the project.

Havestudentswork in smallteams todiscuss thepossiblemathematicsin a given setof comicscenarios.

Enhance students’ ability to read comicbooks while thinking about the possibleconnections to math. Have students thinkof scenarios that include a variety ofmedia (comic books, graphic novels,manga, and movie scenes or theirdescriptions) and should range from easilyidentified math to more hiddenmathematics. See the following resourcesfor selecting scenes from comics:

School or local libraries for mangaand graphic novels to check outYouTube for short scenes frompopular superhero moviesThe Marvel store online for freedigital comics to accessThe Solution Squad, a web-basedmath comic book, for some samplescenesPixton to design your own simplecomic, such as the example givenhere

Consider using a formal note-takingstructure to guide student work. Forexample:

Use Cornell notes as a more general

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Milestone 2: Which situations might involve mathand how do we know?Students investigate possible mathematics in different scenes from comics.

Estimated Duration1 dayAssessment(s)

Discussion notes (individual/team)

Matching wall (whole class)

Key Student Question

Which situations might involve math and how do we know?

Activities

strategy for note-taking acrossmultiple activities and subjects.Use a simple T-chart to organizework, with notes about the scenarioin one column and possiblemathematics in the other.Create a more specific graphicorganizer for this activity.

Use a learning log to keep track of studentlearning throughout the project.

Ask studentsto matchexpressions,equations,andinequalitiesto the samescenarios.

Using the same scenarios you chose forthe previous activity, distributeexpressions, equations, and inequalitiesthat can be matched to the differentscenarios. If possible, connect this activityto the project wall. Have students worktogether to pin matching scenario cardsand math cards to the project wall. Ifthere are disagreements about whichcards should be matched, ask students tokeep those off the wall until after thewhole-class discussion.

As a wholeclass, askstudents todiscuss theirreasons formatching theexpressionsto thescenarios.

Ask students to share their thoughtsabout how they completed the matchingtask:

What information in the scenariohelped them decide which mathexpression to use?What information in the mathexpressions helped them to make adecision?What do the variables on the mathcards represent?Which cards were hard to match?What made them challenging? Whereshould the unmatched cards go onthe wall? Can we decide togetherhow they should be matched?

Revisit thelist of need-to-knowquestionswith

Identify questions that have beenanswered, as well as new questions thathave emerged. For more informationabout revisiting the need-to-know

students. questions, see this strategy guide.

Revisit theproject wall Ask students to look back at the project

wall. From Milestone 1, have students

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Notes

Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such asthe following:

What makes you think that a scene does or does not have the potentialfor a math equation?Is it always possible to find math in a given scene? Why or why not?Why do mathematicians use variables?

Note that organizing and taking meaningful notes is an important part of asustained, inquiry-driven project. Think about how you would like yourstudents to keep track of their learning and ideas throughout the project. Seethe following for some possibilities:

Maintain the same note structure you already have in place whilecreating some project-specific templates or strategies to incorporateinto specific milestones and activities.Design specific worksheets for each milestone and learning activity andhave students keep these in a project or class binder.Use the learning log strategy guide to develop a method specific to thisunit.

Milestone 3: How do we write variableexpressions and equations to represent situationsor problems?Students will learn and practice how to represent different comic scenariosusing variables, expressions, equations, and inequalities.

Estimated Duration3–5 daysAssessment(s)

Practice exercises (individual/team)

Key Student Question

How do we write variable expressions and equations to represent situationsor problems?

Activities

and reflecton thematchingactivity fromMilestone 2.

consider whether there are any scenariosthey sorted into definitely involve math,might involve math, or does not appear tohave any math that they would like tomove to another category. If they do, askthem to explain their reasoning. FromMilestone 2, revisit the conversation aboutmatching: what information is needed inorder to write a math expression,equation, or inequality to represent ascenario or problem? What do thevariables in those expressions represent?How can we use what we learned lasttime to begin writing our ownexpressions?

Guidestudents inlearning towriteexpressions,equations,andinequalitiesin order tosolve real-worldproblems.

Remember that Milestones 1 and 2 willgive you an opportunity to assess howmuch your students already understandabout using math sentences to representand solve real-world situations. Consideryour students’ current level ofunderstanding and the type of problemsyou want students to be able to completeby the end of the unit in order to designthe introductory activities for this concept.Find resources for expressions, equations,and inequalities here:

Khan AcademyMath antics video - What Is Algebra?Purplemath - translating wordproblems

Wherever possible, try to incorporate bothreal-world and comic universe scenariosas examples. Note that additional tips andresources for doing this are explained inthe next section.

Createopportunitiesfor studentsto practicetheir newmath skills inboth real-world andcomic book

Make sure students have practice workingwith the types of word problems that mayappear on state tests and those thatmight be common in a comic bookuniverse. In many cases, remember that itis possible to include a traditional problemand a superhero version of the problem atthe same time.

scenarios. For example, consider the traditionalmath problem of filling a swimming pool:

Kamila is filling up her backyard pool witha hose. The pool is 3 feet deep, and it isfilling up at a rate of about 1” per minute.How long will it take Kamila to fill up herpool?

Turn this classic problem into an excitingsuperhero adventure:

Dr. Doom has attacked the Empire StateBuilding. He is flooding the building withwater from the Hudson River and hisrobots have sealed all the exits. Everyminute, another floor of the 102-storybuilding is completely submerged. Howlong does Iron Man have to rescue thetourists trapped inside?

As students become more fluent in writingmath expressions, equations, andinequalities, encourage them to designtheir own comic book scenarios using theproblems in the math book as a guide.

For additional sources of inspiration (andhumor), check out these resources:

Math superhero namesGreen Lantern and physicsPop culture hero math

Incorporateincreasinglevels ofcomplexity,includingmultistepproblems,rationalnumbers, andfactoring andexpandinglinearexpressions.

As you increase the complexity andsophistication of the problems andscenarios you are modeling, considerusing matching exercises to introduce theconnections between real-world problemsand the concepts of factoring andexpanding, multistep problems, andrational numbers. Engage students indiscussions about what they notice aboutthese scenarios and what clues theremight be that a more complex model isneeded.

Revisit thelist of need-to-know

Identify questions that have beenanswered, as well as new questions that

questionswithstudents.

have emerged.

Introducestudents tothe processofstoryboarding.

Note that storyboards are useful forplanning comics, movies, or fiction. Havestudents rearrange or change aspects oftheir comic during planning and revisionstages by using index cards. See thefollowing resources for storyboarding;

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Notes

Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such asthe following:

In what ways do the problems in comic books mirror real-life situations?What strategies can you use to write mathematical expressions,equations, or inequalities that model real-life situations?How can you design a comic book scenario that involves math?

Have students move through the material at different paces. If it is possibleto have sets of scenarios for each concept ready to go in advance, allowstudents to move through the material at their own pace, working togetherin pairs or small groups to figure out new concepts. Also considerimplementing other differentiation strategies. Check out these resources:

Knowing and responding to learners in mathematics 20 differentiated instruction strategiesDifferentiation starter kit

Milestone 4: What is the plan for our comic bookand what math will we use?Students will use index cards to create the storyboard for their plannedcomic book, emphasizing the math they will use.

Estimated Duration2–3 daysAssessment(s)

Storyboard (team)

Key Student Question

What is the plan for our comic book and what math will we use?

Activities

some are more helpful for planningpurposes or for very advanced studentsand others are more student friendly.

Basic intro to storyboarding withindex cardsThe first half of this article withstrong explanations of differentstoryboarding featuresAnatomy of a storyboard - a goodarticle for students who enjoydrawing or filmmakingStoryboard template that wasdesigned for teachers but could beeasily adapted for studentsVideo with tips for creatingstoryboards if you are not a strongartistDetails two different approaches tostoryboards

A third approach to storyboarding specificto planning comics

Review therequirementsfor the comicbook andexpectationsforstoryboards.

Go over the expectations for the finalproject, including the number and type ofmath problems that should be included.Discuss with students how theserequirements should be reflected in theirstoryboard. Have students consider whatlevel of detail is needed in the planningstage in order to receive constructivefeedback and produce a high-qualitycomic book.

Guidestudentteams tobeginworking ontheirstoryboard.

Provide students with time to work in theircomic book teams. See this work timestrategy guide for tips on how to supportand guide students during this open-ended process. If this is the first timestudents are working in their final projectteams, consider using the strategy guidesfor forming teams and/or team contracts.

Revisit thelist of need-to-knowquestions

Identify questions that have beenanswered, as well as new questions thathave emerged.

withstudents.

Notes

Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such asthe following:

Think about the letter from the CEO that you received. What are themost important parts of your comic? What should you focus on in yourplanning?What makes a story fun and interesting? What type of situations do you want to use for your math problems? How can you share the responsibilities for creating your storyboard?

At this stage, note that it is important to guide students in time managementas well as the medium they will use for their final comics.

Think about the time you have for this unit. Remember that studentsare often ambitious in their plans and may not realize how long it willtake to revise and finalize their comics.

How many pages or frames do you want students to use for theircomic? Consider setting an upper limit.How many math problems should be included?Are students using an online tool such as Pixton or will they behand-drawing the illustrations? For hand-drawn comics, be sure toallow for extra time in Milestone 5. Consider whether the drawingwill need to be done outside of class time or whether collaborationwith an art teacher is possible.How many index cards (as a range) would you like students toinclude in their plan?

Think about the public product: Will you host a Math Comic Con or ask students to submit to apublisher?If submitting to a publisher, does the publisher require originalcharacters and drawings? How will this affect student decision-making in the planning stages?

Milestone 5: How can we give and receiveconstructive feedback in order to improve ourcomics?Students engage in a structured peer feedback process and will then applythat feedback to revise their storyboard and write their final comic book.

Estimated Duration2–4 daysAssessment(s)

Engagestudents in aconversationaboutconstructivefeedback:why it isneeded andwhat it lookslike.

Ask students what they think of whenthey hear the words constructivefeedback? How is it different from othertypes of feedback? Why do we even needfeedback on our work? Consider showingAustin’s Butterfly, which is a great videoto introduce the concept of constructivefeedback to students. Draw particularattention to what constructive feedbacklooks and sounds like. Considergenerating a list of positive sentencestarters that students can use.

Introduce theformat orstructurethat you willuse for peerfeedback.

See the Critique Protocols strategy guide,which includes several methods forstructuring peer feedback. Also considerusing the Creativity and Innovation rubric,the letter from the entry event, and theproject information sheet to guidestudents in giving feedback.

Assign teamsto their peerfeedbackpartners andguidestudentsthrough theprocess ofprovidingfeedback.

Use the critical protocols strategy guide,which includes troubleshooting tips forcommon concerns with peer feedback. Asyou observe your students during thisprocess, consider whether individual,small-group, or whole-class interventionswill be the most helpful to improve thequality of the feedback being given.

Discuss withstudents howthey canapply theirfeedback andhow they canshow

As a whole class, ask students to reflecton the process of applying feedback:

How do we decide which feedback toapply fully, which comments topartially incorporate, and which ones

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Peer feedback and revised storyboard (team)

Key Student Question

How can we give and receive constructive feedback in order to improve ourcomics?

Activities

changes intheirstoryboard.

are too far from our vision to beused? How can we show the changes we’vemade in our revised storyboard? After listening to the feedback andgiving feedback to others, are thereadditional changes we want to maketo our comic book plan?

Provide timefor studentsto revisetheirstoryboardsand writetheir finalcomic books.

Consider the amount of time provided inclass, as opposed to out of class, to revisethe storyboard and work on the finalcomics, which will depend on yourstudents and your schedule, as well as thetools of collaboration available to you. Tosupport students with this process, usethese helpful strategy guides for teamroles, team contracts, and work time todraw on.

For online comic creation that could bepartially completed at home, check outthe Pixton website. For student teamswhere at least one member enjoysdrawing and creating artwork, supportstudents in deciding how to share thework of creating a hand-drawn comicbook. Consider speaking to the artteacher about opportunities to collaborateon the project or to allow a few studentsto work on their comics in art class as partof an independent study.

Revisit thelist of need-to-knowquestionswithstudents.

Identify questions that have beenanswered, as well as new questions thathave emerged.

Notes

Support student reflection throughout this milestone with prompts such asthe following:

When have you used peer feedback in the past (art, sports, English,etc.)? What kind of feedback was helpful to you in improving your workor your skills? What protocols or techniques did you use for providingfeedback in those classes? Can you use aspects of those techniqueshere?

Engagestudents inpreparing forand hostingtheir ownMath ComicCon.

Ask students what they already knowabout Comic Cons and whether any ofthem have had the opportunity to attendone. Share examples of Comic Cons:

This trailer for a fan documentaryabout Comic Con

Activity Title Description Resource Link

Sometimes feedback may hurt your feelings or make you upset. Takesome time to reflect on the feedback and your feelings. Do you agree ordisagree with what they said? How hard/easy will it be to use their ideaor question to change your story? Will your comic book be stronger(more interesting/better at teaching math) if you make this change?

Remember that building a culture of critical feedback can take time; it cango much smoother if you can link the peer feedback process to somethingthat students are familiar with, perhaps from another class. Check withEnglish and art teachers, as well as sports coaches, about any techniquesthey use with students to encourage constructive feedback.

Note that Milestone 5 is a great place to have a community visitor come andwork with the students. Remember that revising and rewriting work is acritical aspect of all creative processes, and having an expert introduce orsupport students through this process can increase the students’engagement and motivation for the difficult task.

Milestone 6: How will we know if our audiencefinds our comics both fun to read andeducational?Students present their comics at a Math Comic Con and submit them topublishers as well as reflect on their learning.

Estimated Duration1–3 daysAssessment(s)

Final comic (team)

Reflection (individual)

Key Student Question

How will we know if our audience finds our comics both fun to read andeducational?

Activities

An article with questions andanswers about Comic ConsThis advertisement for a family-friendly Comic Con

See the many sources of informationabout comic cons available, but be carefulto preview anything you are considering:some of the costumes and discussions youwill find are not necessarily schoolappropriate.

Discuss with students what their goals arefor their own Math Comic Con. Considerasking questions such as these:

Why are comic cons helpful to comicbook designers?How can we get constructivefeedback from our audiencemembers? What would we like tolearn from them about our work?What can we do to build excitementand interest in our event?How will you display your work? Whatcan you do to attract visitors to yourtable? What information about your comicdo you want to communicate to theaudience? How will you present yourwork as a team?

If you have time, consider sharing theplanning responsibilities with students,including these choices:

Deciding whom to invite to the MathComic Con and sending out theinvitationsCreating posters to advertise theMath Comic Con around the schoolCo-constructing an audiencefeedback form or poll for students toget constructive feedback about theirfinal comicsDeciding how to organize the event:placement of tables, inclusion ofadditional events beyond sharingcomics, getting permission andlearning the rules from the principalabout costumes, and so on

Host theMath ComicCon.

Have students share their final comicbooks with the public. Provide audiencemembers with a feedback form to guidetheir experience during the event.

Guidestudents inpreparing fortheir comicbooksubmission.

Select one or two publishers to guidestudents in their submission. See theseresources to help you choose a publisher:

Publishers that accept submissions informats appropriate for students:Soaring Penguin215 InkBlack Mask Studios website andsubmission formLists of publishers and theirsubmission rules:The definitive list of comic publishersubmission guidelinesWriting Tips Oasis list of comicpublishers accepting submissionsWriter’s Guild comic submissionguidelines

Go through the submission procedure foryour selected publisher with the students.Discuss with them these questions:

What are the requirements for thecomic submission?How can students make theirsubmission attractive to thepublisher?What makes their comic special?Who will want to buy their comic andwhy?

Supportstudents insubmittingtheir comicbooks to apublisher.

Give students time to complete thesubmission requirements with their teammembers. Support students with thetechnical details of the submission.Consider asking the technology staff atthe school to work with students duringthis phase of the project.

Guide a post-project Have students return to their need-to-

reflectionand feedbackprocess.

know questions and identify changes andnew understandings.

Closing reflection activities and resourcesmight include the following:

My Thoughts About the ProjectI Used to Think . . . , Now I Think . . .

Use this strategy guide to support thepost-project reflection process. You maywant to have students reflect on whatthey did in the project and how well theproject went using the Self-Reflection onProject Work.

Notes

Note that public products are very rewarding but can also be very stressful toorganize. Check with administrators, staff, families, school-communitypartnership organizations, and other community members to see if anyone isinterested in helping to organize the Math Comic Con and/or supportstudents during the submission process.

Resources

Project FilesComic Book Algebra_ Rubric.docxComic Book Algebra_ Project Information Sheet.docxComic Book Algebra: Rubric Google DocComic Book Algebra: Project Information Sheet Google DocAdapting This Project For At-Home Learning

Launch Project

Introduce the project with a call to action from a comic book publisher orwebcomic site. Adjust the task so that students will be creating digitalcomics. Consider leveraging one of these free tools for online comic creation.Gather student need-to-know questions on a shared digital document.

Build Knowledge, Understanding, & Skills

Use a combination of live video lessons, online tutorials, videos, and texts tointroduce key mathematical concepts regarding expressions, equations,inequalities, rational numbers, and factoring and expanding linearexpressions and to support problem-solving practice.

Develop & Critique

Have students create storyboards digitally or on paper (if they developstoryboards on paper, have them upload a photo of their designs to a shared

space for peer feedback). Have students engage in a peer critique processvia synchronous video chat. Have students produce their comics digitally orcreate their comics on paper and then scan/upload them.

Present Products

Host a virtual Math Comic Con, inviting family and community members toreview students’ comics and celebrate their learning. Have students submittheir comics digitally to a comic book publisher.

Additional Resources

Comic Books in Math Class

Why comics are making their way into math lessons - an Education DivearticleMath teachers take a page from English/Language Arts: Comic Books! -an Education Week article

Topics to Think About and Discuss With Students

The importance of diversity in the comic book universe - Sana Amanat’sTEDTalkOrigin story: How comics and creative writing helped me express mytruth - Jamal Parker’s TEDTalk

Movie Trailers to Inspire Conversation and Interest

Into the SpiderverseBlack PantherCaptain MarvelMulanCoco

Creative Commons BY-SA-NC

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Thank you to Genevieve Hiltebrand for ideation and curriculum developmenton this project.