John "Crash" Matos, No CRASH No! No!, 1983, installation view at Krannert Art Museum, 2013. Gift of Stefan T. Edlis and Gael Neeson 2013-2-2
Resource

Materials 

  • Comic Worksheet  

  • Small print outs of selected artworks 

  • Pencils 

 

Suggested Artworks 

  • John “Crash” Matos; No CRASH NO! NO!, 1983 

  • Roy Lichtenstein; Peace through Chemistry IV, 1970 

 

Standards 

  • CCSA.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 

  • CCSA.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally. 

  • VA:Re8 Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work. 

 

Introduction 

  1. What do you see? What is going on? What makes you say that? 

  1. Artworks often show us just one scene of a bigger story. It’s like when you are watching a movie on TV and you pause it. Or if you only get to see one frame within a comic book. Even with these single images, there are often clues of what the bigger story might be.  

  1. Looking at our artwork, what do you think happened before/after this scene? Where in the story do you think our scene took place? 

 

Activity 

  1. Now, it is your turn to create the rest of the story. We are going to do so in the form of a comic. 

  1. Each of you are going to get a blank comic sheet and a small image of this artwork. Glue the image wherever you want in the story; it can be at the beginning, middle, or end. 

  1. Fill in the rest of the comic by telling your story; you can draw, write, or do both! Although the blank comic has three large rectangles, feel free to add more sections by drawing in dividing lines. 

  1. Have students share their comics. Discuss the different versions of their stories.