Comics & Storytelling

Overview

This 60-minute lesson introduces Years 8-9 students to the fundamentals of comics as a storytelling medium, aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) for Languages and The Arts learning areas. Students will explore comic book elements such as panels and speech bubbles and discuss how visual narratives convey stories. This lesson also incorporates Māori storytelling traditions to connect students with local cultural narratives and perspectives.

Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area & Levels

Languages (Learning Languages) – Years 7-9
The Arts (Visual Arts, Media Arts) – Years 7-9

Relevant NZC Achievement Objectives

Languages:

Communicate in an additional language, exploring different world views in relation to their own (Learning Languages Level 4) .
Understand that communication includes language, symbols, and texts used in various forms including visual (e.g., comics) .

The Arts:

Explore, refine, and communicate ideas through connecting thinking, imagination, senses, and feelings (The Arts, Level 4–5) .
Understand and use a range of visual arts and media arts conventions and techniques to express their ideas and tell stories.

Key Competencies

Using language, symbols, and texts: interpret, understand and create texts in a variety of forms including visual and oral .
Relating to others: engage in active listening and sharing ideas respectfully, especially when learning about Māori traditions .
Thinking: use critical and creative thinking to analyze and create comics and storytelling elements.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify basic elements of comics including panels, speech bubbles, and visual narratives.
Understand how comics combine images and text to tell stories effectively.
Recognise the role of storytelling in culture, particularly Māori storytelling traditions.
Begin to plan a simple comic narrative using learned elements.

Resources

Whiteboard and markers
Projector and screen (to show comic examples and Māori storytelling images/videos)
Copies of simple comic strips (including ones featuring Māori themes or legends)
Blank comic strip templates for planning
Reference images or stories from Māori oral traditions (e.g., legends, whakataukī)

Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction & Engagement (10 minutes)

Begin with a short discussion: “What is a comic? What do you know about comics?” (Activate prior knowledge)
Show examples of comic strips, highlighting panels, speech bubbles, characters, and sequences.
Introduce the idea that comics combine images and words in a unique way to tell stories.
Briefly introduce Māori storytelling tradition and its importance as a way of sharing knowledge, culture, and histories (link storytelling to comics as a medium).

Teaching Tip: Use inclusive language strategies to ensure all students feel supported, including ELL learners. Discuss the different ways stories can be told (oral, visual) to connect to learners’ cultural backgrounds.

2. Exploring Comics Elements (15 minutes)

Use a projector to display a comic page pointing out and explaining:
- Panels (boxes framing moments in the story)
- Speech bubbles (characters’ spoken words)
- Captions/narration boxes
- Visual flow (how panels guide the reader’s eye)
Show a Māori themed comic example or kupu whakahirahira (important Māori words) in comics if available.
Class discussion: How do pictures and words work together to tell a story? How does this compare to traditional Māori storytelling (whakapapa, oral story)?

3. Group Activity: Analyse a Māori Comic Strip (15 minutes)

Students work in pairs or small groups with a printed Māori comic strip.
Task: Identify and label the story elements (panels, speech bubbles, narration). Discuss what story is being told.
Groups share key observations with the class, focusing on how the comic tells the story visually and in language.

4. Create a Simple Comic Plan (15 minutes)

Give each student a blank comic strip template.
Prompt students to think of a short story or myth they know (could be Māori or personal).
Ask students to plan the story in 3-4 panels: decide what happens in each, what characters say or think (speech bubbles), and what the pictures will show.
Encourage simple drawings and key words for speech bubbles.

5. Reflection and Sharing (5 minutes)

Invite a few students to share their comic plans by describing their panels and story.
Reflect together on how visual and language elements help tell stories.
Recap importance of storytelling in Māori culture and in comics as a creative way to communicate.

Assessment & Success Criteria

Formative: Observe students’ engagement in discussion and group analysis for understanding of comic elements.
Learning Progress: Students can correctly identify components of a comic strip (panels, bubbles).
Create: Students produce a coherent simple comic plan with narrative flow and basic elements.
Reflect: Ability to articulate how comics tell stories and connect with Māori storytelling traditions.

Inclusive & Culturally Responsive Teaching

Honour the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by including Māori storytelling perspectives, using te reo Māori terms where appropriate, and showing respect for mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) .
Scaffold English and oral language where needed by using visual supports, think-alouds, and peer collaboration.
Support positive identity development by valuing students' own linguistic and cultural backgrounds in storytelling .

This lesson sets a solid foundation for the unit "Māori Comics: Art & Language" by deeply engaging students with both the language and cultural dimensions of storytelling through comics, supporting NZC’s vision for culturally sustaining and inclusive teaching that connects students with New Zealand’s unique heritage and identities.

If you would like, I can also provide the detailed lesson plans for the following lessons in this unit or ideas for incorporating digital tools to create comics!

Teaching Instructions