Activities
Description
This activity is meant to acclimate students to Activities 1 through 5 by learning the vocabulary necessary to talk about sequential art. To this end, this guide focuses on the the Mocha Celis comic book linked at the bottom of the page.
Description
This activity uses visual literacy routines created by Harvard’s Project Zero and UMMA to help students make meaning using the art in the comic by focusing on aspects such as line, shape, color, etc. We have swapped “wonder” for “think.” The instructor may choose to change this.
Description
Students will analyze the uses of different balloons, captions, and voiceovers in the text to identify the various narrative voices in the comic book. With his activity, students will learn to recognize when a character is speaking, the type of information included in captions, and the role of the voiceover in a comic book. This activity is meant to be done in pairs or small groups.
Description
Students will analyze the uses of montage and the different types of panels in the comic book. With his activity, students will learn to recognize how time is presented in a comic book through montage and reflect on how the different frames used in the panels convey different messages. This activity is meant to be done in pairs or small groups.
Description
Students will analyze the portrayal of one of the characters from the comic book to talk about the concept of “visual metaphor” presented in Tornasol. This activity is designed to be done in small-group discussions or as homework.
Description
Students will focus on the presentation of Lohana Berkins in the comic book. This activity combines the skills developed in Activity 1 with content from the Tornasol on using stereotypical characters in comic books. This activity is designed as a small-group discussion at the end of the unit focused on the comic book.
Mocha Celis Comic Book
This graphic novel tells the story of the Mocha Celis Travesti-Trans Popular High School.
Spanish Version
English Version