1
Language in the Gutter: Comics, Performance, ESL, and Shakespeare
Christopher Shamburg
Introduction
A lot can happen in the blink of an eye. Even more can happen when that blink takes a minute,
an hour, or a day. This is the power of the gutter in comics. The gutter is the space between
the individual panels in a comic. It is the place where two individual images synthesize to
become one idea. It is a place where the reader intuitively uses inference and imagination to
make meaning. In Understanding Comics Scott McCloud describes the gutter as “host to much
of the magic and mystery that are at the very heart of comics” (1994, p. 66).
This quiet space between the panels can also be a powerful place for learning language.
Look at the two strips below and notice how the gutter works between the images to create
different stories.
Figure 1. Gutter Example
2
This chapter presents two different lessons for the use of the gutter; yet both employ the same
principle—using the gutter as a prompt for students’ creativity, inference, and communication
skills. Both examples use performance-based approaches. And both employ free, user friendly
Web 2.0 resources Students are given a starting image and an ending image and must create
the action that connects them. This approach engages students in the traditional literacies of
reading, writing, and speaking as well as new literacies associated with multiple mediums,
remix, and appropriation (Jenkins, 2007; Lankshear & Knobel, 2011; Shamburg, 2008).
The performance in this activity is also an extremely beneficial component. The performance
helps with authentic language development and is also an excellent way to develop students’
executive function. Executive function is a collection of cognitive skills related to higher order
thinking which has gained the attention of neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, and
educators. Executive function has a correlation to success in school and in life that is higher
than IQ and, unlike traditional notions of IQ, is completely ‘growable’ (Diamond, 2009). Key
components of executive function are working memory, impulse control, flexible thinking, and
mind/body integration. These are all activities involved in performance. This particular
activity is an excellent prompt to get students to move purposefully and coordinate words,
gestures, and actions.
There’s a wide variety of grades and students for whom this work is appropriate and effective.
The first example of the use of the gutter for performance that we’ll look at is from an adult
ESL program. The second example is from a unit on Shakespeare that was done in a 10th grade
class. This approach has been adapted for a range of students—from first grade to graduate
school. You can choose the sophistication of the images, the ‘space’ of the gutter, and the
expectations for students to fill it. For example, in a second grade class, you may have an
initial image of a birthday party with smiling children and then a second image of an unhappy
child? You can prompt the students to create a story about what happened in between.
Technology
All of the examples here were created with Pixton (www.pixton.com), an online comic creator.
Other comic creation tools are Plasq’s Comic Life (http://plasq.com/products/comiclife) or
Make Beliefs Comix (www.makebeliefscomix.com). These programs simplify the more
technical aspects of comic creation and let a user focus on the creative aspects of production.
These programs allow you to save, edit, revise, and share your work.
If you do not have access to these tools, simply importing, organizing, and printing images in a
word processing program can work well too. Also, the activity described here was done in a
classroom with a limited amount of technology. If you have more technology, e.g. a lab,
3
laptop cart, of 5-6 computer stations, students can have more input on the actual comic
creation.
Though the content and objectives were different in each case, there are three common
elements to this activity:
1. A starting image
2. An ending image
3. The students’ goal of connecting those images through writing, speaking, and performance.
ESL, Comics, and Performance
This activity is from an adult ESL class. The objectives are:
•
•
•
•
Use vocabulary of the workplace
Engage in short conversations appropriate for the workplace
Apply the idiomatic expression “as a matter of fact”
Correlate appropriate vocal tone with the meaning and the message
Students work in groups of two with the images below. They need to make a three-panel
comic strip, add dialogue, and act it out. One student plays the role of the man and the other
student plays the role of the woman. You can easily make a variety of characters to correlate
to different gender combinations, e.g. male and male, female and female.
Each pair must start with the first panel.
Figure 2. Office Start
4
They then choose a middle panel—the bike, the book, or the plant
Figure 3 Office Objects
And then they choose an ending panel.
Figure 4. Office End
5
At some point they must use the phrase “as a matter of fact.”
Here’s a version of a student product.
Figure 5 Office Example
They will then write a short script for the comic and act it out. Students will use office related
language in the dialogue for the scene as well as in their conversations about the project,
particularly when they have to characterize the relationship—who’s the boss? Are they
coworkers? Is one a customer?
There are 12 different ways to organize this set of images, and an almost infinite number of
scenarios to create.
Assessment
The assessment is simple as this is a ‘fault tolerant’ activity—despite the varying quality of
students’ work, they will still have reached the objectives of the activity.
20% Did they begin in that pose?
20% Did they end on the pose they chose?
6
20% Did the dialogue include a reference to the object they selected?
20% Did they use the idiom appropriately
20% Did their verbal tone correlate with the ending image and the dialogue?
Extensions
This activity can work well with other settings: park – beach - birthday party – street – airplane
- restaurant - supermarket
You can also include one or more suggested idioms to include in the dialogue: Get on my
nerves - You can count on it - Let’s face it - It will all work out - It’s just one of those days One hand….but on the other hand… - You get what you pay for - It’s my pleasure - Can you
do me a favor? - It cost me an arm and a leg - Bit off more than I can chew - Easy does it.
For an excellent list of idiomatic expressions, see Dennis Oliver’s Idiom page at the ESL Cage
(http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/id-list.html).
Shakespeare, Comics, and Performance
These connections of action and language is especially strong in Shakespeare. Performancebased approaches for this have been popular for the last 25 years, based on the premise that
Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be enacted, and not simple read (Young, 2009). This fact
along with the increased emphasis on authentic assessment and multiple intelligences has made
performance-based approaches a growing trend in the teaching of Shakespeare (Lomonico,
2009). An excellent resource for getting started with performance-based approaches is
Shakespeare Set Free (O’Brien. 1992) and the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Division of
Education (www.folger.edu/education).
One fact that has engaged eager performers and overzealous editors is that Shakespeare wrote
very little stage direction. Most of the staging of a play or movie is based on implicit stage
directions. This gives students the opportunity to understand that language is open to
interpretation and that non-verbal communication—tone, gestures, movement, facial
expressions can change the meaning of words.
Below is a pivotal scene in Othello between Iago and Othello. In this scene Iago is trying to
sow the seeds of jealousy in Othello. Othello believes that Iago is his loyal friend, but Iago is
actually trying to provoke jealousy by hinting about Othello’s wife’s fidelity. Shakespeare
gives us no stage direction during this scene and lets the performers and readers ‘fill in the
blanks’.
Othello: By heaven I’ll know thy thoughts Iago.
Iago: You cannot if my heart were in your hands.
Nor shall not, whilst it is in my custody.
Is Othello angered or saddened by Iago’s suggestions? Does he react violently (a
foreshadowing of his later rage)? Or desperately (an indication of his sorrow for the loss of his
7
true love)? Students get to explore both of these complex and important interpretations
through the simple use of images. In activities like this production is analysis.
The goals of this activity will be for students to:
• Synthesize language, vocal techniques and physical gestures to convey meaning
• Draw inferences and conclusions based on context
• Analyze character, plot, and other literary devices
• Explore the relationship between characters
Again, working in groups of two, students are given a starting image and an ending image.
They must perform the lines that get them from start to ending.
Figure 6 Othello in the Gutter.
Othello: By heaven I’ll know thy thoughts Iago.
Iago: You cannot if my heart were in your hands.
Nor shall not, whilst it is in my custody
Here are other short scenes from Act 3 of Othello.
8
#1
Othello: What dost thou say, Iago?
Iago: Did Michael Cassio, when you woo'd my lady,
Know of your love?
Othello: He did, from first to last: why dost thou ask?
#2
Othello: By heaven, I'll know thy thoughts.
Iago: You cannot, if my heart were in your hand;
Nor shall not, whilst 'tis in my custody.
#3
Iago: She did deceive her father, marrying you;
And when she seem'd to shake and fear your looks,
She loved them most.
Othello: And so she did.
#4
Iago: I see this hath a little dash'd your spirits.
Othello: Not a jot, not a jot.
#5
Othello: I do not think but Desdemona's honest.
Iago: Long live she so! And long live you to think so!
Like the exercise with the ESL class, this is a fault tolerant activity. If students do the simple,
basic activities, they will be successful. With this activity, success and learning can come
easily to students with special needs as well as students who learn quickly in traditional ways.
Some students will put more in the gutter, but all should be able to create there. This activity
lets all kids get creative, move with meaning, and take ownership of language.
Assessment
During a performance assessment I find it useful to simply have a checklist with the various
categories and observe the students performance. Here’s a suggested way to weigh the
different elements and goals:
25% Students used language, vocal techniques and physical activity to convey meaning
9
25% Students non-verbal communication (gestures, tone, and expression) matched the context
of the images
25% Students’ performed characters and spoke lines in an emotionally consistent way.
25% Students began and ended in the designated poses.
Extensions
This approach can work with any play and almost any scene in Shakespeare. I’d recommend
beginning with two-person scenes and then moving to 3- and 4-person scenes. Here are some
scenes and methods to vary the images in the comic panels.
Romeo and Juliet: Does Romeo kill Tybalt by accident or on purpose?
Hamlet : When Hamlet sees the ghost of his father is he frightened, excited, or sad?
Macbeth: Is there really a ghost of Banquo that Macbeth sees or is it just his imagination?
Conclusion
Capitalizing on the gutter is just one of the many ways comics can be used effectively in
education. This approach gets students to collaborate in meaning making by exploring the
space between the images in comics. In between ESL and Shakespeare there are a variety of
other applications for the connotative power of comics. Whether you are teaching figurative
language, foreshadowing, vocabulary, making predictions, or understanding context clues, the
gutter can be a helpful place. Incorporating with performance can exponentially improve
language skills and the overall development of students.
Please feel free to download and remix any of the examples used in this chapter
(http://www.pixton.com/cs272). You are also officially invited to email me with any
questions—[email protected]
Works Cited
•
•
•
•
•
•
Diamond, A. (2009). Learning, doing, being: A new science of education. Interviewed On
Being (podcast). Retrieved April 23, 2012 from
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2009/learning-doing-being/.
Jenkins, H. (2007). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education
for the 21st century. Retrieved April 18, 2012 from
http://digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9CE807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF .
Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New literacies, 3rd Edition. London: Open University
Press.
LoMonico, M (2009). Shakespeare Ruminations and Innovations. English Journal. 99(10,
pp. 21-28.
McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding comics. New York, NY: William Morrow.
O’Brien, P (1992). Shakespeare set free. New York, NY: Washington Square Press.
10
•
•
Shamburg, C. (2008). National educational technology standards for students: English
language arts units for grades 9-12. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology
in Education.
Young, R. (2009) …Is prologue. English Journal. 99(1), pp. 31-32.
Biography
Christopher Shamburg is a Professor of Educational Technology at New Jersey City
University. He is the author of the books Student-Powered Podcasting (ISTE, 2009) and
NETS for Students: Units for the English Language Arts Grades 9-12 (ISTE, 2008). He is the
recipient of several teaching awards, including the 2012 New Jersey Distinguished Faculty
Award in Teacher Education. Before working in higher education he was a high school
English teacher for 10 years and has his doctorate in educational technology from Teachers
College, Columbia University.
ISTE NETS for Students
1.a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
1.b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
2.a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of
digital environments and media
2.b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of
media and formats
2.d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
4.b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
4.d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
Possible Common Core Standards for English Language Arts
The gutter activity can be used in a variety of grades. If a gutter activity was done in a 7th
grade classroom, here are the likely Common Core Standards that would be met.
RL.7.3. Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes
the characters or plot).
W.7.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
SL.7.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas
and expressing their own clearly.
11
SL.7.2. Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue
under study.
L.7.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
L.7.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important
to comprehension or expression