
Every teacher knows the student who groans at the mention of a writing task, then spends twenty minutes happily filling a page with speech bubbles, sound effects, and a very dramatic villain. Comics have a way of pulling in kids who don’t always see themselves as writers.
National Comic Book Day falls on September 25, and it’s a great excuse to bring comics into your classroom. It’s early enough in the school year to build some excitement, and it works just as well as a fun Friday activity as it does a full mini unit.
Why comics belong in your writing block
Making a comic asks students to do a lot of the same things we ask of them in any writing task. They have to plan a beginning, middle, and end. They have to think about characters and setting. They have to decide what the reader really needs to know and how to say it in just a few words. The difference is that the pictures give students a way in, and the small spaces of a panel make writing feel less overwhelming.
Comics also give you a natural way to talk about how text and images work together, which is a skill worth building no matter what else you’re teaching.
A few ways to celebrate in your classroom
Start with the parts of a comic. Panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, captions, and sound effects all have a job. A quick look at how they work gives students the vocabulary they need before they start creating.
Read or watch something comic-related. Share a favourite comic from your class library, or play a meet-the-author video with a comic creator. Hearing how a real author comes up with ideas can spark a few of their own.
Let students choose their own template. A little choice goes a long way. Some students want a simple strip, and others want a full page with lots of panels. Offering a few layouts lets everyone find one that fits their story.
Keep a comic bin for early finishers. Print a few extra copies of each template and keep them in a bin. Kids love creating comics, and it makes a great go-to activity for students who finish early.
Pair it with a read aloud. Students can retell a scene from the class novel as a comic, or draw what happens next. It’s a fun way to bring a story to life.
Assess it, or don’t. If you’d like to mark the comics, a rubric is included. If you’d rather keep things low pressure, let students create just for the fun of it.
Your free All About Writing Comics mini unit
We put together a mini unit to make this easy, so you don’t have to spend your evening making templates. It’s free, and it’s ready to use for National Comic Book Day or any time of the year.
What’s inside:
- 16 blank comic templates in a variety of layouts, ready to print
- An instructional Google Slides presentation that introduces students to comics and their common features
- A comic rubric, if you’d like to use it
The resource comes as a PDF and Google Slides, and it’s made for a wide range of grades, from Grade 3 to 8. It’s about 18 pages plus 10 slides, so you can teach the intro in one sitting and give students time to create over the rest of your lesson.
Get the Free Comic Writing Mini Unit

Happy National Comic Book Day, and happy creating!
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