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Global Culture Corner

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ear colleague,
Vln this edition we explore a fascinating topic for
students of all ages, transport. Plenty of materials
including posters, cards, photocopiable activities,
language use features and teaching suggestions will ease your
task as you deal with it.
A colourful picture alphabet becomes the protagonist of poster 2
and will allow your students to extend their vocabulary through
engaging games and contests.
We round off this issue with the usual I.C.T Corner and Global
Culture Corner, as well as an interesting article on creating
comics using the English language. We hope you enjoy it.
The Teachers Magazine team

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;iiie

here are lots of things to teach about transport

to young and not so young learners. Most of
them are passionate about trains; others are
interested in planes or cars. Anyway, you can
take advantage of this and have an educational
experience which may turn Out to be entertaining and
profitable to suit your needs. Here are some ideas and
suggestions to make the most of this topic.
Which kinds of transport do you know?
Present poster ito your students and ask them to identify the
kinds of transport they already know. Introduce the new
vocabulary writing the words on the board and matching them
with the corresponding image in the poster.
Draw a two or three-column chart on the board, write one of
these headings: transport for things and transport for people /
transport in the city and transport in the country / transport by
Land / transport by air! transport by water. Ask the students to
took at the picture and classify the means of transport
according to the headings.
This poster will also give you the possibility to lead the
students to tell the differences between transport in the city
and transport in the country; transport for people and things,
etc. Below you will find more vocabulary to include in these
activities.
Let's go on a ride
Have the students think about life without cars or planes. How
would we travel? Could we travel on elephants, tigers, lions,
horses, donkeys, etc.? Ask them to make a list of animals they
could ride to go to school. They can also invent new means of
transport and draw them on a sheet of paper. Later, they
should display their transport artifacts on the notice board or
on the classroom walls.
Look Out! A car is coming!
Discuss the different means of transport on land, sea and air.
Talk about how people get to different places. Show the cards
on pages 15 to 18 and ask the students to write sentences
using: bus, ferry boat, plane, cargo/vessel, cruise, etc.

If the students can see the street through the classroom

window, they can call out the vehicle passing by. You can turn
this into a guessing game in which they predict the next
vehicle, I guess a bus is parsing by next. If they work in teams
you can assign points to the right guess.
Describing the cards
Show one card at a time and have the students describe it
using There is /There are in full sentences. They can also make
questions such as Is there a lorry in the picture? Yes, there is /
No, there isn't.
Image collection
Ask the students to collect pictures of different types of
transport and make transportation posters: one for Land, one
for Sea and one for Air.
Crafts and transport
Provide the students with an array of geometric shapes:
triangles, squares, circles and rectangles. Have them arrange
them to create vehicles, paste them on cardboard and colour
them, lithe students are older, they can cut their own shapes
according to the vehicle they would like to create.
Origami
The students can make paper boats and planes and decorate
them with bright crayon colours or tempera. To make this
activity more difficult you can dictate the instructions as they
fold the pieces of paper and then decorate them as they like.
Using a piece of string or yarn you can put all the planes and
boats together in a mobile once you have punched holes in
them. You can also hang them from a coat hanger. Then the
students can write sentences about these means of transport,
e.g. Planes fly overseas; People travel on planes; Planes fly very
high; Boats crass the tens; Boats sail in rivers, etc.
A field trip
If it is possible, take a trip on the school bus or walk around
the neighbourhood; you could visit the airport, the train or bus
station and have the students say the different forms of
transport they see. You can introduce traffic signals, walk and
don't walk signs, seatbells in cars, helmets when riding bikes
or motorcycles, etc.

Write a list of objects and people such as letters, parcels,

fridges, pizzas, vegetables, groceries, school children, sick
people, firefighters, etc. and let the students choose the
vehicles transporting them.

For higher levels we go further on.,.

Verbs related to transport

According to your class level you may choose the verbs you
need to teach from this list. The pliolocopiable activity on
page 13 will provide your students with practice.
You may introduce: to catch, to drive, to take, to hire, to
carry, to bus, to taxi, to run, to walk, to fly, to sail, to bike,
to ride a bike.
Regular or irregular?

Have the students divide these verbs into two columns and
write their Simple Past and Past Participle forms.
Actions or nouns?

Let them classify the verbs under these headings. They will
find that bus and bike can be actions or/and nouns. Ask
them to make examples to mark the difference.
Examples:
The soccer fans were bussed to the stadium two hours before
the match, (v) They always take the bus to school. (n)
The plane taxied into the hangar. (it moved very slowly). (v)
As I was in a horn,,, I took a taxi to work. (a)
Yesterday we biked to the park. (v)
I love my bike. (s)

Which is the right preposition?

Make a remember sign like this to stick on the board.
Remember!
We use in into, and Out of when we are talking about cars, vans,
lorries, taxis and ambulances.
We normally use on, onto, and off with other forms of transport.
We can use by with most forms of transport.
When we talk about the type of vehicle or transport we use to
travel somewhere, we use by.
by coach
by bicycle
by car
by bus
by plane
by boat
by train
WARNING: But we don't say'by foot; we say on foot.
(See exercise on page 14.)
How do you get to school?
Ask the students to tell the class how they get to school. They
should give examples like these: My father/mother drives me to
school; I take the bus to school; 1 walk/bike/ride my bike to

school; I take the underground/the tube to school.

Going further on... ask, Where did you go/are you going on
vacation? How did you get/ are you getting there?
Sample answers: We went to London, England, on our last

vacation. We flew there.

For our vacation this year we're driving to the South!?

Tell your
your students that there is more than one way to talk
about transportation. We can say, I go by bus or! go on foot,
but using the verb to describe the action sounds more vivid
and natural. (Go to phocopiable on page 12.)
Phrasal Verbs and transport
More advanced students should connect this topic with some
phrasal verbs. Help them to write a reference list and use them
when describing the poster.
Some examples are:
Drive off - to leave in a car. The thieves drove off in a stolen

car,
Drive away - to go away driving one's car. He got in his car
and drove away.
Drive out- to go to some place driving one's car. He drove out
to the hospital
Slow down - to reduce speed. You should slow down at
corners.
Speed up - to increase speed. You may speed up if no vehicles
are coming.
Pull up/Draw up - to stop and wait. If the traffic lights are
red, you mast pull up / draw up until they change to green.
'Run aground Inshore - when a ship or boat hits the coast,
sometimes becoming stuck there. The ship ran ashore in that
terrible storm.
Run over - hit and drive over someone or something. He
accidentally ran over a skunk that was crossing the road.
Take off - leave the ground. The plane takes off at 7am.

Find this picture card and its vocabulary

reference on pages 15 to i8.

?buch down - to land. The plane has just touched down.

Pull out - to leave the station. Look! The train is pulling out!
Pull in - to arrive at the station. We have time to buy the
ticket; the train hasn't pulled in yet.
Call at -. to slop at various ports. The ship calls at three ports
before arriving at the final destination.
Collocations and transport
Write the following words on the board and ask the students to
make collocations with the means of transport on the poster.
They all collocate with the word transport.
Adjectives: cheap, efficient; mass, public, to travel by/on
public transport; private; local; city, urban; rural; horse-drawn,
motor; air, canal, ground, land, marine, rail, railway, river,
road, sea, water; passenger; freight. (Go to photocopiable on
page 14.)
Verbs + 'thansport: use; arrange; provide; have access to.
'lbansport + noun: facilities, provision, services,
infrastructure, network, system, business, company, group,
industry, operator, organisation, manager, officer, official,
consultant, planner, project, scheme, strategy, legislation,
policy, budget, minister, spokesman; authority/authorities,
committee, department, ministry; needs, requirements; market,
sector; cools, fetes; user; worker; links, routes; congestion;
police; safety; strike; union.
Transport or Transportation
Americans refer to transportation and British people to
transport. There are terms that have different names in both,
American and British English, for example, here there are some
differences in railway-related vocabulary.

Railway
Railway station
Engine drivers (train)
Guards
Level crossing
Platform
Take your seats!

Railroad
Railroad station
Engineers
Conductors
Grade crossing
Track
All aboard!

Did you know.

that in China people ride electric bikes? They c-bike to work!
that in Russia and Ukrania people take "marshrutka"to work?
It's a sort of share tani that people take to avoid jamming the
streets with cars.
Can you look for other facts is different cultures?
Transport and CLIL
For advanced students you may suggest projects on llansport
from history (for example, horse-drawn omnibus, steam trains,
palanquin, horse and cart, etc.) and Tlansport in the future
such as flying cars, space travel, and any form of transport they
may come up with.
They can also connect transport with issues like road, rail and
air safety, breakthroughs in transport, networks in their
countries, ways to improve and optimise people transport,
preferences, cultural differences and so on.
These projects are an invaluable toot for the students to use
language in a meaningful way; let them present their awn
ideas and choose the topic they are interested in.

j 7

Level: All

Age: All

AT THE AIRPORT
Label the picture with the words in the box.

11

PASSENGERS

BUS

RUNWAY

TANKER

DEPARTURE BUILDING

BAGGAGE LOADER

JETWAY

GROUND PERSONNEL

CONTROLTOWER

MARSHALLER

PILOT

I
0

1) .................................

5) .................................

9) ................................

2) .................................

6) .................................

10) ...............................

3) .................................

7) .................................

11) ...............................

4) .................................

8) .................................

Ky 1) rnway,2)

31) erorehaller.

departure building, 3) bus, 4) control tower, 51baggage loader. 61 tanker, 71 jetwey, 8) pilot. 9) passengers 10) ground personnel

Level: Ali

Age: All

AT THE RAILWAY STATION

Label the picture with the words in the box.

LOCOMOTIVE

LITTER BIN

STATION CLOCK

PASSENGERS

PLATFORM

ENGINE DRIVER

NEWSSTAND

TICKETOFFICE

PLATFORM SEAT

FOOTTIJNNEL

PASSENGER COACH

TRACK/RAILWAY

1) .................................

5) .................................

9) .................................

2) .................................

6) .................................

10) ...............................

3) .................................

7) .................................

11) ...............................

4) .................................

8) .................................

12) ...............................

Keys 1 platform, 21 track/railway, 3) ticket office, 4) station newsstand, 5) foot tunnel. 6) station clock, 7) locomotive, 8) passenger coach, 9) engine driver,
101 passengers, 11) platform seat, 12) litter bin

'ss
9

,4i

#9e: All

Level: All

AT THE BUS STATION

Label the picture with the words in the box.

CONVEYOR BELT

COACH

1)

PETROL PUMP
NEWSSTAND

ESCALATOR

LUGGAGE

BAGGAGE HANDLER

PLATFORM

BUS DRIVER

.................................

X43 :iII

4)

.................................

7)

.................................

:iI . .

Key::) coach, 2) be: driver, 31 escalator, 4) conveyor belt 5) luggage, 6) baggage handier, 7) petrol pump, 8) news:tond, 9) platform.
9
10

Level: All

Age: All

AT THE SEAPORT
Label the picture with the words in the box.

LIGHTHOUSE

BERTH

DOCK

WINDSURFER

CRUISE/PASSENGER SHIP

MOTOR BOAT

CONTAINER

WAREHOUSE

DIVER

ANCHOR

CARGO VESSEL

SAILING BOAT

1) .................................

5) .................................

9) ................................

2) .................................

6) .................................

10) ...............................

3) .................................

7) .................................

11) ...............................

4) .................................

8) .................................

12) ...............................

Key: 1) dock, 2) cargo vessel, 3) eroi:e/pa:sengerthip, 4) container, 5) warehouse, 6) berth, 7) 1 ighthowe, 8) tailing boat, 9) motorboat, iO) diver,
11) anchor, 12) windnar)er.

I
4

ke

'011

49e: All

Level: Ilernentary

HOW DO YOU GET TO...?

?

Rewrite these sentences using the verbs in the box. Don't forget to put them into the right tense.
take - fly - ride - sail - walk - drive

ill go to work by car.

2ligotothe club

by bus.

3) At the weekends, I go to the park by bike.

4)1 always go to the supermarket on foot.

511 go to the library by underground.

0
61 Last year I went to Italy by plane.

7) We are travelling across our country by train.

81 He'll go to the hospital by taxi.

911 door like going downtown by car. I prefer to go by bus

10) If I

had money, I would go around the world by ship.

Key::) i drive to work; 211 take the bus to the dub; 31 As the weekends, i ride my bike to she park/i bike to the perk; 41 i aiways walk to She supermarket; 5) i take
She underground to the library; SI Last year I flaw to Italy; 71 We are taking the train tone across the country; 8) He'll take a taxi to the hospital; 911 don't like
driving downtown. I prefer to rake the bus; 15) if I had money, I would sail around the world.
12

Level: Pre Intermediate

Age: All

M
A

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

A) Match the verbs with their corresponding meaning.
VERB

MEANING

1) to carry
2)

a) to move or travel controlling a vehicle's movement.

to bus

b) to travel or move in a particular way.

3) to take

C)

4) to run

dl to take things to people's houses or offices.

5) to taxi

e) to take something from one place to another.

to take people to a place by bus.

6) to hire

f) to take a means of transport after running after it.

7) to drive

g) to get in/on a means of transport.

8) to deliver

h) to pay to use something for a short period.

9) to catch

i) to move slowly on the ground (plane).

BI Write the past and the past participles of the verbs above.
VERB

PAST

PAST PARTICIPLE

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Key. A) lIel; 21 v);31 9);41 b);51 i);6) hl;7)al;8l d);9)f). BI 1) carried, voided; 21 burred, bussed; 3) took, taken; 4) tort, run; 5) taxied, taxied; 6) hired, hired;
71 drove, driven, 8) delivered, delivered; 9) caught, caught. c) the srudentsown anrwers.

94
13

tilt
1L
Level; Pre-Interniediate

Age: All

HOW DO YOU GrET TO

IN oN of f or by?

...?

Al Fill in the blanks using one of these prepositions.

1) Why don't you come

the train with me to London?

2) She loves to spend several days

3) Sam got
4) never go

the train and walked fast to the exit.

taxi. It's extremely expensive.

5) Sometimes, becomes to work

6)1 saw him

a boat with friends

his car.

a car yesterday.

7) She was very nervous. It was her first time

8) I'll get

9) We took all of our furniture

10) She came here

a plane.
11

the bus at the next stop.

a lorry.

bike.

B) Fill in the blanks with the appropriate adjective,

1) Trains are always late. They are
2) Buses are never Iate.They are very
3) Speaking on the mobile phone while driving is
4) Air transport is

_,There are very few accidents around the world.

5) it is impossible to get on a bus at peak hours. They are always

6) On Sunday mornings there are few people traveling. The underground is almost
7) TheTGV in trance isa very
8) Seats in Economy class are quite
9) However, seats in First class are very

train, It is not slow at all.

. People can't rest very well.
. You can stretch your legs and relax.

KwnA) 1) on; 2)orrs3l off; 4) by; 5) in; 6) rc7)ors8I off; 9) in; 10) by. 0)1) ur,reliablm 21 rtlitble, panstuaL3) dangerous; 4) safe 5)smwed;6)empty 7)feni,
qulclt B) uncomfortable; 91 comfy, comfortable, spacious, roomy.
14

ON THE GO
Vocabulary
1) MOUNTAINS

14) FARM

2) AEROPLANE

15) TRACTOR

3) PORT

16) RAILROAD BRIDGE

4) BEACH

17)TRAIN

5) BAY

18) PASSENGER RIVER BOAT

6) CRUISE

19) MOTORWAY

7) SHIP

20) SIDE ROAD

8) HILL

21) RING ROAD

9) OUTSKIRTS

22) COACH

10) CITY

23) LORRY

11) INDUSTRIAL AREA

24) CAR

12) FIELDS

25) BICYCLE

13) GRAIN STORAGE

26) CYCLE TRACK

bet
0

oster 2 presents the letters of the alphabet antj

pictures for children to learn the tetlers' names
and the sounds they stand for. The cards of this
poster will provide many opportunities to expose
the children to the letters in print.
Here are some activities for helping children learn the
alphabet.

and guide the children to catl out the letters.

Then they can go through the alphabet adding the words
represented in the pictures. Example: A for apple. B for book. C
for cat, etc. (Find a complete list on pholocopiable page 20.)

Have the children make the letters of their names out of

ptasticine, dough or clay, then spelt them out.
Prepare a series of cards with words they already know, for
example, dog, girl, bolt, etc. Ask the children to spell the words
or say which words begin with the letter you say.
- You: D
Children: D for dog.
They could provide words starting with D and say, D for dog,
door and day.
The rest of the class can go on adding words until you decide
to change the letter.
Cut out words from old magazines or newspapers that start
with a letter chosen for the day. The children can add more
words or drawings of things to the list.
Distribute the photocopiable activity on page 20. Have the
children cut out the cards and write the letter corresponding to
the picture.
Put these cards face down on the desk. In turns, the children
pick up a card and name the letter and the object. They could
also spell the complete word.
Spread the cards face up on the desk and ask the children 10
put them in alphabetical order. Have them say the alphabet
forwards and backwards.
Print several sets of cards and spread them on the desk. In
groups of four or five, the students pick op cards to form
words. They will stand in front of the class showing their
cards. Their mates will spelt the word and call out the name of
the object.
Put a set of cards face down on the desk. The children pick
up one card, keep it and do not show it to their mates. Then
they will say each other, I have letter... What letter do you
have? According 10 their answers they will form the alphabet,
and then raise the cards to show they have completed the task.
Ask your students to line up in alphabetical order according
10 the first letter in their names. This activity is a good
icebreaker for students to learn their mates' names.

CT g3
UO

THE
LPHBET

This game is inspired

in the letters of the
alphabet and different
categories. Sure your
students know and
have played it many
times but here goes a
reminder with its
rules.
All the students play
individually and they
will have the grid on
page 21, so make sure
you have copies for
everybody before the class! There is enough space to add the
categories you consider appropriate; even the students can list
them as they choose. Put the cards of the poster face down on
your desk. You can draw a card and show it to the students.
They will write the letter the card shows in the first column.
See example below. At the 'Go!' the timer starts and the
students have to write an answer starting with the selected
letters to each category. Assign several minutes and say 'Stop!'
when time is up. The scoring should be as follows: one point if
the answer is correct but ten points for a student who it the
only one with that answer. So, they will have to think hard to
write down a word that is not so well known. The winner is
the one with the most points at the end of all the rounds
agreed upon (ust before starting the game. As you can see, this
grid will be useful for five rounds, but you can increase the
number making extra photocopies or reduce it depending on
how much time there is for this game. You can also change the
categories for each round.
Some of the categories you may want to include are: animals,
foods, cities, countries, sports, fruits, jobs, clothes, colours,
vegetables,
tools,
u
adjectives,
actions,
drinks, boys'
girls'
names,
furniture etc
Have fiini

L)

Age: Children

Level: Beginner

THE ALPHABET
Write the letter of the alphabet and the name of the object in the spaces provided.

[]

........

.....................

.....................

.....................

..................

.....................

........

...... I ..............

-j

-j

.....................

t.

r)

............. .......

...................

............ .......

....................

.....................

.....................

.....................

--

......... I ...........

....... .............

Key; A, apple; 2) B boolc3)C, cat; 4)D,drop, 5) E elephant; 6) F, fish; 7)G, grass; 8)H, hat 9) 1, island; iO)J)oggler; ii) Kkioa;12)L lion; 13) M, mountain; 14) N,
ghr, 15) 0, orange; 16)P. pot, 17)Q quail; 18l FL river, 19)e, snake; 201T,tmne;21) U, umbrella; 22)V, violin; 23)W, worm; 24) X, xylophone; 25)Y, yoyo;261Zzebra.
20

Level: All

Age: All

LETTERORIES
Have fun playing this game! Your teacher will give you the instructions.

NO

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21

Level; Beginner

Age: Children

TUTTI FRUTTI

U,-t
It

LETTER

ANIMAL

COLOUR

OBJECT

CLOTHES

FRUIT

SCORE

A
B
C

G
H

N
0

p
R
S

U
TOTAL SCORE................

Nfv

E 10
I

l_'1

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Ioo
23

Saint Patrick is the patron saint and nation

Ireland. St. Patrick is credited with bringins
to Ireland.

Background
It is believed St. Patrick was born in the late
He is most known for driving the snakes from
was probably a symbol for having put an end
practices.
Saint Patrick's Day has come lobe associated
culture: green and gold colours, shamrocks a:
those who celebrate its intended meaning, thi
spiritual renewal and prayer.

What do people do?

Many Irish attend mass to offer prayers for mi
worldwide.
In many cities around the world, St. Patrick's
very important since the Irish spread their cut
traditions around the world. Generally, this th
with parades, music and songs, Irish food anc
activities for kids such as crafts, colouring am

Class Plan
Elementary students (9-year-olds +)
Objectives:

.10 learn about St. Patrick and Ireland.

To review the alphabet.
To learn vocabulary related to this celebration.
Activities:
The teacher will show a picture of St. Patrick and the flag of
Ireland, briefly comment on the celebration and copy key words
on the board: green, shamrocks, snakes, parades. At the end of
the talk, the teacher will erase the words.
Students will then work on the worksheet (see page 26). They
will complete the missing letters from the words, then colour St.
Patrick's picture. The teacher will later instruct them how to
colour the rest of the pictures.
They can later make a mini-spelling competition using the new
words.

241

Did you know?

Gaelic is the most commonly spoken language in
Ireland, next to Irish and English.
Titanic, the unsinkable ship, which sank in its maiden
voyage, was built in Ireland.
Ireland's oldest pub, Sean's Bar, was founded some 900
years ago.
There are more Irish people living OUTside of Ireland
than IN.

'4aTch 21st

Iraqi Spring
Da
1.

~!Tgiliiil

Spring Day or Nowruz, the traditional

Iranian New Year, is celebrated in Iraq by
the Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Region is
an autonomous region in northern Iraq
bordering Turkey (north), Syria (west), and
Iran (east).

Background
Nowruz is a traditional Zoroastrian holiday, the
first monotheistic religion established in the
world. In Iraq,
it is called Spring's Day since the celebration falls in
the spring season. In Iraqi Kurdistan region, Nowruz
is considered lobe the start or the first day of spring.

What do people do?

Important activities, such as jumping over the fire,
dancing traditional and modern music, are some of lh
fun and exciting activities seen in the street during the
holiday. The people wear their best clothes, especially the
women who wear colourful attires.

Extra reading for teachers:

--

www.krg.srg/p/p,aspx?l12&p=212
www.cpt.org/cptnet/201 3/05/56/iraql-kurdistan-spring 2013 update

Class Plan
Elementary students 18 year oils +1
Objectives:
-To learn about Spring Day in Iraq.
-To learn about typical clothes in Iraq.
'To describe people's physical appearance.
Activities:
__________
-The teacher shows the map with the flag and asks children
which country they belong to.
'The teacher briefly describes this national day.
.11w teacher presents pictures of typical costumes for this
celebration (see page 27). The teacher introduces/revises
clothing vocabulary.
-The teacher then asks students to describe their favourite
clothes among the ones provided.

Example: He/She is wearing...

Did you know?

The traditional music of Iraq is the maqam, which is a
sweet and slow rhythm based on Arabic poetry.
It is offensive to use one's left hand while eating
because it is considered to be unclean.
If someone admires an Iraqi's possession, the Iraqi will
usually insist that this person takes it.
The popular story Alibaba and the Forty Thieves was
written around 1,000 years ago in Iraq.

'(

25

GLOBAL CULTURE CORNER

March 17th, St. Patrick's Day (see page 24).
:omplete the words with the missing letters from the table.

C N E

0 D A

P C A

I I A

SH_MRO_K

S_AK_

RE AND

S INT PA RI

Y,

_AR_DE

1!

Key: 1) SHAMROCK, 2) SNAKE, 3) IRELAND, 4) SAINT PATRICK, 5) PARADE, 6) GOLD.

GLOBAL CULTURE CORNER

March

21st,

Iraqi Spring Day (see page

25).

Look at the people in the picture and describe their clothes.

Example:

eJr'

2
0

0
0

00

.0
000
000
C)
0
0

6) ........................................................................................................................

Oil
C.
omics are appealing to everyone, especially
primary school students. However, not all
English teachers have the technical ability to
t create comic strips or, if they do, the process in
time-consuming, though it is certainly worthwhile
to see the results.

In this article we will explore the possibilities that computers

offer to create comics containing texts in English. Teachers can
create their own materials suited to the specific needs and
objectives of a certain class and students will be able to
develop their reading and writing skills.

It takes just a while to learn how to use this online application,

which is ideal for English teachers to create their own comics
gallery. The overall process is very intuitive and easy to follow.
Strip generator
This interesting website is more complex and allows for higher
quality finishing details. You can access from snnipgeserator.csm
and sign up like more than 200,000 users. But it is also
possible to test the application from Create a new strip/No sign
up required.
To edit your comic there are four tabs

First, we will overview two online applications to create

comics, Pixton and Stripgenerator, and then we will focus on
two software classics such as Fotohalloon and Comic Life. With
their advantages and disadvantages, they all can be used by
both teachers and students.

Click on this tab to select the format of your

comic strip, either an individual frame or a
multiple-panel strip.
Here you will find a gallery of characters called
People/Beings, divided into eleven groups.
Use the drag and drop function to drop them
Into the panels.

1. Online applications
Pixton

In this section you will find a gallery of everyday

objects such as watches, hats orTV sets. On the
right there are tools to edit the selected object,
only In black and white.

Access the website www.pixton.com/es/my-home and sign up for

free with your email address. Then you can create your comic
in three steps:
Click on Mto see a gallery of eight different comic
formats from the so-called Sunday Funny to The Classic. We
will choose the Quickie.
Then choose a layout, in this case we have selected a threestrip sequence. From the icons on the left, you can add
characters, speech bubbles, objects or props and a background.
When you click on any of the icons, a new screen will open
showing a great variety of them. As you can see in this
example, we have picked two characters.

Click on this tab to select one out of three types

of bubbles. Doable click on the bubble to type
the text. You can choose the paragraph
distribution, the font size or attributes like bold
type or italics. Editing options are basic, but
enough.

This is how the strip will took:

Th add text in English, click on the speech bubble and a text

pointer will appear.
This is how the comic strip looks:

Image 2
_

The final step is to publish the comic strip. Remember that if

you have chosen the No sign-up required access, the strip will
be unnamed.

Image 1

Editing the scenes is very simple. In the lop left area of the
comic strip, there is a tool bar to add characters, text,
geometric shapes or landscape backgrounds. There is also a
second tool barIJIJJ.i to change the background
colour, eliminate or save your work.
28

Other similar websites:

www.artisancam.org.uk/
www.wakebeliefscomio,com/Comix/
bitstrips.conn/landing

2.

Software to create comics

Now we will see how to create comics using classic software

programs. This is a good option for students to work on their
own computers, without depending on an Internet connection
Comic Life
This program is not free though you can download a
temporary copy from corniclife.corn. You will access a blank
screen where you will not be able to make drawings or insert
pre-designed shapes. The graphic component has to be added
by the user.
First, you have to create the basic structure for the comic strip.
Drag and drop a template from the right side of the screen.
Also on the right, there are three image search options;

CPtfj
Image 3
If you click on Photos, the program will automatically search
for images that have been stored in your computer.
By clicking on Explorer you will be able to select any graphic
item saved in your computer,
And clicking on Capture you can capture images being taken
with your webcam.
Bubbles can be added by dragging and dropping them from a
gallery at the bottom of the screen.
Inserting the text is very easy because in the selected bubble
there automatically appears the text "Your words here"
showing where to type your text.
The bubble shape can be modified just by clicking on the
button ,. and selecting a new one from the available styles.
To edit the text there are four icons in the upper menu bar;

tA
-

d
A

Bigger Smaller

&

Colors Fonts

Images
Fotoballoon
This is a simple application to add text bubbles on an image
as well as a wide variety of visual effects. The final product
will not be a comic strip, but a funny card with stunning
visual effects without knowing much about photo editing.
Once you open the program, there appears a file browser to
import images from your computer. Select the image, which
will be displayed full-screen, and follow these steps;
Right-click on the image and select Edit image from the
drop-down menu.
At the top of the screen there will appear an edit tool bar to
apply any changes you might consider necessary.
Insert text bubbles by clicking on New Balloon from the
upper icon bar. The inserted text can be easily modified from
the menu. In the image below are shown the screens to add
text.

Irmge4
From left to right, these icons will enable you to enlarge or
reduce the font size, change the colour or select a different
font type.
As you see, this is a user-friendly program to create funny
cartoons, but remember that you will have to add the graphic
items.
The final result can look like this;

Imaga6

29

The strong point of this program is that, not being a photo

editing application, it offers a variety of possibilities to edit the
original image. For example, in the upper tool bar there are
two interesting functions:
Image: provides a wide range of graphic editing actions such
as darkening up the image, rotating it or changing its size.
Filters: enables the user to soften borders or adjust colours,
among other actions.
In the image below we have applied our image the effects
show and watercolour.

1H

Box

i:

Screen capturer

In order to avoid signing up, you can use a screen capturer, which
takes a picture of the screen or part of it and enables you to
convert the captured image into a graphic format to be saved or
printed.
Of all the available screen captarers we recommend you to use
Screenhuster, which can be downloaded for free from:
wwww:sdornsoft comlproducts/screeohunter.htrn.
This is how the basic screen looks:

,,...._

!
ay
'p
pi F BBirthcl ay toy
Image 7

This program can be downloaded from the webpage

www.foroballoon.comleae/fbp_us.exe, and it is ideal to be used
by inexperienced students.

From this screen you can choose the basic innings such as the key
combinations to activate the program, the features of the
captured area or the resulting graphic file format. This program is
very simple and user-friendly.

SPECIAL

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CELP Victoria
ltanstared by Martetu Starr

8mi1
MAGAZINE * CD AND 10 songs
To PLAY, SING AND LEARN

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Enjoy your favourite magazine

and take it anywhere in your tablet

In only three easy steps:

Enter the App store! Play Store.

Type The Teacher's Magazine

in your browser.

Download it into
your Newsstand.