Teen Activity- Speech and Thought Bubbles (Writer's Workshop)

by Deborah Pace Rowley

The first day of Writer’s Workshop we created Comic Books. As an attention-getting activity, I set out a pile of speech and thought bubbles with markers and turned the kids loose in my house. Their job was to add speech and thought bubbles to all the paintings and pictures they could find. I gave them a wad of sticky tack to stick the bubbles in place but I think some tape would work just as well. 

Soon all the photographs and paintings and murals were filled with funny one-liners and the kids were so excited to drag me around the house to share what they had written. When you try this activity at your house, it doesn’t need to be done all at once. It can be an activity that evolves over time. Set out some speech and thought bubbles on the kitchen counter. Do the first speech bubble yourself, then see how your kids add to the dialogue a little bit at a time. Pictures will soon be talking back and forth to each other, making funny comments and observations about life in your home. If you have portraits of wizards or knights or fat ladies hanging around, it might even start to feel like Hogwarts! 

Print out your speech and thought bubbles HERE