Comic Prototype – The importance of exercise

Learning Challenge 

So many youth today are simply just not getting enough exercise, and it shows. They simply don’t see the value in it and in this comic I aim to demonstrate its importance.

Context and Audience 

This comic is meant to be a guide for students of all ages but particularly targets those in high school, as they are the ones getting the least amount of exercise. Students in high school are spending more and more time on technology, while spending less time getting exercise. It is affecting their overall health in a negative way, which is why I aim to show how by making adjustments to how much exercise they are getting they will see improvements in other areas such as sleep quality, school performance and their overall energy levels. 

Point of View Statement 

Students need to understand how increasing their amount of exercise will lead to improvements in their overall sleep quality, their performance in school and their overall energy levels.

Learning Objectives 

The primary learning objectives of this project are that students will be able to recognize the changes needed to be made in their lives to get more exercise and why that is important. They will also recognize how not only are they healthier and getting more exercise, but they’ll find themselves feeling mentally sharper as well as getting better quality sleep. They will become much better at seeing how their decisions around getting adequate exercise are impacting them in other areas and begin to see the value in that. The goal is that students will be able to begin applying some of what they have learned to their own routines.

Ideation Process 

I first started by trying to put myself in the shoes of the learner, by thinking of the patterns I’ve seen in teenagers I’ve worked with as an EA at high schools. One thing that really stood out to me in this process is that at that particular age group, they are very social and care a lot about their friends. They want to fit in and because most teenagers engage in social media, videogames and lots of screen time, that is what most kids choose to do. So I thought, what if I could demonstrate a kid that fits this status quo and is struggling. They aren’t exercising, they’re tired, they have no energy and school just isn’t going their way. But they got this really cool friend that is the total opposite and exercises a lot while still fitting in. This would demonstrate how kids can exercise while still being able to fit in with their friends because that is important to them.

Script 

Panel 1 

Image – Jake is sitting in class, next to him is Paul who is sleeping.

Narration – Meet Jake and Paul, they are best friends but couldn’t be more different. Jake loves exercise, Paul DOES NOT 

Jake – *whispers* “Psss Paul…. your sleeping again, you can’t afford enough detention or you might fail this class” 

Panel 2 

Image – Paul looks startled and begins to speak to Jake 

Narration – This is pretty typical, Paul is always falling asleep in class but Jake often saves him from getting detention. Maybe not this time though…. 

Paul – “Did I fall asleep again? I don’t understand why I’m always so tired, I wish I had more energy like you did.” 

Panel 3 

Image – The teacher at the front of the room noticed some chatter from the back of the room and begins to address the Students 

Narration – Busted! Looks like Jake couldn’t bail Paul out this time…. And it might just be the last time. 

Teacher – “Paul, I have had it. You are constantly falling asleep in my class and I have had just about enough of it. As for you Jake, you don’t need to keep sticking your nose out for him. My office, at the end of the day for both of you.” 

Panel 4 

Image – Jake and Paul look at each other, with Paul looking surprised and Jake looking infuriated

Narration – You can only guess how frustrated Jake must feel, I think it’s time he had a talk with Paul. 

Jake – “It’s bad enough I have to constantly stick my neck out for you, now we both have detention? I think it’s time we had a chat after class, meet me at the track.” 

Paul – “ok” 

Panel 5 

Image – Paul approaches Jake at the track. Jake is eagerly waiting for him there. 

Narration – The track? Paul hates the track! Why is he even here? 

Paul – “Why are we meeting at the track? You know I hate running”

Jake – “Exactly. You’re about to hate it even more. Let’s get started.” 

Panel 6 

Image – They both begin to run, Jake just cruises along while within a couple hundred meters Paul looks completely gassed. 

Narration – Now this is just pure torture, why would Jake make Paul do this? Let’s find out. 

Paul – “Why am I…..” *gasps for breath* “Doing this?” 

Jake – “Ok you can stop, i’ll tell you when you catch your breath” 

Panel 7 

Image – Paul collapsed on the side of the track, still panting heavy. 

Narration – Is this the end? It sure looks like it is for Paul 

Jake – “You see how you’re completely out of breath and I’m standing here as if I’ve barely done anything? You should be too.” 

Paul – “What?…. How?” 

Panel 8 

Image – Paul sits up, while Jake continues to stand there looking completely fine 

Narration – How can this be? They just ran…. Well actually not that far, maybe Jake has a point. 

Paul – “Ok maybe you’re right, that is pretty bad. But running is like the worst, why would I want to do that? Besides you know, not wanting to die” 

Jake – “You know how you’re always falling asleep in class? Maybe if you got more exercise that wouldn’t happen” 

Panel 9 

Image – Paul is standing now, but he looks very confused by what Jake just said. 

Narration – If I exercise more, I’ll be…. Less tired? Ok come on Jake now that’s just silly. 

Paul – “If I ran like this everyday I’d never be able to stay awake in class!”

Jake – “But you don’t see me sleeping in class do you? And I run all the time” 

Panel 10 

Image – Paul looks at Jake in a way that would suggest it is all starting to make sense  

Narration – Ok that makes sense when he puts it that way, but I’m not quite sure I fully understand this yet. 

Paul – “Yeah that’s true, you’re always awake and alert. You also do really well in class, yet you’re constantly exercising while still having lots of time to hang with me. I’ve never quite understood, how do you do all that? I’d be exhausted.”

Jake – “You see, I started small. By making small little changes in my life over time the differences became noticeable. So don’t go out and try to run a mile tomorrow, start small.”

Panel 11 

Image – There is a noticeable shift in Paul’s body language as he tries to process this. 

Narration – Ok now we are getting somewhere, I think this is starting to make sense to Paul. 

Paul – “Yeah everytime I try to make changes I think I maybe just go a little too all in and burn myself out. How do I prevent that? Also, why does it even matter so much?” 

Jake – “Think of it this way, if you don’t start making these little changes now they’ll just continue to snowball. You won’t just be getting detention, you’ll be getting fired from a job” 

Panel 12 

Image – Paul looks a little surprised by that last statement, curious to know more. 

Narration – Now reality sets in, if Paul doesn’t begin to make these changes to exercise more detention will be the least of his worries. 

Paul – “Ok I get it now. I can see how if I get more exercise what an impact it can make, because look at you. Show me, please! I’ll do whatever it takes.” 

Jake – “If you’re in, you are in there is no backing out. I want you to meet me here everyday after school. But not just so I can run you into the ground, we’ll just walk and talk. The rest will come with time. deal? “ 

Paul – “deal” 

Panel 13 

Image – Jake and Paul meet on the track once again, but it looks different now. 

Narration – Several weeks have passed and they have continued to meet in this same spot everyday, but Paul has changed. 

Jake – “I’ve got to say Paul, I’m really proud of these last few weeks. How do you feel?” 

Paul – “How do I feel? More human, more alive? Just by coming out here to walk and talk, it’s made such a difference” 

Panel 14 

Image – Both are smiling and laughing 

Narration – In just a few weeks, Paul has gone from being tired and unmotivated to smiling and laughing, that itself is a big shift from the Paul we first met. 

Jake – “All it took was a little bit of work and small changes, but the results are huge. How are you sleeping?  

Paul – “I’m sleeping fantastic and if nothing else I’m actually sleeping on a regular sleep schedule. Everything is just so much better now.” 

Panel 15 

Image – Paul’s engagement in the conversation is glaringly obvious compared to before. 

Narration – Clearly Paul is beginning to feel better about himself and open up more, he’s made big progress. 

Jake – “That is just so great to hear and in all honesty that was all you. I may have given you the little nudge that you needed but you now see why exercise is so important for you. 

Paul –  “ Definitely! I’m also glad I won’t be stuck in detention again anytime soon!” 

Panel 16 

Image – Both Jake and Paul continue to engage in the conversation and laugh at Paul’s last comment 

Narration – Jake must feel really happy to see his friend feeling so much better and Paul must just be feeling thrilled with himself! 

Jake – “I hope we continue to do this and you make small changes as we go so that yes, we can BOTH stay out of detention!” 

Paul – “Yes I look forward to continuing to make these changes and I’ll see you tomorrow after-school in this same spot! 

Principle 

The Coherence Principle is applied by using visuals that relate to the dialogue and keeping that dialogue relatively short as well as to the point so as to not take away from the main message. The Contiguity Principle is applied by having the text and images in each panel in a way that they are able to be processed together. The Segmenting Principle is applied by breaking this comic down into 16 panels that follow a progressive pattern that ensures ideas are processed one at a time so as to not make it overwhelming. The Modality Principle is used by combining the text, the narration and the images using multiple ways of processing which encourages a much deeper level of learning.