MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Headphone Octopus: Tell It Without Words
Make a wordless comic strip featuring an octopus with tangled headphones. The character wants to listen to a song, but the cord tangles around several arms. One possible ending: it rests the headphones on a stand and untangles one loop at a time. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
Character reference shared across ten skill lessons—not a picture of the completed assignment. Study the example for possibilities, then close or cover it. Your work should make different choices.
Story starter and example
The character wants to listen to a song, but the cord tangles around several arms. One possible ending: it rests the headphones on a stand and untangles one loop at a time. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer. Panel 1 establishes the goal; panel 2 makes the obstacle visible; panel 3 reveals the solution. Older students add a reaction or a pause panel.
What to do
- Your finished project is a wordless comic strip featuring an octopus with tangled headphones. Read the story seed: The character wants to listen to a song, but the cord tangles around several arms. One possible ending: it rests the headphones on a stand and untangles one loop at a time. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
- Start with round head and curved arms around a simple headphone band. These are helpful shapes, not a tracing template.
- Divide the page into a clear beginning, problem, and solution sequence.
- Sketch the action lightly in reading order. Repeat the character’s identifying features in every panel.
- Show the important change with poses, object placement, and reaction. Omit speech, captions, and sound-effect words.
- Give the strip to a partner without introducing the story. Note the first confusing panel and revise it. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.
My project: a wordless comic strip featuring an octopus with tangled headphones. My chosen ending is…
BEGINNING sketch… PROBLEM sketch… SOLUTION sketch…
What changes between each panel?
Partner retelling… Unclear panel… Revision…
Story clue: How will I show that the character the cord tangles around several arms?
Before feedback, I wanted the reader to notice… The reader actually noticed…
Revision: I changed… because…
Use browser Print / Save as PDF