Manga classics are “intended for a young adult audience” and are great “[f]or educators who are looking for ideas using Manga … for teaching purpose[s]” (MangaClassics.com)

And it’s true. The Manga Classics collection feature a range of classic texts from Dracula to Jane Eyre to Les Miserables. Personally, I never connected with Edgar Allan Poe until reading the Manga Classics version. Now The Mask of the Red Death is one of my favourite short stories.

What is Manga Classics Learning?

Manga Classics Learning is an online classroom experience that has been created in partnership with educators (including me!) to bring a remote learning experience to all.

Manga Classics Learning offers free access to an entire graphic Manga Classics text, while also including high quality classroom-tested assignments, quizzes, projects, tests, and evaluations.

Romeo and Juliet

Course Components

The course is broken down into five acts, and then subdivided by scene. The features of the course include:

• Each act features a pre-reading foundational assignment
• Each scene is paired with a rich scene-specific discussion question
• Each act is paired with a self-marking multiple-choice content quiz
• Each act features a rich thematic discussion question
• Each act culminates with a unique assignment complete with lesson plans, handouts, and rubric

The course also features final-text culminating activities that include:

• A scaffolded final essay assignment
• A project-based culminating task
• A skills-based test
  
  

Enrolling in the Course

Enrolling is as easy as already having a Google Account or creating a new Manga Classics Learning Account.

Teachers and students alike can both gain free access to the fully developed remote learning experience built around Romeo and Juliet with additional texts scheduled to follow.

Inside the Course

Once you have logged in, you will find yourself taken to the main page. From there, you can start from the beginning of the text – reading the full Shakespearean text in manga format, or jump from act to act or scene to scene.

Your course progress will be saved through the interactive course checklists.

And remember, always remind your students to answer the written responses in a separate document, or to print them out when they are done.

The Manga Classics Teacher’s Guides

For those looking to use Manga Classics in their classroom, and who want more unique opportunities than those presenting in the online course, you may find yourself delighted by the FREE Manga Classics Teaching Guides which are available for their Shakespearean texts.

The Teacher’s Guides include all the materials from the online course, alongside two additional act-specific assignments and lesson plans, suggested timelines, educator information, and more!

The Teacher’s Guides also include text-specific media packages allow students to use art from the texts in their own unique creations!

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Learning with Manga Classics

This course has been developed with the remote student in mind but is perfect for classroom use by all, and also functions as a strong starting out point for teachers looking at how to best integrate Shakespeare within their classrooms.

Full Disclosure

As a teacher I believe in using Manga Classics in my classroom because I have seen the power of graphic novels. Having visuals that students can look to to help with their decoding is incredibly powerful, and all the more so with Shakespeare.

I believe in the lessons, projects, and assignments put forward in both the digital classroom and the teacher’s guide because I created them, and have successfully used them in my classroom.

I am honestly amazed that I was able to help Manga Classics bring their entire full text online for free to help educators during this period of remote learning.

Ontario-specific rubrics for all assignments can be found in the Ontario Teacher’s Guides.

I hope you enjoy these courses, and teachers guides. As always, I do my best to bring free resources to educators around the world. I know how much help I needed when I was starting out, and I know how much help I still need today. Hopefully some of you are aided by our work here.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you can help make Manga Classics a part of your classroom experience.