Re-Post -- Star Wars: The Clone Wars for iPhone and iPod Touch

Here's a re-post of a blog entry I wrote last school year.  We're moving on from a Fantasy literature genre study to Sci-Fi, and I'll be using some of these resources again.  Enjoy!

Well, the Comic-Con International announcements keep poppin' up, and happily, more good news for teachers of comics. Comic Book Resources posted an interview with Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars editor in which it was revealed that an issue of Star Wars: The Clone Wars entitled "Shipyards of Doom" will be available soon for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check out the preview here. Great news for me especially, as I've got 15 iPod Touches coming into my classroom this year.

The traditional print version of "Shipyards of Doom" (available now) is a 96-page story that features characters from the popular Cartoon Network television series. No word yet on a release date or price.

I've used the television series in class as part of a science fiction unit. The series' website offers awesome episode guides, which is a great help if you're looking for which episode to show in your classroom. Also, there are webcomics available for each episode that add another dimension of characters' experience to each story. I went with "Ambush", the very first episode of the series, so that my students didn't have to wade through any backstory.

Prior to viewing this episode, though, my students looked at these two articles about the science behind the Star Wars films and television show. In this way, they got to take a look at the genre characteristics of science fiction, which led to discussions of the advances of technology.