Determine what issues you want your students to explore in their graphic novel assignment. If it’s a sociology class, perhaps the students will be learning about the effects of aging or poverty.
Design the parameters of the assignment. For example, if the topic that the students are going to be exploring is aging, give them aging-related issues such as heart disease, loss of memory or loss of independence. This forces students to really think about these issues and integrate them into the story.
Ask the students to read several graphic novels to look at how the story is conveyed through both pictures and words. Give them tools that will teach them to read literature with a critical eye when you assign this reading assignment.
Insist that the students put themselves into the story. This will make the story more personal and offers students insight into how they would deal with the issues in their future work.
Make it an assignment requirement that students draw the images themselves. It not only negates the dangers of plagiarism, but brings them into the assignment in a more personal way. However, do not emphasize the technical aspects of drawing as much as what the drawing conveys; encourage students to develop the strengths of their drawing style.
Develop an action plan for the students' work. In the normal creation of a graphic novel, there is a process involved. It starts with researching and writing the script, breaking down the story into its possible visual elements, and then drawing the strip.
Assign the graphic novel assignment. Explain to the students how to use each of the supplies (paper, pencils, colored pencils and markers).
Allow students time to look at and constructively critique the work of other students when the assignment is finished. They must be able to defend their positions. To help make the critiques more constructive, provide them with rubrics such as: "How do the drawing and script convey the assignment?" "Are the goals accomplished in the assignment?" "What are ways to improve the assignment (aside from asking students to improve their drawing skills)?"