Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes

"[Calvin] is a combination of a six year old boy and wise old sage. His imagination takes him to places in another dimension. Enter Hobbes. Hobbes is the consummate best friend, albeit imaginary. Hobbes is a stuffed tiger to everyone but Calvin. To Calvin, Hobbes is an entity. The relationship between Calvin and Hobbes is a perfect fit. Hobbes is the active listener, the clarifier, and in some ways, Calvin's conscience. Together, they ponder the universe, the meaning of life, the reasons for bullies, and whether or not there are monsters under the bed."

"One boy said, "Calvin makes me see that I can laugh at the stuff that other people always nag me about!""

"We found that not only did our students stay interested, the learning that occurred was permanent. Our students were able to carry over and apply the concepts they learned from Calvin and Hobbes to their world."

"Subtle humor requires higher level language skills."

"Calvin and Hobbes comics contain examples of many different types of humor. Some comic strips may be funny to you but not to your friend. The strips that make you laugh may not even crack a smile from someone else. Many times, we get frustrated and say, "Don't you get it?!" Remember, different people have varying ideas of what is beautiful, ugly, boring, exciting, or interesting."