{"id":43,"date":"2011-08-30T22:35:37","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T05:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/?p=43"},"modified":"2011-09-05T20:57:07","modified_gmt":"2011-09-06T03:57:07","slug":"graphic-novels-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"Graphic Novels in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have been reading graphic novels for a while.\u00c2\u00a0 I believe my first experience with this genre was with Classics Illustrated<\/em>, which was also my first introduction to Alice in Wonderland<\/em> and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 In university, the Great Expectations<\/em> graphic novel saved me when I slightly misjudged the time I had to read the actual novel before a group discussion in my English class.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, I pick up Scott Pilgrim <\/em><\/a> to read in the same way others might pick up a Nora Roberts novel.\u00c2\u00a0 I know that some teachers are reluctant to introduce graphic novels in the classroom, as they are not often considered \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true\u00e2\u20ac\u009d novels.\u00c2\u00a0 However, from my own experiences, there are some advantages to encouraging graphic novels in the classroom:<\/p>\n

1.) Graphic novels provide motivation for reading.\u00c2\u00a0 They are often published as a series, so when students find a story that interests them they have different plots to explore.\u00c2\u00a0 They are also accessible to many students.\u00c2\u00a0 Struggling readers, unmotivated readers, and avid readers alike will find them a quicker read filled with plot and action.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, a lot of graphic novels deal with themes and genres that are popular to younger readers, including fantasy, science fiction, and realistic fiction.<\/p>\n

2.) Graphic novels teach plot, character, and connections.\u00c2\u00a0 As any teacher who has marked student created comic strips can attest, it can be really hard to take a story and turn it into a book where words and pictures take equal space in the story.\u00c2\u00a0 Graphic novels teach students that the pictures tell the story just as much as the plot, and that the pictures can be clues for the meanings and themes in the novel.\u00c2\u00a0 The reactions of the characters, or the pictures that show actions without dialogue, help students make inferences and predictions based on a limited amount of information.\u00c2\u00a0 Students can make connections and use the pictures to gain a better understanding of the text.<\/p>\n

3.) Graphic novels place a struggling reader on an equal footing with his or her classmates.\u00c2\u00a0 I will never forget the day an ESL student corrected me on a detail when I was teaching Greek myths.\u00c2\u00a0 Her source?\u00c2\u00a0 She had read a graphic novel, and she was so proud that she could participate in the class discussion.\u00c2\u00a0 Graphic novels give struggling readers an opportunity to read a book or a series that is popular with the rest of the class.\u00c2\u00a0 It allows them to be part of a group discussion or debate because they have an easier access point to the information.<\/p>\n

Articles that talk more about using graphic novels in the classroom can be read at The Book Whisperer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website<\/a> and at the American Libraries Magazine website<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 As well, if you know of any good graphic novels for adolescent readers, please let me know.<\/p>\n

My book a day challenge is almost complete:<\/p>\n

August 11th<\/strong>: Inkspell<\/em>, by Cornelia Funke<\/p>\n

August 12th – 19th<\/strong>: A Pooh and Piglet Book Series, #1-8<\/em>, by A.A. Milne<\/p>\n

August 20th<\/strong>: Winnie-the-Pooh on Success<\/em>, by Roger E. Allen and Stephen D. Allen<\/p>\n

August 21st<\/strong>: George\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Marvellous Medicine<\/em>, by Roald Dahl<\/p>\n

August 22nd<\/strong>: The Magic Finger<\/em>, by Roald Dahl<\/p>\n

August 23rd<\/strong>: The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me<\/em>, by Roald Dahl<\/p>\n

August 24th<\/strong>: The Dragonslayer (Bone, #4)<\/em>, by Jeff Smith<\/p>\n

August 25th<\/strong>: The Secret Life of Bees<\/em>, by Sue Monk Kidd<\/p>\n

August 26th<\/strong>: Naomi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Road<\/em>, by Joy Kogawa<\/p>\n

August 27th<\/strong>: The Myth of Ability<\/em>, by John Meighton<\/p>\n

August 28th<\/strong>: Horrible Histories: The Awesome Egyptians<\/em>, by Terry Deary and Peter Hepplewhite<\/p>\n

August 29th<\/strong>: Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to You, Rachel Robinson<\/em>, by Judy Blume<\/p>\n

August 30th<\/strong>: Days of Toil and Tears: The Child Labour Diary of Flora Rutherford<\/em>, by Sarah Ellis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been reading graphic novels for a while.\u00c2\u00a0 I believe my first experience with this genre was with Classics Illustrated, which was also my first introduction to Alice in Wonderland and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.\u00c2\u00a0 In university, the Great Expectations graphic novel saved me when I slightly misjudged the time I had to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-reading"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yfMi-H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.somethingworthreading.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}