Visual and Media Literacy

Aaron Parker

Graphic Novels in the Classroom

Gene Yang

This article is one of the first ever articles to be presented in graphic novel format. The purpose
of this article is to promote the use of graphic novels in a classroom setting. The author starts by
explaining exactly what a graphic novel is and what it is not to be confused with. The author
states that he first used graphic novels as substitute lessons when he had to be absent. He is an
Algebra teacher so he wasnt sure how well it would work. Upon returning, after several times
of being absent, his students begin coming up to him asking him for more graphic novels
because it helped them learn and make better sense of the content to be learned. He goes on to
state that the best thing about graphic novels is that they are permanent. What he means by this
is that no matter how fast or slow something is meant to be taken, the reader can take it as fast
or slow as they wish. They can also easily look back at something they may not have
understood because they print doesnt change, unlike videos.
The author states that when he created the Algebra lectures as comics, it was like giving (his)
students a remote control. They could rewind or fast-forward the lectures whenever they
wanted. The author also references a website to visit where he discusses surveys taken about
the use of comics in a classroom setting. He states that back in 1944, 74% of teachers stated
that comics were helpful with motivation and 79% of teachers stated that comics increased
individual participation. This same study went on to state that comics' visual quality
increases learning. Similar statistics were found in a student in 1973 and then again in 2002.
There were several things I liked about this article. The thing I liked most about the article was
that it was presented in graphic novel format; that really set the tone for success for this article. It
being presented in graphic novel format made me want to read and reread. There was also a lot
of information presented in very little words, which is loved by kids. They dont want to have to
read a ton of pages to get a message. The last thing I found extremely intriguing was the point
the author made about visual permanence. Its something that makes perfect sense but something
Ive never thought about. With movies, you have audio and visuals, with graphic novels you
have written words (never go away) and visuals (that never go away). If a student is struggling
with understanding something, all the student needs to do is slow down or go back and take
another look at it. Its honestly BRILLIANT! The website reference that was filled with data
(www.geneyang.com/comicsedu) has numbers that are astonishing to me and makes me want to
give it a shot! The range of the studies referenced were from 1944 to 2002 and all the numbers
were very similar. If they outlook on comics (graphic novels) havent changed much from 1944
to 2002, what would make them change now? I feel like with the amount of access students
have to the internet now days, those numbers would only increase, right?
Yang, G. (2008). Graphic Novels in the Classroom. ProQuest Education Journals, 85(3), 185189.

Visual and Media Literacy

Aaron Parker

Graphic Novels in the Classroom

Adam Martin

The author of this article begins the article by referencing Beowulf, a classic that many people
love but hate to read because of its archaic and complex text. He goes on to say that so many
people complain about this type of literature in the same way, all across the country; Why
doesnt the author just say what he means? Why does it sound so funny? The author then goes
on to discuss how many authors now days, adapt these older and classic forms of literature into
new, current, and more user friendly pieces of literature. He then goes on to state that the
easiest way to do this is through the use of graphic novels. He states three ways graphic novels
can be beneficial to use in any classroom setting. The first is that it can be used to help
struggling readers access information through the use of context clues like other sources of
literature simply cannot do. Another is that it can help students make thematic connections to
literature which is often one of the hardest things for students, especially English Language
Learners. The last thing is that graphic novels can be used to research many different things in
education from current events in Social Studies to social dilemmas students may experience in
their everyday lives. The author also discusses how simple it is to reach a large variety of
learners through the use of graphic novels. He also states that since the learners of today are
different, they type of mediums they are using to learn about different concepts should be
different as well. He wraps up the article by stating that graphic novels are an easy way to fulfil
student needs of visual stimulation since they live in a constantly changing, media frenzy
world. The author states that he feels like the use of graphic novels can ease student frustration
and encourage them to accessdifficult works.
The only data I found in this article was that the percentage of graphic novels currently in
circulation is usually much more than other curricular works and that in 1940 classic novels were
adapted into comic books to peak the interest of young readers and the results were astonishing.
Although there was very little data present in this article, it was quite remarkable! His discussion
of our students living in a constantly changing media frenzy is spot on and quite honestly, a
difficult truth for many veteran teachers to come to terms with. Upon reading this article, I never
really thought about how students like to read comics; I actually create a comic on pixton to help
introduce a concept in my class after reading this article and I had five or six more students
participate in a whole group discussion because of it! I did like how a good portion of this article
discussed what teachers and librarians could do to help spread the word about graphic novels and
to help promote the use of them in the classroom setting

Martin, A. (2009). Graphic Novels in the Classroom. Library Media Connection, 30-31.

Visual and Media Literacy

Aaron Parker

The Implementation of Common Core: Graphic Novels in the Classroom

Chesnie Keeler

This article discusses the various ways graphic novels can be implemented into all Common
Core based classrooms. The author begins by defending, as well as, promoting graphic novels
and their complexity, which is demanded by the implementation of the Common Core
curriculum in the area of English Language Arts. She picks three popular titles in the world of
graphic novels to use as examples all throughout the article; Maus, Persepolis, and Bleach. She
discusses the way each graphic novel is complex in context but simple enough to understand
such a complex concept. The author also argues that Bleach is a graphic novel that contains
endless opportunities to make inferences on many different worldly issue, both common to all
and only common to females. She also discusses the importance of males reading such a novel
so they may understand and be able to infer such scenarios in their lives. The author also argues
the point for Persepolis in the fact that it teaches those unaware of religious and educational
freedoms (kids on our country) that education and religion should be valued more than it is
currently; this is a concept that many students would not understand unless reading something
like a graphic novel. The author continues the article with the discussion of the Maus graphic
novels. She states these novels are a perfect fit for any level US History class, but especially a
high school level course. The author states that the use of personification throughout the novel
allows the readers minds to relax while still reading about an event as violet as the Holocaust.
It also gives multiple perspectives of the Holocaust through the use of both written word and
visuals.
No Research was present.
Im going to have to be honest, this was the last article I found and chose to read it even though it
was long. It was very long but extremely intriguing. The more I read, the more I wanted to keep
reading. It was not until I found myself at the very bottom of the rabbit hole (and out of time for
this assignment) that I realized there was absolutely no quantitative research located in this
article. But I chose to review it because I didnt have enough time once I finished reading to find
another article, read it, and review it. So here goes nothing.
This article was full of many helpful ways to implement graphic novels into your curriculum but
what I found most intriguing about this article was the defense and breakdown of each graphic
novel. Although these novels are much longer and more detailed than a comic strip, they still
attract readers who may not usually read a novel because they have the visual factor on each
pages. What I appreciated most about this article what that did not demean, in any way, other
types of literature (which the other articles did), it simply stated why graphic novels were an
effective type of literature of all types of classrooms and all types of learners.

Keeler, Chesnie R., "The Implementation of Common Core: Graphic Novels in the Classroom
(2015). Honors Theses. Paper 305.