Going Graphic

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Going Graphic

• MAUS

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Going Graphic Why?

• Profile the library as the schools literacy
  centre and teacher-librarians as literacy
  leaders
• Profile teacher-librarians as curriculum
  partners

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Going Graphic Why?

• an opportunity to become part of the At Risk /
  Success for All initiative
• an opportunity to bring engaging literature into
  the school library
• an opportunity to bring reluctant and disengaged
  readers into the school library
• an opportunity to engage all areas of the
  curriculum in a visual and unique way

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Going Graphic Why?

• Broadens the variety of reading materials
• Supports
• Literacy Models
• D.E.A.R. and U.S.S.R.
• OSSLC
• E.S.L. support classes
• Self-contained classrooms
• Essential English courses
• Workplace English courses

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Going Graphic Why?

• Graphic novels appeal to
• Reluctant readers
• Struggling readers
• Gifted students
• Visual Art students
• Teachers in all subject areas (research)
• Teacher-librarians (research and inquiry)

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Going Graphic What?

• A story told through both pictures and words
• Is a format, not a genre

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Going Graphic What?

• Encompasses several genres mystery, adventure,
  historical fiction
• Is fiction or non-fiction

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Going Graphic What?

• Is longer than a comic book 50-300 pages
• Tells one story or short related stories
• Has complex artwork and text

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Going Graphic What?

• Accommodates various learning styles due to its
  interdependence between the words and the art
• Spans international and cultural boundaries

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Going Graphic What?

• Often original work, but sometimes adapted from
  pre-existing text
• A form that is gaining in popularity world wide
• Last year, over 100 million dollars worth of
  graphic novels were sold
• A hot market for teen reading that continues to
  gain audiences of all ages

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Going Graphic How?

• Grassroots Initiative
• Formed a regional committee
• Learned
• Previewed carefully
• Got money commitment

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Going Graphic How?

• Communicated with school administrators
• Communicated with parents
• Communicated with students

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Going Graphic HowGetting TLs on Board

• Shared views about and experiences with graphic
  novels
• Shared basic understandings, beliefs, and merits
  of graphic novels
• Discussed aims of including graphic novels in a
  librarys and the classrooms collections

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Getting TLs on board

• Created/shared strategies to introduce graphic
  novels to students, teachers, administrators, and
  School Councils

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Getting TLs on board

• Common decisions made
• to integrate into Dewey and affix special labels
  to novels spines
• to keep separate until students are familiar with
  the format
• Invited distributors to district resource sale
• Created web pages and write newsletters to
  heighten communitys awareness of graphic novels

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Getting TLs on Board

• Shared ideas for using Graphic Novels in the
  library and in the classroom
• Use as an advanced storyboard to students
• Use graphic novels to promote student
  participation in reading clubs and literature
  circles
• Create online template for peer/student reviews
• Organize regional/school-based book talks
• Use as a writing stimulusinsert your own text,
  write your own ending, etc.

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Going Graphic in School

• Whats it all about?
• educators and librarians believed that reading
  comic books hindered the development of reading
  and language skills and made it difficult for
  children to recognize better literature
• Amy Kiste Nyberg
• Poisoning Childrens Culture Comics and their
  Critics (2002)

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and yet

• "Graphic novels are as disparate from
• books as is a play or a movie. It's a
  different experience entirely. Pictures carry
  another kind of information than words. What is
  most exciting is that a picture language and a
  word language can interweave, which can't be done
  by either one alone."
  Will Eisner

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Increase the staffs understanding of the
graphic novels history

• Graphic storytelling has been in use for many
  years
• as a way of communicating thoughts and ideas
• cave paintings, ancient Egyptian
  hieroglyphics
• Benjamin Franklin printed Poor Richards Almanac
  (1732) as a graphic way to further the cause of
  the American Revolution
• The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck (1842) by
  Rodolphe Toffler was the first major graphic
  novel published
• The Yellow Kid (1895) by Richard Outcault was the
  first successfully merchandised comic strip
  character

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• Pulp novels were popular after WW1
• they featured adventure stories aimed at male
  readers
• they included topics like war, westerns, and
  science-fiction

• Herge created Tintin (1930)
• Goscinny and Uderzo created Asterix the Gaul
  (1961)
• Peyo introduced The Smurfs
• Marvel Comics produced the first mass-produced
  graphic
• novel, The Silver Surfer (1978)
• DC Comics published The Watchman (1985)
• www.brodart.com

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Share Current Opinions

• Some graphic novelists and illustrators have
  stated that graphic novels
• Have more variety from page to page (Linda
  Bailey, writer)
• Are full of humour and excitement yet solidly
  grounded in well-researched information (Bill
  Slavin, illustrator)
• Allow the story to flow without interruption and
  kids can choose to read the two components
  separately if they like
• (Val Wyatt, writer)

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Link Graphic Novels to Success for All

• 50 million dollars in support
• (March 2003)
• Each district board should have a literacy team
  for Grades 7-12
• The literacy team should help to develop goals,
  strategies, and measures to implement
  cross-curricular literacy to improve the
  achievement of all students,with a focus on the
  needs of at-risk students

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Explain Why Graphic Novels are Appealing to Kids

• Material is very contemporary
• Illustrations are similar to computer
• games, digital cartoons and modern
• comics
• Content and graphics are often
• edgy and not mainstream

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Identify Target Student Groups

• At risk students
• Struggling readers
• Reluctant readers
• Disenfranchised readers
• Gifted students
• Avid readers
• Graphic novel writers

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Link Graphic Novels to the Scaffolding of
Literacy Skills

• Illustrations provide context clues facial
  expressions, body language, symbols
• Vocabulary is supported within the
• illustrations and text
• The artistic framework lends itself
• to predicting strategies needed to
• reach higher-level understanding in reading
  comprehension

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Link Graphic Novels to Comprehension and Thinking
Skills

• Reading graphic novels helps student
• make meaning of text by
• visualizing
• inferring
• predicting
• connecting
• responding

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• English/LA
• Visual Arts
• Science
• History
• Geography
• Current Events
• World Issues
• Cultural Studies
• Media

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Explain Why Graphic Novels Appeal to English/LA
Teachers

• Contain character development
• Often have strong thematic value
• Span all cultures and have international
• appeal
• Can act as a supplement to more
• traditional works

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Explain Why Graphic Novels Appeal to English/LA
Teachers
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Explain Why Graphic Novels Appeal to English/LA
Teachers

• Engaging Graphics
• Compelling Contemporary Context
• Literary Techniques Elizabethan Language
  unobtrusively inserted into graphic novel
• (Linda Rodgers, GDHS)

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Explain Why Graphic Novels Appeal to English/LA
Teachers

• Mythology
• Archetype / Superheroes

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Visual Arts

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Science

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Science

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Science

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• History

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Current Events World Issues

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Current Events World Issues

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Cultural Studies

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Share Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum

• Media

Graphic novels are useful for visualizing how a
film director or cinematographer thinks. Graphic
novels can help students to understand
storyboards. The most detailed storyboards look a
lot like illustrations in a graphic novel
(Karyn Ristok,GDHS Teacher)
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Bring in the Goods

• Select and order age- and community-appropriate
  graphic novelspromote staff and student
  involvement in selection for librarys collection
• Graphic Novel Extravaganza/Book Fair
• Create teacher resource materials

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Bring in the Goods

• Post/Distribute a recommended list NBS Tinlids
  S B The Beguiling
• Student Starred Graphic Novels-GDHS

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Provide Information on Professional Resources

• Beers, Kylene (2003). When Kids Can't Read, What
  Teachers Can Do A Guide for Teachers 6-12.
  Heinemann. ISBN 0-86709-519-9.
• Billmeyer, Rachel Barton, Mary Lee (1998).
  Teaching Reading in the content areas If not me,
  then who? ASCD Publication. ISBN 1-893476-05-7.
• Booth, David (2002). Even Hockey Players
• Read Boys, Literacy and Learning. (Canadian)
  Pembroke Publishers. ISBN 1-55138-147-8.
• Lyga, Allyson (2004). Graphic Novels in your
  Media
• Centre. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 1-591581-42-7.
• Crawford, Philip Charles (2003). Graphic Novels
  101.
• Hi Willow Research and Publishing. ISBN
  0-93151-091-0.

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And, More Professional Resources

• Foster, Graham, Schaeffer, Hyacinth, Zelinkski,
  Victor (2002). I Think, Therefore I Learn.
  Pembroke Publishers. ISBN 1-55138-148-6.
• Jobe, Ron Dayton-Sakari, Mary (2002).
  Info-Kids How to use non-fiction to turn
  reluctant enthusiastic learners. Pembroke
  Publishers. ISBN 1-57110-332-5.
• Tovani, Cris (2000). I Read It, But I Don't Get
  It Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent
  Readers. Pembroke Publishers. ISBN
  1-57110-089-X.

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However, Proceed With Caution

• What to look out for
• Your own bias! Adult readers may find the
  illustrations busy, over whelming, unappealing or
  offensive
• A wide range of quality

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and...
The material is very contemporary and the content
can be controversial Sex Nudity
Violence Stereotypes
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and...
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Check Every Book

• Leave no book to chance.

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However, kids are reading them,so

• Try them in small numbers and see how the
  students react
• Integrate them into your program, either for
  fictional or informational reading
• Design some engaging writing or presentation
  activities as follow-up assignments
• Give them a chance to provide

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The Graphic Novel Zap! Blam!Power in the
collection and in the classroom!