Week Five Reflection: Edutopia- Using Graphic Novels and Comics in the Classroom
While I was doing research and creating my Adobe Spark page, I came across an article by Andrew Miller on Edutopia. The title to this article is, Using Graphic Novels and Comics in the Classroom. I found this to be so awesome because this is and has been a great passion of mine since I was a young child. Graphic novels and comic books were always something that I would gravitate towards. I wasn’t the strongest of readers when I was younger, but this type of literature was always there to help me stay interested with reading.
So within this article Andrew advocates for the use of graphic novels and comics in the classroom. He goes on to talk about that there are useful tools in effectively implementing these for learning, but that teachers need to always keep in mind their purpose. He says, “I know, we love books and tools, but just like with technology, sometimes we get wrapped up in the tool instead of first thinking about the purpose.” He then gives us some specific strategies to ponder as we, as teachers, think about what graphic novels or comic books we select for the classroom. The strategies are as follows…
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Andrew goes on to tell us that there are many other purposes for graphic novels in the classroom, from looking at different cultures and backgrounds to utilizing technology in authentic ways. Though he does emphasize that we make sure to select a graphic novel or comic with a clear purpose in mind.
I found this article to be great and wonderful for me to utilize my passion for graphic novels and comic books in the classroom. It helped me establish some strategies for using these tools to their best possible purpose. I will be using these to help teach and inspire a future generation of readers…I hope!
Andrew also left us with a small list of a few of his graphic novels that he himself has used in the classroom. And he tells us, “Trust me, I have read plenty more than this list!”
- Persepolis, a memoir of a girl growing up during the Islamic revolution in Iran, was recently made into a motion picture.
- Maus, a top favorite for many, explores themes of the Holocaust through a memoir characterized by mice and cats.
- American Born Chinese is the tale of three characters: Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American in the neighborhood; Chin-Kee, the ultimate Chinese stereotype; and the Monkey King, ancient fable character.
- X-Men Annual #4 - Uncanny X-Men Volume #3 In this issue, the X-men travel into Dante's Inferno.
Now there may be something you may not know about Edutopia. This website is funded by the The George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit operating foundation, and was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1991. YES, that George Lucas, of Star Wars fame. Growing up, Lucas was curious and creative – but at school, he often felt bored. Years later, after becoming a father, he once again found himself focused on schools’ untapped potential to truly engage students and inspire them to become active, lifelong learners. He decided to invest in making a difference and created the Foundation to identify and spread innovative, replicable and evidence-based approaches to helping K-12 students learn better. You can follow Edutopia by checking out the links below, and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU in your teachings!