In a recent article for American Libraries Magazine, Jesse Karp effectively makes the case for graphic novels in education: Perhaps we’re past the point of having to explain that graphic novels, with their knack for attracting reluctant readers and hitting developmental sweet spots, have a legitimate place on library shelves. Perhaps. But what about the idea [...]
Marilee Vergati reviews the documentary film Comic Book Literacy and wonders if comic books have a part to play in restoring American public schools: The Comic Book Literacy movement believes graphic novels and comic books are an important educational resource. They could be part of a solution for at risk schools with higher dropout rates and [...]
Sara Varon's Robot Dreams is one of my all-time favorite graphic novels. It's beautiful and deep and challenging and innocent. It came out a few years ago, but middle schooler Ashley Watrous just reviewed it for Wayne Post: I would recommend this book to anyone with a wild imagination. I also would recommend this book because [...]
Are you wondering how the New England Comics Arts in the Classroom conference went last week? Me too. Luckily, the Anchor reports: NECAC put on their first event on Saturday, March 26 in Alger Hall. The event was directed by Michael Gianfrancesco, an English teacher from North Providence High School, and Jennifer Cook, an English and [...]
I'm not totally sure what the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System is, but here's a cool article from them about how Afghan girls and boys are learning about constitutional issues, citizen rights, and legal reform through comic books: Mohammad Aziz, Urgun District deputy director of education, distributed rule of law comic books to more than [...]
One day UNF professor Katie Monnin got hit in the head by a copy of Art Spiegelman's Maus falling off her shelf. This eventually led to her exploring comics as a literacy tool for her doctorate. By the time she got to Kent State University to work on a doctorate in literacy, Monnin, who had worked [...]
Goofy headline notwithstanding, here's a cool article about non-fiction comics making their way into history curricula from The London Free Press: “Comics tend to have the best of both worlds. You get that visual aspect with the intimacy of a book,” said Wiseman, whose store is sponsoring Comic Book Literacy Day March 16 at the Central [...]
Jeff Lemire's Essex County became the first graphic novel to be included in the Canada Reads literary competition, only to be voted out on the first day. Comics culturalist Chris Butcher and superstar cartoonist Darwyn Cooke discuss the incident with Mark Medley from National Post: Christopher: What really struck me was how stereotypical the reaction was. [...]
Even Wired Magazine is talking about comics in the classroom! Josh Elder, the executive director of Reading With Pictures, tells us why he started his non-profit organization: Comics were instrumental in teaching me how to read at a very young age. I could follow the story through the images, which gave me the basics of the [...]
Here is yet another article about why comics belong in school libraries: Teacher-librarians such as Ernie Cox at Mark Twain Elementary in Iowa City have embraced the graphic novel as a reading tool. “A lot of educators see now that the graphic novel is just a format with multiple genres,” said Cox. “Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, science [...]