Graphic novels excellent vehicles we can use to bridge dissonance between student communication skills and preferences with mandated educational goals. Here are two different but valuable resources for parents, teachers and librarians looking to teach all types of learners.

 

Worth a Thousand Words (Meryl Jaffe and Talia Hurwich, Wiley 2018) details how and why graphic novels are complex texts with advanced-level vocabulary and demonstrates how to read and analyze these texts. It includes practical advice on integrating these books into both ELA and content-area classrooms and provides an extensive list of appropriate graphic novels for K-8 students, lesson suggestions, paired graphic/prose reading suggestions, and additional resources for taking these texts further. Learn how to:

• Address teacher/parent/administrator fears (ie. classics vs. comics, and meeting educational mandates)

• Select appropriate graphic novels for specific themes/needs and how to address any possible reading choice challenges by parents, colleagues, or administrators

• Determine grade and reading level appropriateness

• Provide solid research on how graphic novels improve teaching and meeting diverse student needs while being highly motivating

• Teach teachers how to read and teach graphic novels - revealing the complexities that inform visual and verbal literacy, critical thinking, and sequencing skills

• Integrate over 20 graphic novels into lessons on character development, language usage and literary devices, prose, math, social studies, science, and more

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Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning

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Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning: 

(Meryl Jaffe and Katie Monnin, Maupin House, 2013) explores how graphic novels can be effective learning tools for different types of learners (visual vs. language learners, learners with memory and attention issues, and others).

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Perfect for parents and teachers in grades K-9, Worth a Thousand Words and Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning opens up an exciting new world for teaching children visual and verbal literacy.