Comics can reach a variety of students of all learning abilities: Text-based, picture-based, or auditory-based while students can work out thematic elements in the comic book form. This unique piece of popular culture can also have a tremendous impact on students with a variety of learning disabilities and disorders. Students who don't feel confident enough to speak out about "traditional" novels may feel more inclined to participate in discussions on an alternative novel, such as the graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451, as the pictures appeal to their visual acuity. Other students that struggle with word disorders, reading ability or dyslexia can benefit from a "silent comic (one with no words)" to aid their reading ability:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/forums/showthread.php?36255-Wednesday-Comic-Reviews-Fantastic-Four-588-and-Amazing-Spider-Man-655
Though both of the issues are silent in nature, the ability for students to read and interpret these panels/pictures to tell the story elevates comic books from simply a "juvenile" medium of popular culture, to one that can have a profound impact on how students learn. For example, Marvel Comics has recently posted an "audio-edition" version of Daredevil #1, which came out in stores last month:
http://marvel.com/news/story/16485/daredevil_1_audio_edition
http://marvel.com/files/podcasts/DAREDEVIL_1_edited.mp3
"This project came about because, as we were getting to relaunch the new daredevil book with Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, on the creative side, we got a lot of letters from actual blind Marvel Comics readers who have friends who read comics to them ever single week the books come out. So I thought it would be a cool and fun little exercise to get a few of us together here, very impromptu, and read the first issue of Daredevil." Stephen Wacker
Like any other form of written media, comics and graphic novels can be read. Comic books and graphic novels also have a unique voice and identity all their own. Just as films are be novelized, graphic novels can be read and enjoyed by all types of students."There's no difference between a novel and an illustrated novel. "Ray Bradbury. http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m30TKS9VUU3JDC/ref=ent_fb_link
Comic books and Graphic Novels can have a profound impact upon students with a variety of learning disorders: Dyslexia, where comics can tell stories in picture form, writing disability, where students can refer back to pictures to interpret and refer back to topics/themes in the work, or auditory processing disorder by means of graphic audiobooks using the pictures, words and audio to guide them. These are only some of the impressive methods comic books and graphic novels impact students of any grade level with nearly any form of learning disability. Just as each student is unique, there are a variety of unique means to appeal to their special educational needs.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
The Case for Comics in the Classroom
"We’re living in a moment of profoundly shifting cultural attitudes toward the comics medium. The graphic novel industry is the strongest growth sector in all of publishing, and the majority of the top 20 highest grossing films of the last 10 years were based on comic properties." Josh Elder, Executive Director Reading with Pictures. http://graphicnovelreporter.com/content/big-picture-interview
It is no coincidence that comics are quickly becoming a more prominent aspect of popular culture, but we are currently on the cutting edge of something noteworthy. Comics are applicable to a variety of classroom settings, appealing to those students that benefit from visual and tactile learning. Comics and graphic novels provide the best medium for a variety of learners. Some students cannot gain interest or meaning from texts while they are being lectured, or "talked at," in many cases. The use of comics and graphic novels manage to set a standard for all types of learners to benefit. Those students who prefer to view a story unfolding before them have the benefit of pictures to draw meaning from, those that prefer to read and gain understanding from the written word have the benefit of reading captions and inner monologues for characters to gain meaning, and those students who benefit from crafting and directly engaging in the story in an applied manner using art and written elements to create their own stories and meaning, can create their own stories to enhance their awareness of other novels, books, etc.
Comics are no longer just a "fringe medium" on the academic stage, as Maryland is at the forefront of this wonderful educational medium. The Superintendent of the School District in 2005, Nancy Grasmick, spearheaded this program in order to combat the declining reading proficiency of countless students in her district that couldn't read in a consistent manner. The project grew by leaps and bounds and is still going strong as of 2008.
http://cnettv.cnet.com/comic-books-classroom/9742-1_53-50037819.html
http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/programs/recognition-partnerships/md-comic-book
Though this is one magnificent example, a key architect of the development of Marvel Comics also believes that comics and graphic novels have their place in the educational realm. Stan Lee, former writer and Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, believes that comics are no longer a "taboo" medium and have a wealth of meaning to engage readers of any age and proficiency. Stan Lee in defense of comic books:
"So many people have come up to me and said: 'how happy they are that they read these comics in their childhood' and I'm talking now about people who are now doctors, lawyers, important people, and it occurs to me that when you think about it: comics are a wonderful way to tell a story! A well done comic has good writing, beautiful illustration, and it gives people pleasure. How can you knock something like that?"
http://video.comicbookresources.com/cbrtv/2011/cbr-tv-todd-mcfarlane-interviews-stan-lee/ (5:40-15:40)
Comic books are a wonderful means to teach plot, characterization and character elements, setting, theme, and countless other literary techniques that can also be gleaned from "traditional" media forms such as novels and films. We are at the forefront of a wonderful teaching tool in schools that possesses all the benefits of appealing to visual learners, tactile learners, reading and writing learners, et. al. Comics appeal to a myriad of learning styles and should be considered as valued reading materials when building course catalogs around the students that will benefit from reading them.
It is no coincidence that comics are quickly becoming a more prominent aspect of popular culture, but we are currently on the cutting edge of something noteworthy. Comics are applicable to a variety of classroom settings, appealing to those students that benefit from visual and tactile learning. Comics and graphic novels provide the best medium for a variety of learners. Some students cannot gain interest or meaning from texts while they are being lectured, or "talked at," in many cases. The use of comics and graphic novels manage to set a standard for all types of learners to benefit. Those students who prefer to view a story unfolding before them have the benefit of pictures to draw meaning from, those that prefer to read and gain understanding from the written word have the benefit of reading captions and inner monologues for characters to gain meaning, and those students who benefit from crafting and directly engaging in the story in an applied manner using art and written elements to create their own stories and meaning, can create their own stories to enhance their awareness of other novels, books, etc.
Comics are no longer just a "fringe medium" on the academic stage, as Maryland is at the forefront of this wonderful educational medium. The Superintendent of the School District in 2005, Nancy Grasmick, spearheaded this program in order to combat the declining reading proficiency of countless students in her district that couldn't read in a consistent manner. The project grew by leaps and bounds and is still going strong as of 2008.
http://cnettv.cnet.com/comic-books-classroom/9742-1_53-50037819.html
http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/programs/recognition-partnerships/md-comic-book
Though this is one magnificent example, a key architect of the development of Marvel Comics also believes that comics and graphic novels have their place in the educational realm. Stan Lee, former writer and Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, believes that comics are no longer a "taboo" medium and have a wealth of meaning to engage readers of any age and proficiency. Stan Lee in defense of comic books:
"So many people have come up to me and said: 'how happy they are that they read these comics in their childhood' and I'm talking now about people who are now doctors, lawyers, important people, and it occurs to me that when you think about it: comics are a wonderful way to tell a story! A well done comic has good writing, beautiful illustration, and it gives people pleasure. How can you knock something like that?"
http://video.comicbookresources.com/cbrtv/2011/cbr-tv-todd-mcfarlane-interviews-stan-lee/ (5:40-15:40)
Comic books are a wonderful means to teach plot, characterization and character elements, setting, theme, and countless other literary techniques that can also be gleaned from "traditional" media forms such as novels and films. We are at the forefront of a wonderful teaching tool in schools that possesses all the benefits of appealing to visual learners, tactile learners, reading and writing learners, et. al. Comics appeal to a myriad of learning styles and should be considered as valued reading materials when building course catalogs around the students that will benefit from reading them.
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