Graphic Novels in the Classroom: An Overview

Why encourage children and young adults to read graphic novels?

It is true that graphic novels, with their wide range of subjects and visual appeal, may be attractive to reluctant readers. But there is more to the story than that: graphic novels, and comics in general, are created with a unique synthesis of the written and visual forms that, at its best, is no less literary than the works of Herman Melville, Colin Wilson, George Orwell or any other author that may appear on the current school syllabus.

Graphic novels require readers to be actively engaged in the process of decoding and comprehending a range of literary devices, including narrative structures, metaphor and symbolism, point of view, and the use of puns and alliteration, intertextuality, and inference.

But...aren't most young adults too old for superheroes?

Whilst there is a plethora of graphic novel and comic material that remains aimed at a youthful market, there is also an abundance of more sophisticated graphic novels that attract many young adult and adult readers alike.

In addition to the traditional superhero and comedy-based books, there are compelling social and political commentaries (e.g. the 1992 Pulitzer Prize winning Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman, Palestine by Joe Sacco, and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi among others).

What are some of the teaching advantages of graphic novels?

Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, the authors of Using Graphic Novels, Anime, and the Internet in an Urban High School, say graphic novels can be an effective means of enhancing the literary appreciation of adolescent readers.

Frey uses panels from graphic novels in shared reading to engage students in a discussion of the nuances of visual language to represent ideas, "We invite them to tell the story and ask them lots of questions about how they know. You'd be surprised at the answers -- they can immediately identify the devices used by the artist to represent these concepts. It's a short journey to replacing visual images with words. In our minds, it makes sense to initially move them as far away from text as possible so they can concentrate on what they already know. Their recognition of the similarity between how artists and writers use language to communicate the ideas becomes a bridge for teaching new information about reading comprehension."

"We'd also like to acknowledge the importance of critical literacy -- the ability of a reader to understand his or her role in the transaction that occurs between the reader and the text. Readers in the 21st century need to be able to analyse what they read and understand the motive of the author and the accuracy of the reading. They need to see themselves as active users, not merely vessels to be filled. Struggling readers may get little of these experiences. Graphic novels offer a forum for these essential discussions."

How can Librarians find their way to age-appropriate graphic novels?

A good place to start would be this PDF list provided by First Second Books, a US-based graphic novel publishing house.

Other than that, check back here regularly or signup for our newsletter as we'll shortly be providing reviews of local and internationally produced graphic novel material with a perspective on usages in schools and colleges.

Sources & Further reading:

• Comics in the Classroom
• School Library Journal, US
• National Council For Teachers of English, US
• Education World
• Reading Online