The Graphic Classroom

CATHARINA EVANS JOINS TGC

2012-01-14T09:34:00.002-06:00

Comics continue to change the literature landscape with more and more educators using the mode to engage students in literacy and scholarship. Catharina Evans –– Chair of Language Arts and Upper School English Teacher at the Saints Peter and Paul School in the U.S. Virgin Islands –– joins The Graphic Classroom team this month.

Evans is an accomplished author, writing many articles for journals since 2003. She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and received accolades for her writing. Her debut review of ASTERIOS POLYP at TGC follows.

The staff at The Graphic Classroom welcome Evans to the team. We hope you will leave a comment welcoming her, too.

ASTERIOS POLYP

2012-01-14T09:23:00.003-06:00

By Catharina Evans

Staff Writer

STORY REVIEW

David Mazzucchelli’s first solo forayinto graphic novels exquisitely blends a strong aesthetic voice and a complex,engaging story on the posturings of academia, the difficulties of intimacy, andthe philosophy of design.

And to put it simply, one of themost visually provoking novels I’ve ever read.

Mazzucchelli’s main characters –protagonist Asterios Polyp (whose unusual last name was bequeathed to hisfather by a frustrated clerk at Ellis Island), his delicate wife HanaSonnenscheie, and the ghost voice of his deceased twin brother Ignazio –interact in a kind of non-linear dream world which is both abstract andconcrete.

Asterios, an architect andprofessor whose draftsmanship and design ideas are renowned, never builds anyof his blueprints; he drifts along in a kind of cerebral prison, trapped in agolden cage of self-infatuation.

Hana, the young and sensitivesculptor, falls for Asterios despite his nearly unbearable ego and littlepatience for Hanna’s quiet artistic genius. A love story for modern times.

ART REVIEW

The panel above illustrates the dissolution of Hana and Asterios’s relationship, andexemplifies how well Mazzucchelli unifies form and content: the dementedly-logicalAsterios, depicted as a transparent combination of geometrical parts, exists ina world apart from Hanna’s penciled, pinkish, softly cross-hatched body.

Mazzucchelli’s aesthetic choices,from his palettes of warms and cools to panel placement and gutter width,invite rhetorical scrutiny. Most of the visual metaphors should not escape eventhe casual reader, though Mazzucchelli plays with a wide catalog of allusions.

IN THE CLASSROOM

ASTERIOS POLYP’s complex themes,allusions, and design concepts warrant placement in an advanced secondary oruniversity classroom with some time to devote to both aesthetic and literarytheory. However, for an ambitious high school teacher whose students exhibitfamiliarity with the basic vocabulary of comics, ASTERIOS POLYP may serve as aprovocative medium in which to study visual rhetoric, art/color theory, as wellas literary tropes like the tragic hero. A close look at Asterios’s flaccid bourgeoisheroism, his inability to recognize his own flaws, and his decidedly detachedapproach to relationships may cultivate sophisticated discussion on gender andclass. The book also acts as an introductory reader on the philosophy ofdesign, which may take initiated students time to digest.

MY RECOMMENDATION

I highly recommend ASTERIOSPOLYP for advanced high school and university classes whose curriculum centerson literature, art, design/architecture, and philosophy. The book contains someimages appropriate only for mature readers, including nudity and bedroom scenes– however, they do not approach the realm of the vulgar.

OTHER INFORMATION

Author &Illustrator: David Mazzuchelli

Publisher: Pantheon Books

Genre: Fiction

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 978-0307377326

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. PRINTABLE WRITING PROMPT

2012-01-08T10:39:00.002-06:00

The image above is a small version. For the large type-able and printable click here.

If you are looking for a new and interesting way to approach Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Make Beliefs Comix posted a free MLK writing printable for teachers.

Imagine you could tell the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. what he means to you and our country. What would you say to him?

The MLK graphic prompt is part of a new MakeBeliefsComix writing prompt feature called Digtal Write-Ables, which allows users to use their computer keyboard to write stories directly on the screen as they fill in the writing prompt.

Students can then print out their writings. This graphic writing prompt makes a perfect springboard to writing a longer essay or story on the same subject. Don't forget the power of the Write-Ables for English Language Learners.

HABIBI

2012-01-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

With the amount of criticalacclaim, accolades and awards Craig Thompson’s Middle Eastern tome, HABIBI,has received, I can barely contain my awe and struggle to recommend thisbeautiful work highly enough. It is, by far, the greatest piece of comicsliterature I read this year, or last year, or the year before that –– maybelonger.

It is, in my mind, worthy of theranks of MAUS and should be read, re-read, and prominently displayed in anyliterature lover’s library. I understand not all literati or academics acceptcomics as literature and I respect that opinion even if I disagree with it.However, even the most ardent traditionalists would be hard pressed to readHABIBI and not acknowledge the literary and artistic magnitude of this 672-pagework.

The storytelling through text and art is magical.

Simply put: Get it; read it.

Now that is out of the way, let’sexamine what you really want to know: How can HABIBI be used in the classroom?HABIBI is very sensual and sexual, making it extremely hard to use even on ahigh school level. It is better suited for more mature adults. I highlyrecommend it for the university level.

Dodola serves as both a prostitute and a concubine as well as enduring rape.

Dodola's adopted son, Zam, discovers new feelings and is confused by his newly budding sexuality.
The feelings of guilt plague him.

HABIBI has a complex story linefilled with mixed time lines. It offers deep literary and religious themes andmetaphors exploring Islamic, Jewish and Christian faiths. The characters arebeautiful and are still walking through my mind and heart. Its female-centricprotagonist offers a wide feminist exploration. Issues of slavery, sensualityand sexuality, traditional versus modern views, race, culture, and poverty makeit an excellent book in several classrooms and disciplines.

Thompson infuses culture,religion, metaphor, and story into every single inch of the book. From theendpaper, to the table of contents, from the frames around panels to the use ofcolor (black or white) behind the panels to the iconography and calligraphy,Thompson’s artistic detail is exquisite. I cannot think of a graphic novel thatcompares artistically.

Thompson not only depicts calligraphy but uses the story to explain the meaning behind
the words and describes the story leading to the visual formation of the writing.

The iconography in the book is important. Each shape in the turtle has religious
and metaphorical meaning that is explained throughout the work.

Thompson uses many pieces of iconography to tell his story in many layers.

All of this makes HABIBI dominantin a textual and artistic sense perfect for many classrooms: literature,religion, feminist studies, sociology, psychology, sexuality, minority studies,art, calligraphy, and graphic design.

The panel layout is intuitive andeven readers, who have never picked up a comic before, will adapt to the floweasily. However, I think students will need to be reminded of two things:

Comics are designed to be read slowly. Don’t rush.
Read the pictures. Much of the beauty and depth of HABIBI is hidden in her art.

Thompson uses splash pages to invoke an emotional level to the story.

The depth of storytelling and the intertwining of text and art in HABIBI set it apart from other works. It would be exciting to explore this comic using many different literary lens and perspectives in a class. It would, of course, require a very accomplished instructor.

OTHER INFORMATION

Author & Illustrator: Craig Thompson

Publisher: Pantheon

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 672

Color: Black and white

ISBN-13: 978-0-375-42414-4

CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:

Highly Recommended

This is a mature book recommendedfor college students and adults.

COMICS CREATION IN FIRST GRADE

2012-01-08T09:38:00.000-06:00

By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek

Students amaze me. They have talents that, as a specials teacher, I may never see or know. This week one of my 500 students, Lauren, came into my room carrying an 11-inch by 17-inch stapled document. She handed it to me with a smile. "I made this, Mr. Wilson."

Title Page of Lauren's comic, MONSTER HIGH.

Page two. Notice the sequence of the story and the panel layout.

I read it in front of her and immediately asked her permission to reprint this at TGC. (I also contacted her mother for permission to publish her art and her first name.) This comic is on par with many of the comics created by my third and fourth graders. She has well developed sequence and complex panel construction. I was also impressed with her choice to create stick figures yet color the characters as if they were shapes.

It is also significant that she chose a title page. I find many students –– even older students –– Just cram a title onto the story page like a narration box. Not Lauren. Her literary and artistic was thought out. I can only hope Lauren will continue the comic and also allow me to publish the next installments.

I think this comic illustrates how comics literacy –– reading and creating –– can be used to teach literacy skills from the front end (reader) and back end) creator) point of view.

Beautiful. She's only in first grade.

THREE SHADOWS

2011-12-31T07:54:00.000-06:00

By Adrian Neibauer

Staff Writer

STORY REVIEW

THREESHADOWS by Cyril Pedrosa and translated from French by Edward Gauvin is thesaddest and most moving graphic novels I have ever read. Louis and Lise are ahusband and wife who are raising their young son, Joachim, in an unnamed rural,European landscape. Their small family is filled with simple pleasures and lotsof love as they work together on their farm. However, everything changes whenthree mysterious shadows appear on the horizon haunting the family. Never explicitly stated at first, we learnlater that the shadows beckon for the young Joachim. Joachim’s father, Louis,flees with Joachim in a brave, yet foolish attempt to outrun his son’s fate:death.

Throughout the story, we learn just how far a parent would go toprotect their child. Embedded within this story are deep and complexdiscussions about fate, life, and death; as well as plenty of opportunities forolder readers to practice the skills of making inferences and predictions.

ART REVIEW

THREE SHADOWS is completely pencil-drawn. Pedrosa’s use of black andwhite charcoal prepares the reader for the dark tone of the story. Pedrosa is aformer Disney artist/animator and this experience serves him well here. Hewrites little dialogue, yet conveys much action, movement, and emotion. he characters seem to animate themselves asyou turn each page.

Pedrosa’s artwork forces the reader to stop and think. His attentionto detail gives readers all the clues they need to make accurate predictionsand to infer about the plot. Each page can be used as a talking point or astand-alone example of the novel’s themes and symbols.

IN THE CLASSROOM

THREE SHADOWS is a more adult graphic novel that can be usedeffectively in any high-school literature classroom. That said, I alwaysadvocate taking grade-level appropriate sections/pages of any graphic novel inorder to illustrate how to accurately use any comprehension strategy or model theuse of these strategies.

Making predictions, inferences, and then synthesizing this informationtakes practice to do well. Often,students make superficial predictions, which lead to inaccurate inferences.THREE SHADOWS gives students a chance to analyze how the visual elements of thestory contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of this text. For example,the beginning of this story has a set tone of simplistic happiness. This,however, changes very quickly and with only a few words.

Teachers can guide students to make inferences by asking questionslike:

What cluesdo we have that something bad is about to happen? Both visual and textual?
What cluesdo we have about the character’s thoughts and feelings?
How do youthink the characters will respond to this change?
What dothe shadows want?

Teachers can teach inferences by modeling for students how to readwith a particular question in mind. Keeping this question present givesstudents opportunities to chart any facts they find and the inference it leadsto. For example, when reading these next pages, keep these questions in mind:

What do these figures want?
What is the purpose of these figures?

Teachers can use a simple two-column chart with FACTS on one side andINFERENCE on the other in order to record students’ answers.

Synthesizing is about taking all reading and thinking practices andputting it all together to comprehend reading. In THREE SHADOWS, readers cansynthesize in various ways:

Describe how the narrator’s point of view influence how various eventsare described.
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events inthe story.
Draw on specific visual and textual details

In a high-school literature classroom, discussion of literary elementsand themes oftentimes plays a greater role than teaching specific readingstrategies. THREE SHADOWS has such deep motifs and symbols, students canparticipate in rich discussions. For example, THREE SHADOWS explores themes suchas mortality, fate, and fairness. The overarching symbols of life and death arethroughout the story as well. Teachers can have students discuss questions suchas:

Can fate be changed? How?
How does Louis’ decision to takeJoachim away show strength? Weakness?
How does Lise’s decision to stayshow strength? Weakness?
Why do the shadows come forJoachim?
How does the shadows’ symbolchange from the beginning of the story to the end?

What does this change say aboutlife and death?

How does Joachim and Louis’relationship mirror that of life and death?
How would THREE SHADOWS bedifferent if told from another character’s perspective?

MORE INFORMATION

Author & Illustrator: CyrilPedrosa

Translated by: EdwardGauvin

Format: Paperback

Pages: 268

Color: Black and WhitePencil

Publisher: First Second

ISBN-13: 978-1-59643-239-0

MY RECOMMENDATION

I would highly recommend thisbook for any high-school literature classroom. Certain sections can also be used in themiddle grades (6-8) for discussing the graphic novel’s major theme offate. However, due to some mild languageand non-sexualized nudity, THREE SHADOWS is best kept in high-school literaturecourses.

BEST EDITORIAL CARTOONS OF THE YEAR (2011)

2011-12-31T07:31:00.003-06:00

ByKevin Hodgson

StaffWriter

SUMMARY

BEST EDITORIALCARTOONS OF THE YEAR is a collection of, well, some of the best politicaland editorial jabs of the past year, and as you might expect, there are veryfew sacred cows left unscathed by the creative pens of these artists. Rangingfrom topics of presidential politics (President Obama gets skewered left andright here, mostly from the right) to the emergence of the Tea Party toeducation, the courts and the environment, this collection that is edited byCharles Brooks and put out by Pelican Publishing is interesting and thoughtful.Most of these editorial cartoons were published in daily newspapers, and whilethere is a dated quality to many of them (current events being not so currentanymore), I love how the voice of the cartoonist comes across loud and clear.There’s no murky middle ground in these frames.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Forany high school journalism class, BEST EDITORIAL CARTOONS OF THE YEAR should bean annual reference guide to how to get a point across with art and limitedtext. The concise nature of editorial cartoons makes for some great lessonsaround writing, and the partnership of art with words. Students might alsoponder why some topics were included in the book and what topics might havebeen left out (the slow demise of newspapers, anyone?). It is helpful that eachsection comes with a short narrative introduction, giving a bird’s eye view ofthe topic before the cartoonists have their way with the subjects.

Anotherripe topic for discussion is political point of view and fairness ineditorials. (ie, Does President Obama get a fair shake in this book? I don’tthink so, but I suppose no president escapes the wrath of editorialcartoonists).

MORE INFORMATION

Format: Paperback

Pages:208

Publisher:PelicanPublishing

ISBN-10:1589809017

ISBN-13:978-1589809017

MY RECOMMENDATION

Iwould highly recommend this book forany high school civics or journalism classroom. The content would likely goover the heads of most elementary and middle school students. There is nothinginappropriate in here, unless you are sensitive to political satire.

COMICS-IN-EDUCATION 2.0: TIME TO LEVEL UP

2011-12-11T20:41:00.001-06:00

ByChris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

TheGraphic Classroom will be changing soon as we have forged a partnership withthe national non-profit comics-in-education agency, Reading With Pictures. Josh Elder,award-wining graphic novelist and nationally syndicated cartoonist, founded RWPin 2009 to revolutionize the role of comics in education.

Soundfamiliar?

Thatis the same goal as The Graphic Classroom and TGC is not alone in thatendeavor. There are many experts out there fighting to change the way educationapproaches reading, writing and discovery. I consider many of them friends. Ourefforts, all our efforts, can at times feel very fragmented and disjointed ––worker bees writing, speaking, influencing educators to significantly impactstudents lives using comics as a tool in the teacher’s arsenal, but doing somore independently than collectively, at least most of the time.

Thisfragmentation is changing. Those of us in the movement are talking, sharing, andcollaborating on books and speaking engagements. We are becoming friends.Through those friendships, it is becoming apparent that we must become moreunited in our efforts and supports. It’s time for comics-in-education expertsto level up and meld our efforts more officially than tangentially.

Afterall, there are those who oppose our efforts, despite the academic researchdemonstrating that comics significantly and positively impact the readingmotivation, reading skills of students and leads to reading of other modes suchas novels, short stories, poetry and the like. As I have stated before:

“Notreading never leads to reading. Reading leads to reading.”

Ilook forward to forging more friendships and partnerships so we can standunited behind what we know changes the lives of our students and prepares thefor the 21^st century. I see that vision coming true and acceptedElder’s invitation to partner with Reading With Pictures. More details on thechanges are on the way in January and February. Stay tuned and stay strong.Your willingness to use comics to help your students is research based,innovative, exciting, and beautiful.

TheGraphic Classroom and Reading With Pictures stand with you.

AMULET CONTEST WINNER

2011-12-06T15:59:00.001-06:00

By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek

Our AMULET contest is over and the winner of the $50 gift certificate and the copies of the entire AMULET series to date is ...

Natalie, 11
Mitchell Intermediate School
Texas
Natalie wrote this about her favorite AMULET character:

Out of all the Amulet characters, I admire Emily the most. I think she's really brave and strong. For example, when her brother told her not to touch the stone because it would wake up the robots in her grandfather's house, she did it anyway even though she didn't know what would happen if she did. And she was willing to risk her life to save her mother from the Arachnopod. I also thought it was cool that she was the Stonekeeper, and that the Stonekeeper was a girl.

Natalia drew this picture of Emily:

This exercise is just one of many ways to bring comics literature into the classroom and connect to the standards and skills that students need in order to be successful in school and life. Notice Natalie restated the question, gave her opinion and then supported her belief with specific details from the story.

SMILE

2011-12-04T09:42:00.001-06:00

By Adrian Neibauer

Staff Writer

STORY REVIEW

SMILE by Raina Telgemeier is perfect for any elementary-age classroom.Raina‘s narrative comic tells the story of how she knocked out her two frontteeth in the sixth grade. Her memoir continues into high school as her dentalissues pair simultaneously with puberty and growing up. Raina says, “CreatingSMILE has been therapeutic for me, and has put me in touch with hundreds ofkindred spirits.” This is why I love having this graphic novel as a part of myclassroom library. Almost every student can relate to some aspect of thisstory, even if they haven’t had any traumatic injury. Her storytelling alsolends it nicely with teaching students to monitor their reading comprehensionby asking questions.

By the end of the book, Raina emerges a stronger person. Students also emerge stronger readers as theyinteract with SMILE and learn to question the text, read to discover answers,and ask questions to expand their thinking.

ART REVIEW

Although taking place in middle school and high school, SMILE’s fifthgrade following stems from Raina’s artwork. In 2004, Raina published SMILE as aweekly webcomic for the popular site, Girlamatic.com. I believe this hasinfluenced how she breaks up her story page-by-page, but also how she uses color. Her artwork has the feel of reading theSunday comics, but with more mature character development. She captures eachcharacter’s personality and does an amazing job illustrating adolescent.

Raina also uses splash pages, a comic page that is almost entirelytaken up by a single image or panel, to either emphasize important parts to thestory, or as chapter breaks. For example, on page 11, after knocking out herfront teeth, Raina’s mother has to dial the dentist. All you see is her motherdialing with her phone book open to an after-hours dentist. It fits perfectly,especially after the quick pace of the previous accident. The reader needs toslow down in order to fully understand the seriousness of what just happened.

I also really liked Raina’s technique of tinting the pages when she ishaving a dream. Students can get very confused when an author jumps to anearlier memory, or quickly changes the setting. Different comic artist do different things for illustrating this, but Ilike how simple, yet effective Raina’s strategy is. As a class, when we arereading other novels that are not comic in form, it helps to have thisvocabulary to refer to. “Remember when Rainia tinted her pages to show aflashback? That is what is happinghere. How can we tell? What clues is the author using to help usknow the setting has changed? What is this author’s tint? How can you tell?”

IN THE CLASSROOM

SMILE is a great memoir, told in a wonderful narrative fashion. I useSMILE as an anchor text to teach questioning. Asking questions while reading,although a seemingly simple task often gets overlooked in reading instruction. Or,if it is a focus, the questions tend to be surface (or thin) questions that donot lead the reader to discover new information or gain new knowledge. Goodquestioning propels readers through a particular text. When readers think aboutquestions, they understand what they read and it pushes them to think further. Iwant to teach students to pose questions that extend their understanding,making them active readers. SMILE is a great text for this task.

Raina’s use of panel and page breaks gives readers ample opportunitiesto monitor their comprehension by asking questions. If a teacher wants tointroduce this concept, he/she could simply have SMILE displayed using adocument camera, or even as a read aloud, while the teacher models stopping,thinking, and reacting to the text.

When a reader has a question during reading, I have them jot it downon a sticky note. These questions may ormay not be answered by continued reading; however, it is a good habit to form.

I want to model being aware when I do find an answer to one of myquestions. I usually have students marktheir original sticky note with an “A” to indicate that the question has beenanswered.

As Raina suffers through each dentist examination, there are manyopportunities for students to not only ask questions to gain information, butto keep their questions in their mind as they read, searching for informationthat extends their learning.

I use Chapter 4 to make a strategies chart for questions, answers, andstrategies for answering questions. As Iread, I model for students that when I arrive at an answer to an earlierquestion, I have used a variety of strategies, such as skimming, inferring,sharing and discussing, and further research. Here are some of the questions my class generated from Chapters 1-4:

QUESTIONS	ANSWERS	STRATEGIES FOR ANSWERING QUESTION
What is a root canal?	Drilling a hole in your tooth to the root canal. Removes infection and patches it up.	Do some research
Do they ever get a second opinion?	I don’t think so.	Read on to find the information
Why does Raina dream of losing a tooth?	She is getting her teeth pulled. It is another traumatic event.	Discussion
Why is smiling so important in middle school?	“When you smile at people, they smile back.” Middle school is a very social place.	Used clues from the text and our thinking to infer.

SMILE gives students a chance to ask bigger questions that expandtheir thinking. My class learned so muchabout dentistry, root canals, and dentures! Throughout SMILE, studentssometimes become confused about some of these more complicated ideas in thestory (i.e. root canals and middle school cliques). Stopping and asking these questions leads tomore thoughtful learning and further research.

Finally, Raina Telgemeier put out a great book trailer for SMILE. I love book trailers as a way to insert alittle technology to spruce up any final novel study project.

MORE INFORMATION

Author & Illustrator: Raina Telgemeier

Format: Paperback

Pages: 214

Color: Full Color

Publisher: Graphix, animprint of Scholastic

ISBN-13: 978-0-545-13206-0

MY RECOMMENDATION

There is nothing inappropriate about SMILE. This story, althoughdealing with adolescent, does so with tact and humor. You may get some giggleswhen Raina plays “spin the bottle” or daydreams about kissing a boy, but that’sabout it. In my experience, students are so excited to be reading a graphicnovel in “Reading class” that it makes those little things non-issues.

I would highly recommend this book for any upper elementary and middleschool classroom (grades 3-8). Althoughnot all third-graders will be able to decode the entire text, and someeighth-graders will find SMILE too elementary, either way, it is a greataddition to any classroom library.

ZEBRAFISH

2011-11-27T10:57:00.001-06:00

ByKevin Hodgson

StaffWriter

STORY SUMMARY

Rockand roll, plus some scientific inquiry and a splash of civic action, are at thecenter of ZEBRAFISH, written by Sharon Emerson. The story revolves around agirl, Vita, who wants to put together a band and put on a concert to raisemoney for a worthy cause. Eventually, she pinpoints Leukemia as the cause worthrocking for because one of her friends has secretly been battling it, and Vitaenlists some new friends to join her. The goal? Raise enough money from aconcert to purchase a machine for the hospital that will help speed alongcancer research.

Thebook comes close to being a bit too sappy at times, but what saves it is theearnestness of Vita, the caring role of her older brother (a scientist studyingZebrafish in order to find a cure for cancer), and the hodgepodge of friends. A nice dose of humor helps, too (including theaudition session that comes across as a sort of Spinal Tap-inspired scene). Gaming,virtual bands and other hip topics make their way into the story, too, givingit a fresh, modern feel.

ART REVIEW

Theart by illustrator Renee Kurilla is colorful, vibrant and, in particular, theuse of purple in Vita’s hair and other elements of the story bring a niceconstant color palette to the artwork.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Onething I did like is that the story does nicely mix in science (the use of theodd Zebrafish as a symbol of the band and a cure for sickness, the trickysubject of battling cancer in a laboratory, etc.) with the power of creatingmusic for change, and the use of social action by passionate students on amission.

There’salso the backstory of Vita and her brother, a doctoral student who is raising Vita after their mother died. I couldsee a few topics here worth pursuing in writing and research. If you havestudents who are itching to do some community service project, ZEBRAFISH mightbe a nice companion story about how even young people can change the world forthe better.

MORE INFORMATION

Readinglevel: Ages 9-12

Format:Hardcover

Pages:128

Publisher:FableVision

ISBN-10:1416995250

ISBN-13:978-1416995258

MY RECOMMENDATION

I recommendZEBRAFISH for an elementary classroom, and maybe a middle school reader couldfind interest in the story. I want to note, too, that the book is acollaborative team project by Fablevision, which is a company that createsinteresting online, animated books and stories. I loved the endnote by PeterReynolds, founder of Fablevision, where he encourages readers to pick a“challenge” and take action to change the world for the better, just like Vitaand her friends have done. Also, proceeds from the sale of ZEBRAFISH benefitthe Children’s Hospital in Boston, which is yet another reason to consideradding this one to your classroom library.

TEACHER GETS SCHOOLED –– AND YOU SHOULD TOO

2011-11-20T08:38:00.001-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

Last week I was in Miami, FL presenting at the Miami Book Fair International –– School of Comics and Graphic Novels. Inspiring and teaching and all that jazz is a lot of fun. I get to share my passion and expertise. I like it. What can I say? When I got back, my family and I were hanging out with some friends who also happen to be parents at my school. The dad asked me –– for the second time, mind you –– about teaching programming in my class. He spent some time talking about how programming is exciting and engaging and inspires critical thinking.

I've heard this before from him, and I agree with him. The problem is, I don't have any practical experience in programming. I know a lot about technology, but not code. So I am uncomfortable. I have to learn something new and then teach it. It's hard. I'm busy. I expect to do it magnificently or not at all.

Within 24 hours of my presentation to a crowd of teachers who pay to learn more from me, I find myself on the receiving end of the professional development. I am the one being challenged and prodded. He is persistent and passionate and I feed on that energy.

Why am I not teaching some programming? I run a technology lab. I should be teaching this. I have no excuse except my own shortcomings in that aspect. That's no excuse for any teacher who demands excellence from his students. I have high expectations of them and they and their parents should have high expectations of me.

I went home that night and immediately used Facebook, sending out a distress call to everyone I know asking for ideas on how to teach programming to elementary students. Perhaps I should be embarrassed that I, a technology lab instructor, do not know programming. I am not. I have no problems admitting where I need to grow and learn as a teacher. If I allow my own inadequacies to keep me closed to new experiences, then I am limiting my students and keeping them down. No great sin occurs in the classroom. Besides, I don't mind admitting I'm don't know everything. I think education would make more strides toward innovation if more educators could openly admit their need to grow and seek out new opportunities.

So far, I've had several responses from my Facebook friends who've offered great ideas and resources to help me. All I need to now is read what they've sent, install some free software on 29 computers, and get started.

I hope people listening to my presentations feel my passion and energy the same way I felt it from my friend and parent from my school. If we continue to inspire one another, we will make life-changing strides in the field of education. It just takes overflowing love from those experts to fill those of us who are unsure and uneasy. And reasources. It takes lots of easy resources and specific implementation ideas to make a classroom a place kids want to learn.

READING BEGETS READING

2011-11-13T08:29:00.001-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

Our building is always full of student teachers from the Missouri State University. The Academy program is a rigorous, non-traditional student teaching program where students spend 12 weeks in their home classroom and four weeks completing four individual week-long rotations with different grades or specialities: upper grade, kindergarten, special education, technology, etc.

My classroom is one of the standard rotations for Academy student teachers (S-T) in the district. The S-Ts get exposure to grades K-4 every day, along with technology, eMINTS, inquiry-based learning, singing, and comics. I teach on Monday and they teach the rest of the week. Yes, my S-Ts sing to grades K-1 and even during other times. My job is to make the learning environment fun, push the S-Ts, allow them to experiment without fear of endangering standardize testing learning, and expand their levels of comfort.

This week, my S-T asked a lot of questions about reading and comics. She observed many of the fourth grade students in her home classroom didn't want to read anything but comics. Her concern was that they would never read anything beyond comics.

It's a fair question.

RESEARCH

The research on reading demonstrates that students who have choice in reading will read more. When given the choice to read comics students will develop a love of reading and move on to other modes (Norton (2003). My personal observations of comics fanboys reinforces the research. When they find out the role I play in comics and education, many of the fanboys expound on how comics taught them to read. More often than not, these fanboys are also avid readers of novels.

Veto (2006) concluded that choice in reading creatives an environment where students are motivated and empowered to take responsibility for their own education. Many researchers (Cavazos-Kottke, 2005; Edmunds & Bauserman, 2006; Guthrie, Hoa, Wigfield, Tonks & Perencevich, 2006; McPherson 2007; Pachtman & Wilson, 2006; Veto, 2006) have demonstrated that choice in reading significantly determines reading motivation.

The research that impacts me is by Edmunds and Bauserman (2006). They discovered that 84% of the children researched discussed books they had selected themselves. Only 16% discussed books that were assigned by the teachers.

WHAT THIS MEANS

When forced to read what teachers want rather than what the students choose, reading motivation –– love of reading –– is significantly decreased. When do students discuss books they are reading? When they choose them. Will your students move on to other modes? The research states they will. We teachers must be patient and allow our students to develop a natural and progression toward reading.

I have said often and I will continue to say: Teachers armed with high intentions and a desire to help kids often educate the love of reading out of students. It is driven by a need to see them read novels. We push them away from picture books before they are ready. This is especially true, in my opinion, with our boys. Teachers see images as crutches or barriers to reading when, in fact, the scholarly research on comics demonstrates the opposite. Not only do comics help students learn to read, but comics help them comprehend the skills we want to teach them. Most importantly, comics motive students to read.

Not reading –– my friends –– never, ever leads to reading. Reading leads to read.

For more information on how you can use comics in your classroom to teach inference, visualization, foreshadowing, sequence, descriptive language, universal themes and other literary skills, see our list of recommended textbooks for teaching comics. Come to one of my lectures. I am speaking at the Miami Book Fair International this week. I will be at the Wildcat Comicon in Pennsylvania in the Spring.

WORKS CITED

Cavazos-Kottke, S. (2005). Tuned out but turned on: Boys' (dis)engaged reading in and out of school [Electronic version]. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(3), 180-184.

Edmunds, K. M., & Bauserman, K. L. (2006). What teachers can learn about reading motivation through conversations with children [Electronic version]. The Reading Teacher, 59(5), 414-424.

Guthrie, J. T., Hoa, L. W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S. M., & Perencevich, K. (2006). From spark to fire: Can situational reading interest lead to long-term reading motivation? [Electronic version]. Reading Research and Instruction, 45(2), 91-117.

Little, D. (2005). In a single bound: A short primer on comics for educators. Retrieved January 19, 2008, from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/little.htmMcPherson, K. (2007, April).

Millard, E., & Marsh, J. (2001). Sending Minnie the Minx home: comics and reading choices. Cambridge Journal of Education, 31(1), 25-38.

Norton, B. (2003). The motivating power of comic books: Insights from Archie comic readers. The Reading Teacher, 57(2), 140-147.

Pachtman, A. B., & Wilson, K. A. (2006). What do the kids think? [Electronic version]. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 680-684.

Schwarz, G. (2006). Expanding literacies through graphic novels. English Journal, 95(6), 58-64.

Versaci, R. (2001). How comic books can change the way our students see literature: One teacher's perspective. The English Journal, 91(2), 61-67.

Veto, D. (2006, April). Motivating reluctant adolescent readers. School Administrator, 4. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from WilsonWeb.

CREATING COMICS IN COMIC BOOK CLUB

2011-11-06T10:32:00.002-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

Last week, I talked about teaching literacy as a back-end approach. That is to say, teaching the reading skills you want students to understand from the perspective of the creator and not the reader. If a student struggles with context clues, metaphor or figurative language as a reader, then perhaps teaching them as an author/illustrator will help them learn those skills in another way and then be able to transfer that knowledge when they are the reader.

This week in the Hall of Heroes comic book club students were encouraged to work on their comics. Some chose paper and pencil while others used MakeBeliefsComix.com. There were those who worked independently and those who collaborated. Some used color while others did not. It should be noted that some students chose to read comics instead of make them. Above all things, the Hall of Heroes comic book club is about choice, which leads to a love of literacy and story.

PREPARING FOR A PANDEMIC –– ZOMBIES AND THE CDC

2011-11-06T08:46:00.002-06:00

By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek

The required steps toward pandemic preparedness are eerily similar between an antibiotic-resistant strain of e-coli or an impending zombie-virus apocalypse. If one is going to write a how-to manual … might as well use zombies as the backdrop.

The Centers for Disease Control's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response did just that. While they were at it, the agency employed a technique long understood and used by the military: comics. The CDC created a zombie apocalypse comic, PREPAREDNESS 101: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, to teach the public how to prepare for real pandemic emergencies.

Readers follow Todd, Julie, and their dog Max as a strange new disease begins spreading, turning ordinary people into zombies. Stick around to the end for a surprising twist that will drive home the importance of being prepared for any emergency. Included in the novel is a Preparedness Checklist so that readers can get their family, workplace, or school ready before disaster strikes. Click on the images below to view the novella. Transcripts of each chapter are provided below each chapter thumbnail.

PREPAREDNESS 101: ZOMBIE PANDEMIC (full color comic in pdf)
PREPAREDNESS 101: ZOMBIE PANDEMIC (text-only alternative in pdf)

ADVENTURES IN COMICS CREATION

2011-10-30T08:21:00.000-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

For the past two weeks, the fourth graders in our Hall of Heroes comic book club have been studying the art of comics creation. From word balloons, to panel size and placement, to context clues in the art, our students are looking at comics from the side of the creator rather than the reader.

Sure, we want the kids to be personal and expressive and create their own products. That's important. However, we have other specific academic implications at play as well. By studying how writers and illustrators create their craft for readers students discover the layers of literature that make reading so powerful. It's an end-run to teaching inference, context clues, and author's purpose. We ask: "Why did the illustrator draw it like that?" "Why is that there?" "What does this tell us about the author's intent? What was he or she trying to tell you?" "Can you do that? Give it a try."

We are using ADVENTURES IN CARTOON, my single favorite comics creator textbook for kids. The kids love it. I simply throw it onto the Smart Board using a document camera and we explore storytelling, stopping every so often and giving them a chance to try it out. How do you make a character look like they are running? How do creators show movement of time? How do they hide clues in the text and art?

Then the kids go home and practice, knowing we will publish their comics on this website. While we practice what good readers do when reading, by showing them the back-side, we can explore how good authors and illustrators help readers be ... well, good readers. A combined front-side and back-side approach to literacy solidifies the learning especially for struggling readers.

USING STUDENT-CREATED COMICS TO ASSESS LEARNING ACROSS CURRICULUM

2011-10-30T08:06:00.000-06:00

By Bill Zimmerman

Make-Beliefs Comics

If you’re looking for an exciting new literacy activity this year why notstart a daily 20-minute comic strip segment during which your students create acomic diary about something they learned, read, or experienced thatday? Creating such daily comix diaries provides away for youngsters to digest and integrate key material they are taught aswell as to reflect on their lives and experiences. What better way toimprove writing, reading and storytelling skills!

To help educators, MakeBeliefsComix.com, the free online comicstrip generator, has launched a Daily Comix Diarypage. Students can use the online comic strip generator or draw their owncomics with pencil or crayons (stick figures are great), or use pictures cut from magazines. By makingtheir own comic strips, students will realize they can create stories andmake art. They will learn that they, too, are capable of generating theirown learning materials, their own memoirs, and validate their own take on the world –– everyone sees things differently.

WHAT TO DRAW AND WRITE ABOUT?

For starters, why not have students create autobiographical comicstrips detailing themselves and their families or summarizing the most importantthings about their lives? Let each student select a cartooncharacter as a surrogate to represent him or her. They might alsosummarize what their individual interests are or some key moments in theirlives.
Maybe students create a comic strip with a new ending for a book thatthey’ve read, or an extension of the story, or a deeper exploration of acharacter in the book.
Maybe their comic is about a concept they learned in science or in socialstudies.
Maybe their comic captures an interesting conversation they overheard.
Maybe their comic is about something sad or bad that happened to them,such as someone bullying them. Or about something special, such as a birthday wish.
Maybe their comic is about something fun or wonderful that they or a friendexperienced – perhaps an adventure they had. Or, about a great or importantmemory they will never forget.
Maybe their daily comic contains a joke they heard or something funny aparent said to them recently.
Maybe they’re exploring a problem at home that’s bothering them, such as asibling who’s driving them crazy.
Maybe theirs is a comic strip utilizing new vocabulary learned that day.
Maybe their comic strip is a fantasy story that came to theirimagination.
Or, how about creating a political comic strip commenting on some newdevelopment in government or a news event?

Now, imagine the student’s comic-filled sketch book or folder containingdaily diary entries created over the course of a year that will traceeach child’s thoughts and learning reflecting what was importantto her or him. They’ll have composed a comic book diary they willtreasure for the rest of their lives.

Mostimportant, the 20-minute-a-day Daily Comix Diary Challenge offers students thechance to become creators as they find their voice, rather than just passivelearners. What better gift can you give them?

SHARING THE PAGE WITH WRITERS I ADMIRE

2011-10-30T07:40:00.002-06:00

By Kevin Hodgson

Staff Writer

I still can’t believe it.

I opened up a package the other day and in it was a huge textbook, ModernLiterature: Rhetorical and Relevant, and there, on page 505, isa graphic novel review I did for TheGraphic Classroom. The review is for thebook AFTER 911: AMERICA’S WAR ONTERROR, which I liked but found to have some shortcomings. What gets meis who else is in this textbook collection broken down into themes of socialjustice, identity, global issues and more. I am squished in this tome withsome of my favorite writers, such as Billy Collins, Dave Barry, Annie Dillard,Gary Soto, Sandra Cisneros, Sherman Alexie, Marjane Satrapi and even RayBradbury.

Yikes!

To be honest, I almost turned down the request for the article because, eh,I wasn’t all that interested in being used by a huge publishing company tryingto sell textbooks. But I wanted to get some good PR for my friend, ChrisWilson, at The Graphic Classroom,and I was able to work out a small financial deal from the company. At least, Itold myself, I was getting paid for the writing gig.

If only I had known who else would be in the pages, I might not haveresisted so much. (ha)

And then I was reading the foreword to the textbook (which I think ismostly targeted for California, but aren’t they all? Or Texas?), and I realizethat one of the advisors behind the book is Kathleen Rowlands, who is thedirector of the Cal State University Northridge Writing Project. I am always happyto see writing project connections to any work I do. And I don’t even know her.

Finally, I started reading the textbook. I know. Who does that? Whoreads a textbook unless you have to? But there is some fine stuff in there, andwhile I mentioned a list of famous folks, there is an entire collection of someincredibly powerful student writing, poems and stories that showcase someamazing talent. Plus, there are comics and other non-traditional texts. Thatmade me happy, too, to know some high school student somewhere has a chance toexplore many kinds of text.

I can’t say I would run out and buy the book (it probably costs an arm anda leg) if I weren’t in it, but I am quite happy to have it on my bookshelves,knowing my words are sitting comfortably close to some wonderful writers. Ihope they don’t mind a little riff-raff in the neighborhood.

AMULET BOOK 4: THE LAST COUNCIL COMIC BOOK CONTEST

2011-10-17T17:18:00.001-06:00

Kabu Kibuishi's New York Times bestselling fantasy and sci-fi comic series, AMULET, has long been a fan favorites in the Hall of Heroes comic book club. Kids rave about it, talk about it, and fight over copies. They just can't get enough. And now ... the new book is out. Watch the trailer.

The Graphic Classroom is sponsoring a contest, courtesy of Scholastic, Inc. One winner will receive the following:

$50 Visa cash card
Copy of AMULET BOOK FOUR: THE LAST COUNCIL
Plus the first 3 books in the series

HOW TO ENTER (students or teachers)

Kids (and teachers) should draw a sketch of your favorite AMULET character and a brief paragraph (2-5 sentences) explaining why that character is your favorite. You must include:

First and last name
Age
School
Parent or teacher's email
Mailing address

(NOTE: Teachers, we don't need your age, but we would like to know how long you have been teaching. It would make a great addition to your classroom comics library.) All entries become the property of The Graphic Classroom. You can email your sketch to MrChrisWilson.tgc@gmail.com.

Entries are due Wednesday, November 9 at 5 pm CST.

Click on the image above to download the flier for your students.

ABOUT AMULET

Emily and her friends think they’ll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn’t right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in fear. Emily is soon escorted to the Academy, where she’s expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Coucil, a group of the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, an awful secret is slowly uncovered – a secret that, if left buried, means the certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

DOWNLOADS

Desktop wallpaper 1

Desktop wallpaper 2

MACBETH

2011-10-17T16:50:00.000-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

REVIEW

Murder, treachery, daggers,witches, spells, spirits and suicide –– MACBETH is the classic horror story forHalloween. Stone Arch Books’ Shakespeare Graphics series brings the Bard tolife with colorized manga, modern English speckled with original quotes, solidpacing, clear text-art symbiosis, excitement and comprehension.

The book begins with a doubletruck splash page with the cast of characters so the reader can start the storywith character understanding. Told in five acts, the reader begins with thewitches three and their murderous plot. Each Act is told in modern English withone original Shakespearean quote intact. Visually the quote is bold and largerthan the other text, signifying to the reader that this is original language. Inthe back of the book is a section for the famous quotes. It gives the speaker,the original quote, a modern translation of the quote, and an explanation ofthe quote. I found that an excellent addition on the part of the publisher anda very helpful section for teachers whose expertise is outside the high schoolliterature classroom as well as for the reader who may be attempting MACBETH onhis own. In addition, there are also discussion questions and writing prompts inthe back.

Despite the modern verbiage, thevocabulary and sentence structure is still complex with overtones of old worldsyntax. It is not a modern retelling, but merely a translation into more modernEnglish.

This was an exciting story, onethat will help younger people engage in classic literature and prepare them forthe high school and college lit class. With this background knowledge, studentswill be better prepared to read the original language and spend their timeanalyzing the intricacies of the Bard, relishing the beauty of his rhyme andmeter, and evaluate the deeper themes and implications of his work.

ART REVIEW

F. Daniel uses colorized manga totell his tale and infuses it with a panel placement that makes the reader stop,ponder, and infer. He uses sparse backgrounds to control the focus of the storyand keep it firmly on character development. Daniel’s illustrations open anavenue for young readers and struggling older students to appreciate characterover action and understand how a character can devolve into tragedy over time.

AGE RECOMMENDATION

Chris’ Rating: Ages 10 and older

Publisher’s Reading Level: Grades 2-3

Publisher’s Interest Level: Grades 5-9

BE AWARE

Shakespeare’s MACBETH is a tragicstory of blood, death, and witchcraft. The spell casters in the story are notcast as heroic protagonists as in the HARRY POTTER series. I suspect those whoobject to magic in their child’s stories and movies may not object to MACBETHbecause the magicians are evil.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Many years ago educator andauthor, Rafe Esquith,instilled in me the desire to teach Shakespeare to elementary students. UnlikeEsquith, who holds classes before and after the official school day as well asSaturday instruction, I am not ready or able to teach the original Bard to thatage group. It would certainly take a concentrated effort of extended schooltimes both during the week and the weekends to accomplish such a beautifultask. However, my take on Esquith’s work is to teach Shakespeare to elementaryor early middle school kids using comics with a variety of textual approachesfrom original language to modern English. Stone Arch’s MACBETH is a dynamitetitle from which to launch such an endeavor.

I think students could explorethe depths of fiction and discover a love for the types of literarydeconstruction, evaluation and interpretation that occurs on the high schooland college level. It all begins with a basic understanding of language,character, and universal themes. Using a modern English translation with a feworiginal Shakespearean quotes, students can begin to grasp the language ofliterature and approach classic literature in the high school and collegeclassroom with a different outlook.

OTHER INFORMATION

Original Author: William Shakespeare

Retold by: Martin Powell

Illustrator: F. Daniel

Series: ShakespeareGraphics

Publisher: Stone Arch Press

Genre: Traditional Literature

Format: Reinforced Library Binding

Pages: 88

Color: Full color

ISBN-13: 978-1-4342-2506-1

CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:

Highly Recommended

VAMPIRES AND CELLS

2011-10-08T12:37:00.002-06:00

ByKevin Hodgson

StaffWriter

STORY SUMMARY

Iadmit that the title of this one threw me. Vampires and cells? What the heck!But as I dove into this graphic book in Capstone Press’ Monster Science series,I realized that VAMPIRES AND CELLS and the other titles in the series might be yetanother way to bring a fun approach to learning science in the classroom setting.This non-fictional graphic text nicely juxtaposes Dracula and other vampirecreatures in the background of panels as a humorous counterpoint to a fairlycomplex introduction to cells and cell structure in the narration. The texthere does not skimp on scientific vocabulary, and I found myself wanting tomake sure I pass this book along to my science teacher colleague for her uniton cells later in the year.

ART REVIEW

Muchof the art here is rudimentary and basic. But, towards the end of the book,there are a few two-sided pages that feature a full inside look at an animalcell and a plant cell (and a few vampires) is nicely done, very entertainingand educational. It makes me hope that a teacher using VAMPIRES AND CELLS mighthave an document camera to share the graphic with their students on a largescreen. They are beautifully done.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Thebooks in this Monster Science series would be right at home in the upperelementary or even middle school classroom. VAMPIRES AND CELLS and the rest arefun ways to introduce or reinforce complicated scientific principles andconcepts. You could argue that Dracula has no right being in the same text as endoplasmicreticulum, but … you’d be wrong.

MORE INFORMATION

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Format: Reinforced LibraryBinding

Pages: 32

Publisher: Capstone Press

ISBN-10: 1429665823

ISBN-13: 978-1429665827

MY RECOMMENDATION

I highly recommend this book for upperelementary and middle school classrooms, although the upper end of middleschool might be pushing it for reading levels. The book is fun and educational.If you have students whose religion frowns on the mystical or magical, thismight be one to avoid (I say this from experience). But there is nothinginappropriate here, other than a few calls for red blood cells by the vampires.

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

2011-10-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

By AdrianNeibauer

StaffWriter

STORY REVIEW

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE is an amazing feat of writing. Gene Yang successfully intertwines threeseemingly unrelated stories: The MonkeyKing, Jin Wang, and Chin Kee. The Monkey King is anallegorical Chinese rendition of the journey made by the famous Chinese monk,Xuan Zang (602-664). The original storyhas Chinese fables, fairy tales, legends, superstitions, and other Taoist andBuddhist themes. Jin Wang is a new Chinese American student who doesn’t fit inat his predominately White school. He befriends Wei Chen, another ChineseAmerican boy who is struggling with the same. Throughout this story, Jin Wang desperately wants to assimilate andabandon his Chinese culture. Chin Kee is the most stereotypical Chinese person:loud, obnoxious, strong accent. When hevisits his cousin Danny –– the epitome of White, high school boys: athletic, popularwith girls, etc. –– he is completely embarrassed.

Notonly does Gene Yang knit these three stories together masterfully, he forcesthe reader to constantly examine what they are reading and combines it withevidence he has already presented in order to infer what will happen next. Thecharacter development is amazing. Nocharacter distracts from the overall story of finding acceptance in a worlddifferent from theirs.

ART REVIEW

Iam, by no means, an art expert. However,as an avid graphic novel reader and teacher who uses graphic novels in myclassroom, there are a few things about AMERICAN BORN CHINESE that I reallyappreciate:

GeneYang’s illustrations are simple and in color. There is just enough detail to make it look realistic without seeminglike a cartoon.

Yangillustrates each page in the same sized 4-6 panels. This may not seem relevant,but when introducing fifth graders to the elements of graphic literature(gutters, panels, speech and thought bubbles), this simplicity is very helpful.It is also effective at forcing the reader to slow down while reading.

Mystudents may not pick up on this, but I really appreciate the subtle Chinesesymbols embedded in each section. Each character’s story has their Chinese pin-yin character stamped oneach page in the traditional red-colored dye.

Withoutspoiling the ending, this story could not have been told in straight prose. Characterschanging from the beginning of the story to the end could only be told in agraphic novel format.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Hereis where the fun begins. Depending on the age level of your students, there aretons of applications for AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. You can focus on Chinese mythology, racism, stereotypes, intertwiningseparate narratives, and character development. However, for my particularneeds, I wanted to use AMERICAN BORN CHINESE to teach the reading strategy of makingan inference.

Inferencingis a particularly difficult reading strategy to teach. I have always struggledwith illustrating how readers need to “read between the lines” and combiningyour schema (what you already know) with what you read. It is very abstract for students to grasp.This is why I love using graphic novels to teach reading, especially AMERICANBORN CHINESE.

Sincethe character development is so strong in this book, I use each character as anexample in inferring character traits. For example, on page 37, Wei Chen introduces himself to Jin Wang.

Thisis a perfect opportunity for students to try and discover more about Wei Chen.As a class, we examine Wei’s body language, his speech bubbles, his thoughtbubbles, his actions (panel illustrations); all to infer what characteristicshe possesses.

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Yang

Thesame chart can be used for any character; and can be modified for makinginferences about the setting and plot.

InThe Monkey King sections, there is afair amount of new vocabulary for students. Using a simple chart (Table 1), you can have students make inferencesfor new vocabulary words.

Thereare a ton of possibilities for using AMERICAN BORN CHINESE in the classroom. Nevertheless,using effective reading strategies for comprehending text is a skill that canbe (and should be) taught at any grade level.

MORE INFORMATION

Author & Illustrator: Gene Yang

Format: Paperback

Pages: 233

Color: Full color

Publisher: First Second Books

ISBN-13: 978-0-312-38448-7

MY RECOMMENDATION

Ifyou are selective about which sections to use in the classroom, AMERICAN BORNCHINESE can be used effectively to teach inferencing in as early as grades 4-5.However, if you intend to teach the entire book, whether as a novel study orlesson in character development throughout the story, I would recommendmiddle school to high school. There is some occasional profanity (“hell” spoken), cigarette smoking, somegross boy humor, and some bloody violence (when the demons stab the monk onpage 148).

Althoughsome would disagree, I think it is entirely appropriate to begin conversationsin sixth grade classrooms about racial bullying and the idea of having a doubleconsciousness (when one’s identity is divided into two opposing facets). Infifth grade, the discussion may look more like an anti-bullying lesson, but Ithink middle school students can handle many of the themes presentedthroughout: humility, fitting in, and one’s identity.

TEACHER JOINS TGC RANKS

2011-10-08T12:01:00.000-06:00

By Adrian Neibauer

Staff Writer

Last year, in a desperate attempt to motivate my surprisingly large class of reluctant boys to read, I broke out my old comic book collection. It was teach by whatever means necessary as we navigated through the stacks of tattered comics I probably thought would be worth big money some day in the future. The response was overwhelming! In order to keep afloat, I applied for and won a grant to create my own classroom comic book curriculum, and supply my students with newer and better comic and graphic novels.

I now read more comics and graphic novels than I ever did as a kid. I write lesson plans for staff development around graphic novels and male literacy, specifically tying reading strategies to graphic literature. I still haven’t had a chance to present to my staff, but I keep bugging the administration…. One day I will get a staff meeting.

I teach fifth grade at Rolling Hills Elementary School in the Cherry Creek SchoolDistrict in Colorado. Every lesson I do that incorporates graphic literature may not be a huge success, but I get my students’ attention. I am convinced that one day a student will nostalgically look back at his elementary school career and proudly proclaim, “Superman taught me to read!”

Currently, I am earning my Master’s degree in Instructional Technology from the University of Colorado at Denver, which has given me a great opportunity to take my comic book curriculum into the 21^st century and explore digital comics and new ways of presenting comic literature to students. I have been teaching for eight years. I am a Colorado native and went to school in the same district I now teach. I have been married for eight years and have three amazing children:two boys and a baby girl.

BITS OF THIS AND THAT

2011-10-02T06:30:00.002-06:00

From the editor

Had some problems with our new domain name last week, which caused our site to be down a few days. Many apologies for that. We are still here and reading, reviewing and teaching. You can now access The Graphic Classroom at our new web address (same website).

http://www.graphicclassroom.org

Cooler weather and shorter days signifies the approach of Halloween. And always, we will have some horror, mystery and suspense stories to showcase, starting this week with the highly recommended, action-adventure romp filled with magic and skulls and the like. This week's overview of DC's new comics has a couple of Halloween-inspired titles you might want to check out if you like all that monster stuff.

We have a new staff writer coming on board. Expect to see his biography and first review next week. If you have not purchased your Halloween mini-comics, I suggest you go to your local comic book store and see if you can still order some. I give them away instead of candy on trick-or-treat night. I always save some back to be used for guided reading groups.

THE UNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN

2011-10-02T06:19:00.000-06:00

ByKevin Hodgson

StaffWrier

STORY SUMMARY & REVIEW

THEUNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN is a tour de force of storytelling and art as AaronRenier really nails the whole concept of young boy embarking on an adventure ofa lifetime. Unsinkable, indeed. Here, the young Walker Bean is racing againstthe clock to return a stolen “skull” to the bottom of the ocean before themagical witches who guard their treasure horde come to get the skull.

Thereare hints of Atlantis in Bean’s quest, metallic creatures that come to life, acrew of pirates who bend the story in strange ways, and elixirs worthy ofwitchcraft. Added to Bean’s relentless struggle is the fate of his deargrandfather, who has ignored advice and gazed at the skull. As a result, theold man is now bed-ridden, hanging on to life by only a thread. The return ofthe skull (sealed up in a bag that changes hands every time you blink) is theonly hope for saving Bean’s grandfather.

Whilethere are many familiar elements to THE UNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN, the story movesat a quick pace and deftly uses the elements of the 190-page graphic novel tocreate a large canvas of characters, plot twists and heart-pounding adventure.There is a note about a Book 2 in the future, and I can tell you, I’ll bewaiting anxiously for the continuation of the story.

ART REVIEW

Theartwork in THE UNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN is as interesting as the story, from thefirst page to the last page. Aaron Renier and his colorist, Alec Longstreth,worked to develop a custom palette of 75 colors, which are the only colors theyused throughout THE UNSINKABLE WALKER BEAN. This palette gives each page afamiliar feel, but also, they expertly use darkness and lightness to greateffect for tone in different elements of the story. The book itself isoversized, and Renier uses that scale to his advantage, creating some entirescenes across two pages when the adventure hits an unusually exciting spot. Youturn the page, and the story becomes this large canvas of art.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Thisbook would be perfect for a curricular study around adventure and survival stories,as Walker Bean again and again must outwit pirates and magical creatures, andmore, to save his grandfather. I also liked that Renier includes some of hisearlier sketches of characters and scenes at the end of the novel. This viewinto the mind of a graphic novelist is valuable and makes the potential ofyoung writers writing and drawing their own stories even more possible.

MORE INFORMATION:

Readinglevel: Ages 9-12

Format: Paperback

Pages:208

Publisher:FirstSecond

ISBN-10:1596434538

ISBN-13:978-1596434530

MY RECOMMENDATION

Iwould highly recommend this book, and in fact, I would suggest thatit be on the top of any list for book purchases this coming year for middleschool classroom, in particular. It may also find a nice home in some highschool classrooms for independent reading. There is no profanity to be worriedabout. There is some violence, but nothing too gory or bloody.

DC's NEW 52: PART 2

2011-10-02T06:07:00.002-06:00

By Chris Wilson

Editor-in-Geek

I adopt new technology prettyquickly and digital books are no different. I made the move to reading novels on the iPad monthsago and with DC’s new reboot, I decided I would buy those electronically,too. (The exceptions being WONDER WOMAN,BIRDS OF PREY and BATGIRL, which are purchased as in both formats because they were already on my pull list at the comicshop. Besides, I have to buy some print because I still want to support mylocal comic shop.) For me, ebooks make sense because I have a preteen daughter who is very involved. I live inone city while I teach in another and we also give back to our community. Weare very busy people. Hauling print comics all over God-and-country is just notprudent anymore.

I didn’t intend on looking at somany of the DC books to begin with. ACTION, DETECTIVE, and a couple more wereall that I wanted to see. As the books come out I cannot help but be intrigued.Much of what I’ve read so far has been pretty solid. That means I end up downloading morethan I expected. Good thing, because the print copies are selling out and I’mnot paying more than cover price.

ANIMAL MAN #1 is a comic I would have never picked up had thebuzz not been so good. The writing is outstandingly slow and character driven, something we need more of in our lit and flicks. Animal Man has the ability to tap into the life web and access the traits ofany animal. He is married with children and is more interested in family lifethan that of the daily super, although he dons the costume now and again tofight crime as well as make some public appearances and do the occasional interview. Deep down insidesomething is wrong –– very, very wrong.

The last panel is creepy andgives students ample fodder to examine, analyze, synthesize and makepredictions. What is going on with his elementary-aged daughter? If they can getpast the craziness of the situation, they will not be able to wait for the nextissue. I would consider having students write their own issue #2 (text, art orboth) and see what they come up with.

As good as the writing is, theart is very dated and a pretty big turn-off for me. If the story were not sogood, I would probably drop it after #1.

***

DEMON KNIGHTS #1 is a magical, medieval fantasy world withdragons, demons, and barbarian hoards. Flashbacks and multiple story lines makeit a book worth reading twice, and for those students who love full blownfantasy, DEMON fulfills nicely. A graphic organizer to track the multiple storylines would help students keep it straight and analyze the motivations of thecharacters and make predictions as to the future. Bloody and demonic, if DEMONis used in the classroom, it needs to stay with older teens and collegestudents. It may be more beneficial as a library check-out. I see DEMON beingused as a relationship builder between teacher and student, where arecommendation is made to that special student who needs that special kind of fantasy.

***

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E #1 is –– it seems to me– DC’s version of HELLBOY. The art is different, but the creatures andset-up is very similar. Soldiers volunteer for a special program to becomesomething less human. Franky was the first, but now the program is expanding toa vampire, werewolf, mummy and amphibian. The team’s job is to destroy the evilhoard of monstrosities that have invaded a town. FRANKENSTEIN is a bloodbath offighting and defending. Like DEMON, I would see it as a piece to be recommendedto those students who need more alternative stories than the school librarymight provide.

***

SUICIDE SQUAD #1

If you can’t tell from the title,this is a mature, grown-up story line; it is not for kids or for the K-12classroom. While college students are mature enough to handle it, it’s stilltoo soon to tell how it might be used effectively. SUICIDE is nothing more thanSECRETSIX with new characters. Those who liked SECRET SIX will slide right overto SUICIDE and find a home. What I find confusing is why DC would stop one andstart another so much like it. It makes no sense, really, because SECRET SIXhad a following.

***

SUPERBOY #1 was quite the surprise piece for me. I didn't think much of it at first glance, but finally decided todownload it on a hunch. Scott Lobdell’s approach to writing is similar to Gail Simone. Hischaracters are reflective and there is a lot of narration giving us insightinto Superboy’s mind. Who is he? He is a lab-created clone with hybrid DNA.Superman’s DNA was combined with someone else’s DNA, but who that is the greatsecret. It plays an important role as the person is obviously controversial.Lex Luthor seems to be the prominent pick of fanboys.

There are clues a’plenty in thebook, in both text and art. This works well to teach students to “read thepictures” as well as the text in order to gain insight into the whole story.One scene depicts Superboy in a classroom in Kansas. I noticed the spinningwheel computer icon in the middle of the page. It stopped me and I wondered whyit was there. I suspected he was being observed. That was partly true, Isuppose. The reveal comes later in the issue. I won’t spoil it, but I will recommend making students stop and discuss why that icon is in the middle of the page. What does the icon tell us about the story? How does the author use this detail to tell the story?

The last panelof the comic offers another chance for students to meld the text and images inorder to construct meaning and make predictions about the next issue. This ispurposeful on the part of the creators. It’s important for teachers who usecomic literature to teach students to see those clues, interpret them anddiscuss them.

Superboy is a walking metaphor.He must hide himself –– his true self –– from everyone in order to fit in. He’sconcocted a story of cognitive amnesia so he doesn’t have to explain hishistory. The scientists watching him are perplexed by his apparent flat affectand lack of empathy. For teens, Superboy offers a lot in the way ofunderstanding their world through literature while examining the larger pictureat the same time. How does the reader view him? Are we concerned, too? How will his less empathetic characteristics affect his superhero life? Do parents, teachers, counselors and other adults look at teens the way the reader or the scientists look at him? What do they see in the teens' lives that the teen and his or her peers do not?

I think SUPERBOY might well be that one title that is a mustfor middle and high school students.

***

WONDER WOMAN #1

My first hack at WONDER #1 leftme a bit underwhelmed. I was utterly irritated over the cover art. [shudder]. Something about being disappointed with the reboot of oneof DC’s iconic characters didn’t sit well. Was it her or me? I think mydisagreement with the cover art nearly spoiled the new series for me.

I grabbed the iPad again andreally combed the title out. What I found was a deeply complex narrativestructure similar to the movie trappings of writer/director Quentin Tarantino.That was it. I missed the chopped up and reorganized timeline on my first read.I wasn’t bored and I wasn’t disappointed. I just didn’t get it … the firsttime.

My second read brought the Amazon home with a gut-punch and a smile. I pickedup on the clues regarding the mysterious, oracle-inducing rooftop sun king andfinally understood the disharmony between narration boxes and the visualsduring Diana’s battle with the assassins.

The things I missed are the things that students should examine. Rearranged story lines as well as foreshadowing and other clues are prime ways to teach students to appreciate complex titles of any mode. Studying non-linear storytelling helps students write creatively.

WONDER #1 was my favorite storyline so far in the new DCU, but it requires athorough read and an inquisitive mind for the real gems to sparkle. Perfect wayto teach students about non-linear story telling and creative narrativestructure.

DCs NEW 52: PART 3

Next time we will wrap up theseries with the low-down of a few other titles I had no plan to read, but endedup buying anyway.