Who knew?

Example # 1: When reading, I have always had pictures that formed in my head.  Ones that showed what I thought about how a character would look, the setting, and the how the action would take place. 
Example # 2: Sometimes when I am in class I draw pictures in my notebook because I know that they will help me to remember concepts better when taking notes.
Example # 3: When a teacher introduces drawing into a classroom as an activity, I always get excited because it is more hands/on and visual than a writing assignment.

These examples are from my own real life experiences.  Some people are just better visual learners.  That's me.  So why does it seem so odd to have a graphic novel in the classroom? 
- The answer is that it shouldn't. 

Graphic novels are a more modern resource that we as teachers should use as an element in the classroom.  You may ask, "What is a graphic novel, but a glorified picture book?" Well that is the way I first looked at them.  After taking a dose of these "picture books", I have come to realize that they are so much more. 

While reading the graphic novel, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, I have come to realize that they can portray many significant literary aspects of a regular novel while grasping a modern cultural approach that make them more attractive to reluctant readers.  This particular graphic novel has a three strand story-line that intertwines over a series of chapters to develop into one theme.  The book contained pictures that helped to interpret the story, just like a narrator of a traditional novel.  This interesting technique made me think that possibly the use of Graphic Novels in the classroom would be an asset.

Sometimes students are so resistant when it comes to reading, that they ignore assignments altogether.  In the book, You Gotta Be the Book, by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, he has students that refuse to read.  After he inquires about some comic books they have with them, he has an idea.  He begins to introduce graphic novels to the classroom shelves so that the students can read them during their free reading period.  This sparks the reluctant readers and they become so interested that they enjoy learning.  One of the students who struggles with reading is Kao.  She is in the ESL program.  She expresses that she would rather draw her responses to questions because that way people can understand her better.  Introducing visual activities into the curriculum can engage all students and possibly give them the opportunity they have been waiting for to shine.

I believe that Graphic Novels can help struggling students as a stepping stone towards discovering the magical places that reading can take the imagination.  It helps them to understand the workings of a novel and seek for more material to learn with enthusiasm.  Teaching with graphic novels can help students when it comes to writing as well.  In an article by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, they conclude by saying, "Using graphic novels to scaffold writing instruction helped students practice the craft of writing and gain necessary skills to become competent readers."

With that, I say tear down the traditional walls that block the modern culture from intruding into the world of our readers, because the culture is there whether we want it to be or not, so let's use it to our teaching advantage.