Comics in the Classroom

In Defense of Using Comics in the Classroom:  Comic Books Are Literature

When searching for new texts to implement into classroom curricula, educators often look to award winning titles.  At the middle school level, decision-makers look to some of the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual awards, including The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal.  “The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year.” (ALA) “The Sibert Award honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.” (ALA)  In 2007 a graphic novel won the Michael L. Printz Award (American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang), and in 2017 another graphic novel was named a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book (March: Book Three, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin). School Library Journal (and other library journals) include Graphic Novels in their monthly book review pages.  The Common Core State Standards include “graphic novel” in the list of texts that students in grades 5 and 10 should be analyzing.  Why then are teachers so reticent to use comic books in the classroom?  

As Jabari Sellars tells us in Comics in the Classroom, “comics can serve three primary roles in the classroom: 1.) They can facilitate a better understanding of complex required texts by serving as a preliminary reading activity; 2.) they can extend the analysis of a classic work of literature, either by providing examples of derivative fiction or by making strong allusions to the classics; and 3.) they can replace less-accessible works from the literary canon while still conveying the same messages and using the same literary and rhetorical conventions. (Sellars)

By examining titles such as The Arrival by Shaun Tan, A Contract with God by Will Eisner, and American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, I was able to make easy connections to how these titles can help a multitude of our students -- our reluctant readers, our visual learners, our English language learners, and many more.  When reading a comic book, learners will predict what will happen next, will make inferences, will decode unknown words, and will experientially connect with the storyline. However, “graphic novels have an added dimension that teaches other skills as well. Readers must interpret the illustrations, connecting the visuals with the words they are reading to create comprehension.” (Johns) This process exercises the mind as other types of reading do not, requiring more focus, analysis, and critical thought than straight textual reading. 

As if the benefits to brain development aren’t impressive enough, comic books can also help promote social and emotional learning with middle school students. As a school, we continuously focus on making sure students feel safe while they’re here. As a middle school, we add to that piece by continually focusing on their social and emotional development, understanding their identity, and embracing those awkward, puberty years. We’ve done a lot of work around cultural competency in our school, but allowing students the opportunity to see and read about their cultural identity in books is crucial.  Books that our newcomers (English language learners) can read and understand as they look for those connections are so important. We want our students to be global citizens and understand where our peers are coming from. Titles such as American Born Chinese (Yang), Alia’s Mission (Stamaty), Azzi In Between (Garland) and War Brothers (McKay) can help us prompt conversations around cultural identity and understanding.  

Adults and children struggle to discuss topics around sexuality and gender awareness.  By providing students with titles such as Wandering Son by Takako Shimura, students can approach the topic in a safe way.  In Wandering Son and Gender Identity, Paul Jackson points out “Fiction is a valuable teaching tool because it gives students the opportunity to consider a potentially difficult subject without the sensitivities of real-life cases. As such, Wandering Son provides a very effective introduction to questions of (trans)gender and offers numerous avenues for discussion.” (Jackson)  Graphic novels that embrace LGBTQIA ideas have a way of humanizing “others” and helping students empathize with those who may or may not be like them.  

Educators are always looking for literature that offers “windows into other worlds.” As the graphic novel and comic book industry keeps growing (specifically in young adult publishing), we are seeing more and more titles that fit that description. In addition to brain development, helping to build empathy, and offering glances into other worlds, comic books are just fun and appeal greatly to readers!  

References:

Jackson, Paul. "Wandering Son and gender identity." Screen Education, no. 78, 2015, p. 32+. 

     Educators Reference Complete, 

     https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A440821082/PROF?u=mlin_m_vlusl&sid=PROF&xid=97900

     bae. Accessed 10 July 2019.

Johns, Linda. “Getting Serious About Comics.” Mom’s Homeroom. Web. Nov 16, 2012. 

     http://momshomeroom.msn.com/parenting-articles/reading/getting-serious-about-comi

     cs/ 251535497?wt.mc_id=msn.

Sellars, Jabari. "Comics in the Classroom: Building reading comprehension and literary analysis 

     with help from the X-Men." Usable Knowledge, 5 Dec. 2017, 

     www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/comics-classroom. Accessed 10 July 2019. 

"The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature", American Library 

     Association, March 15, 2007. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz (Accessed July 10, 2019)

"Welcome to the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal home page!", American Library 

     Association, November 30, 1999. 

     http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal (Accessed July 10, 2019)