Friday, March 28, 2008
Comics Are The New Graphic Novels
A generation raised in a visual environment dominated by television, the internet and electronic games now have comics infiltrating in many schools as the new 'graphic novels'. In the article, "Picture this: Teachers are using comics, now called 'graphic novels,' to captivate reluctant readers," by Sue Corbett is an attempt to show that comics are reaching reluctant readers. Rather than having a student to take home a book that both you and the student possibly know will not be read, schools are now introducing comics as an alternative option. "Before anybody explodes about kids reading comic books when they're supposed to be doing quadratic equations or studying Shakespeare, know that comic books have changed, and so has reading," explains Roberta Kaiser, a media specialist at Nautilus Middle School on Miami Beach. She not only stocks her shelves with comics, but also demands outstrips supply by a wide margin. The combination between pictures and text holds a child's attention longer than blocks of print, therefore making comics a good choice. Though some feel that this is not the best decision, the bound books feature every stripe of hero and story with genres ranging from science to biography to memoirs, making them more appealing to young and even older readers.
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2 comments:
I totally agree with Sue Corbett. I have read many manga (Japanese Comics), and I loved the pictures that given me. Sure, this takes away from the "inner eye" feeling or imaging the character. I feel that both modes can be beneficial to the class. Christy acknowledges the fact manga or American comics do reach every reader. Who said Spiderman wasn't part Shakespeare or the Bible? Spiderman, Card Captors, and some other random comics are an escape from the long texts students need to read for English classes. I do hop more teachers get comics into classes. The fun of watching art, characters drawn then imagined, and the references in the books can led to many other texts.
This was an interesting post because at first I thought...no way could comics be beneficial. After reading through the points made by Sue Corbett and in the other blogs I can see both sides. Different students learn from different modes. The use of comic books could help a student get into reading and I think that should be done in any way possible. I do think that many comics these days have developed storylines and meaningful plots. Some,like megan suggests, may even have been based on a classic piece of literature. I think that a teacher must read through the comic and carefully pick those that will work in a classroom before handing any out to students.
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