Graphic Novels as the classroom Literary Superhero

Evaluating recent research when considering changes to your curriculum or literacy approach is essential to teacher and student success. This article discusses why graphic novels are academically worthy and provides resources for further research.

The What & Why

What: Data supports the inclusion of graphic novels in the traditional ELAR classroom. Archival data collected from 120 students showed that 11.7% preferred graphic novels as their student-selected reading (Dougherty).

Why: If the goal is to have students read independently and engage in what they have selected to read, then we should be following the data and current research that supports the inclusion and usage of graphic novels within the classroom.

Why Graphic Novels?

• Fast pace

• Builds vocabulary

• Forces text and image interaction

• Develops reading skills

• Aids those with learning differences

• Reinforces harder texts

• Books for boys and girls

• Discusses complex topics at age-appropriate levels

• Creates empathy

Starting Points

Let's take a peek at a few articles highlighting the importance of using graphic novels in the classroom and how to implement them.

“Gender matters for literacy research organizations” by C.M. Wickens

This article focuses on the importance of evaluating both the “sociological and economic analyses of gender and work” as well as how those roles play their part in reading and literacy. The research focuses on the continued issues surrounding society’s value of women, their role in education, and culture's role in the world of literacy.

“Culturally Responsive Representation in Graphic Novels Matter for African American Boys with Reading Disabilities” by S.A. Robinson

The article focuses on the importance of graphic novels for African American boys with reading disabilities while focusing on the emotional needs of students as well as their cultural and social needs. This article includes data outlining the increase of African American boys and the percentage they make up of special education populations, the diversity of class and school libraries, and the need for targeted interventions for this unique population.

“A queer critical media literacies framework in a digital age” by L. Van Leent and K. Mills

The article focuses on how teachers can use media affecting while using the queer critical media literacies to interrogate the “gender normative and heteronormative assumptions within media texts in digital communication environments at school.” Throughout the article, the authors elaborate on the purpose of queer critical framework, the impact it can have in the classroom, and how this framework can be applied in intersections to include culture, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression.

“Graphic Novels: Understanding how Fifth Graders Read Literary Text through Eye Movement Analysis” by S.M Yusof, Z.M Lazim, K. Salehuddin, and M.M. Shahimin

The article focuses on the best practice of using multimodal texts such as graphic novels in the classroom and the benefits of using them specifically with fifth graders to improve literacy and reading comprehension issues. The author claims that multimodal, contemporary literature such as graphic novels helps bridge the reader with current real-world issues, which deepens their understanding and motivates them to engage in reading.

Current Curriculum does not include student interests

Let's address the elephant in the room. Am I claiming teachers do not try to include student interests? No, I am not. There are wonderfully talented and dedicated teachers on both sides of this argument; however, excluding an entire medium of storytelling due to a bias excludes a group of literacy seekers within the classroom. With this in mind, let's take a peek at what the research is suggesting:

“When the Curriculum Needs Rescuing : Superhero Graphic Novels as Disruptive Curricular Forces” by J. Mundorf, H. Miller, C. Hines, M. Worlds, and J. Del Riego

The article focuses on the current role of graphic novels and the potential of including graphic novels that center around the superhero and their experiences to convey traditional marginalized concepts and traditions. The researchers review their own experiences, the areas for potential application, student needs, and cross-curriculum ties in available aligned with current state standards.

“It’s about Superman, but it's more than that: A graphic novel pedagogy in middle years classroom” by J. DeHart

DeHart focuses on three case students that involve educators who have experience with graphic novels within the classroom during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study outlines both the pros and cons the educators experienced and how the multimodal texts created engagement in the virtual learning environment.

“Graphic Novels: Exploring Visual Culture and Multimodal Literacy in Preservice Art Teacher Education” by H. Kwon

The article focuses on the importance of graphic novels in academic and non-academic settings as a mode to draw connections and show understanding. In addition, the article discusses the discrepancies between student interest, teacher bias, and the impact it has on education by allowing students to draw their conclusion and develop correlations between their own experiences and that of multimodal literacy.

“Film, Dreams, and MMORPGs: Cultural leakage and digital gaming literacy in inception” by T. Katz and J.D. Wallace

The article focuses on the rhetorical approach and the “large-scale cultural ways of thought” while examining MMORPGs as literature. The authors outline the components necessary to identify something as literature and the tensions present in such culturally rich environments.

How do Graphic Novels bridge student needs with the curriculum?

“Recommended Reading: Comparing Elementary/Middle School Graphic Novel Collections to Recommended Reading Lists” by R.A. Moeller and K.E. Becnel

The article evaluates the currently recommended book lists to that of popular graphic novels and classroom collections of graphic novels. Additionally, the article review trends, current literature, and the ever-growing popularity as more and more students gravitate towards graphic novels as a means of choice reading. The researchers then evaluate how this data affects the elementary and middle school populations, the need for reevaluation of both classroom and library inventory, and opportunities for inclusion within the scope and sequence.

“Promoting social action through visual literacy: New Pioneer and the labor defender in the secondary classroom” by R. Jean

This article focuses on the implications of technology in the modern classroom and the effects it has had on education as a whole. Specifically targeting technology's impact on literacy and literacy as a concept. The article highlights the removal of after-school activities focusing on specialized interests, such as clubs, in favor of testing-targeted tutorials. Additionally, the author investigates visual literacy, its role in modern education, and its impact when paired with social action.

“Leveraging High-Interest Graphic Novels to Address Reading Motivation and Student Engagement” by J.R. Luetkemeyer

The article focuses on how including graphic novels in the classroom increases reading motivation for students who are less motivated to read and those with reading comprehension issues. In addition, the authors hypothesize that it allows for a deeper grasp of story elements and bridges potential gaps in speaking and writing skills for students with and without reading comprehension problems.

“Teaching YA Graphic Novels: Personalizing the Teaching of Secondary Reading with Visual Texts” by H.A. O’Loughlin

The article clarifies common misunderstandings about graphic novels and potential teacher bias surrounding the often-overlooked literacy tool. In addition to research, the author outlines modern graphic novels' impact, especially when discussing hard-hitting topics such as immigration, sexuality, and racism. Lastly, the author connects ways to incorporate graphic novels in established classroom practices such as book pairings, literature circles, and writer’s responses.

Revisiting the Why

Kylene Beers states:

“If we teach a child to read but fail to develop a desire to read, we will have created a skilled non-reader, a literate illiterate. And no high test score will ever undo that damage” (Beers, 2017).

Why this matters...

The goal is to find ways to have students become lifelong learners and lovers of reading then, we should also be supporting and valuing their interests, community, culture, beliefs, and self. To do this is to create a literate person; to ignore it or not place value on it, we create a literate illiterate.

Penny Kittle states:

It is essential to show some students how to slow down and engage with the book as a conversation versus a one-sided story… reading should not be a chore that you engage in hesitantly; it should be approached with a sense of joy, curiosity, and interest (Kittle, 2013)

Why this matters...

By engaging students in their interests, they continue the “conversation” in the book and develop joy, curiosity, and interest.

In Conclusion

"My platform has been to reach reluctant readers. And one of the best ways I have found to motivate them is to connect them with reading that interests them, to expand the definition of reading to include humor, science fiction/fantasy, nonfiction, graphic novels, wordless books, audio books and comic books.” ― Jon Scieszka, children’s book author

---

References

DeHart, J. (2021). It’s about Superman, but it’s more than that: A graphic novel pedagogy in middle years classrooms. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 29(1), 47–52.

Jean, R. (2018). Promoting social action through visual literacy: New pioneer and the labor defender in the secondary classroom. Radical Teacher, 110: 25-32.

Katz, T., & Wallace, J. D. (2019). Film, Dreams, and MMORPGs: Cultural leakage and digital gaming literacy in inception. Journal of Literacy and Technology Special Edition, 20(1): 81-118.

Kwon, H. (2020). Graphic Novels: Exploring Visual Culture and Multimodal Literacy in Preservice Art Teacher Education. Art Education, 73(2), 33–42. https://doi-org.ezproxy.shsu.edu/10.1080/00043125.2019.1695479

Luetkemeyer, J. R. (2021). Leveraging High-Interest Graphic Novels to Address Reading Motivation and Student Engagement. Teacher Librarian, 48(3), 28–31.

Mundorf, J., Miller, H., Hines, C., Worlds, M., & Del Riego, J. (2021). When the Curriculum Needs Rescuing: Superhero Graphic Novels as Disruptive Curricular Forces. Ohio Journal of English Language Arts, 60(2), 25–30.

MOELLER, R. A., & BECNEL, K. E. (2021). Recommended Reading: Comparing Elementary/Middle School Graphic Novel Collections to Recommended Reading Lists. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 19(2), 6–13. https://doi-org.ezproxy.shsu.edu/10.5860/cal.19.2.6

O’Loughlin, H.A. (2021). Teaching YA Graphic Novels: Personalizing the Teaching of Secondary Reading with Visual Texts. English Leadership Quarterly, 43(3), 13–18.

Robinson, S. A. (2020). Culturally Responsive Representation in Graphic Novels Matter for African American Boys with Reading Disabilities. Journal of African American Males in Education, 11(1), 23–36.

Wickens, C. M. (2018). Gender matters for literacy research organizations. Journal of Literacy Research, 50(1): 123-130.

Van Leent, L. & Mills, K. (2017). A queer critical medial literacies framework in a digital age. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 61(4): 401-411.

Yusof, S. M., Lazim, Z. M., Salehuddin, K., & Shahimin, M. M. (2020). GRAPHIC NOVELS: Understanding how Fifth Graders Read Literary Text through Eye Movement Analysis. Kritika Kultura, 33/34, 388–427.

Additional References

Beers, K. (2017, October 18). Retrieved July 08, 2020, from https://twitter.com/KyleneBeers/status/920466322684706817

Gallagher, K., & Kittle, P. (2018). 180 days: Two teachers and the quest to engage and empower adolescents.

Kittle, P. (2013). Book love: Developing depth, stamina, and passion in adolescent readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.