Does the use of graphic novel motivate struggling readers and English Language Learners? Studies on graphic novel use are slowly but steadily emerging. Books provide accessible accounts of real-life experiences through their characters, enabling teenagers to reflect on their own experiences and the experiences of others. Through carefully crafted characters, teens are able to reflect on their own sense of self-worth, discover ways in which they can improve themselves and realize that while making mistakes is an unfortunate side-effect of growing up, it is what you choose to do with those mistakes that builds the character traits leading into adulthood. Without reading, teenagers have only the marginal experiences of themselves, and the perceived experiences of their peers, to shape their character. Thus the importance of graphic novel use with struggling readers arises. This study is not just about reading, it is about breaking down the walls that imprison struggling readers, removing their shackles of insecurity and narrow-mindedness and guiding them into the realm of literacy. It is from this new position that teenagers can grow, can begin understanding the larger world around them and can answer the vital questions that form a successful democracy.
In order to formulate a theoretical framework for studying the use of graphic novels to motivate struggling readers and English language learners (ELL), a qualitative study will be required using a constructivist worldview approach. In working from this worldview, the researcher is allowed to engage with the world from a social and historical perspective in which the data collected is then used to generate meaning (Creswell, 2009). This type of knowledge claim is appealing because i...
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The graphic novel “This One Summer” by Mariko Tamaki displays a relevant modern-day manner of teenage conversations, dilemma, and emotions in the 21st century. The novel did an accurate illustration in presenting the modern-day concern, curiosity and interest of children and teenagers as one example on page 22, when Windy asked Rose “do you have a boyfriend?” it displays the curiosity of a child in their relative/friends love affair, which most teenagers are mainly concern of nowadays. Body image also takes part on the graphic novel as Windy and Rose talks about the size of their breast on page 35, and comparing it to other people as Windy shares the story “this girl in my dance class is ten and she’s like a D cup. Maybe a G.” The novel illustrates some of the concerns a modern teenager might have, which can be relatable to most young teenage readers as they share the same concern or discussions they have with their friends. The dialogues and conversations that is shown in the book are very vulgar as one example on page 39-40 when the Dud’s friend and the adolescent girls exchanges the words “sluts and assholes”. Which later was adapted by the young teenagers in their vocabulary as
I chose to read and comment on Barbara Kiefer’s “Envisioning Experience: The Potential of Picture Books.” Kiefer’s main point in writing this essay was to get the message across that children enjoy picture books that allow them to identify and make connections with the characters or the plots, and that while reading and analyzing the pictures, they gain a better sense of aesthetics and how to interpret them.
In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young
In the 40s, comic books had a large audience. There would have been at least a dozen people in your class who read comics, claims Chabon. A few years later in the 70s, there would have been less than a dozen but more than one or two people who read comics. Now, it is hard to find more than a few people that you know who actually read comics. If you read comics today, you are considered unique. Children are loosing interest in everything that stimulates the mind in a positive way. Chabon claims that the obvious decline in interest in comic books should make authors want to take initiative and fix the
Gelo, O., Braakmann, D., & Benetka, G. (2008). Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Beyond the Debate. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 42(3), 266-290. doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9078-3
Stephanie Shemansky HUM3070 Directed Research Paper Assignment Stereotyping in Comic Books First were going to talk about how stereotypical male roles dominated the early scene in comic books. In many comic books the male is the one who always turns out to be the hero. For example Superman who first appeared in the comic book scene in 1938 is one of the world’s leading super hero comics (Superman in the Comics / http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics.php#).
Novels for young adults are essential for a myriad of reasons: they are educational, relatable, and an escape for those who read them. It is important when teaching a class featuring these books, that the recurring themes be highlighted. This provides a full understanding of why these novels are important for young adults to read, and provides insight about character motivations and relationships. These important features of YA lit are: the power structure that exists between children/young adults and adults, survival, the idea of the underdog, personal growth/self-actualization, and isolation v. conformity. Most of the time these themes occur during the protagonist’s journey, whether that quest is a physical or emotional one. Overall, YA lit themes can be summed up as the evaluation of relationships with others and with the self. The following works demonstrate that overarching theme, and all that it entails, perfectly.
Blum, Deborah. “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Signs of Life In the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Children are automatically drawn to what they feel relates to them the best. From clothes to games, and even literature, children are attracted to certain elements that separate what’s “girly” and what’s “boyish”. Most children literature is designed in a manner that attracts a specific crowd. The authors and illustrators of children literature take into consideration whether they want their book to be intended for girls or for boys. However, in the story Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, deception as to which crowd the book was intended is shown throughout the story. The books unique style has the ability to capture both young boys and young girls. By containing general phrases and avoiding specific representations of boys and girls, the structure of the book allows children to view the book not in a sense of gender but rather in a sense of fun, educational and exciting. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 lends to its children readers authorship in that the story allows children to decide whether this book is a boy book or a girl book. Cleary manages to make the story interchangeable. The shape, design, and title name of Ramona Quimby, Age 8 are all characteristics that awaken the senses of children when they are searching for a book that serves their greater interest. In this book Cleary shows how easily it is to manipulate the minds of children through the use of language within the text, and images. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 allows children to make there own decision as to what the gender of the book is. Whether boy or girl, the story is made in a way that takes children on an interesting learning experience as they delve deep within the text. Made possible for both girls and boys Beverly Clearly avoids focusing on a specific gender and we...
The classic comic book is a polar opposite of the complex nature of poetry. The comic book is designed for the younger reader and possesses a simplistic nature that allows the creator to use visual media combined with short written dialog to tell a story. The pictures in a comic book are an integral part of the makeup of a comic book. The pictures allow the creator to portray the protagonist and antagonist in a way that is common to all readers. This however inhibits the use of imagination by the reader. The pictures are all an artist's interpretations of the actions and settings that make up each scene. When a person reads descriptive text with no pictures, it allows the reader to build a mental picture of each scene that is unique to his/her own personality. The comic book does not allow for this expressiveness in its prefabricated structure.
The graphic novel is grounded in stereotypes that belie their true expressive power, and the deconstruction of those stereotypes is the first step in accessing concepts that are misconstrued and difficult. As Scott McCloud states in Understanding Comics "Sure, I realized that comic books were usually crude, poorly drawn...but they don't have to be" (McCloud 3), something we have witnessed through the sophistication of our texts this semester. By investigating how the comic form interacts with the reader, we can find many benefits that often position comics as an optimal vehicle for delivering informative and educational content where other mediums only barely suffice.
Most people believe that graphic novels are just an art book with minimal text. They believe it is just for entertainment for kids or young adults. They think that graphic novels are just like comics. But to get to the point, graphic novels are just like all the other novels. They are a piece of literature that tells a story and pulls out the reader’s imagination, so that they feel that they are a part of the story or can even relate to the story. Graphic novels have changed and developed into such remarkable pieces of literature and should be accepted by all scholars to be placed in that category. According to John Ridley, “There are still some people out there who believe comic books are nothing more than, well, comic books. But the true cognoscenti know graphic novels are-at their best-an amazing blend of art, literature and the theater of the mind”.
Visual literacy is the capacity to interpret, and generate original, as well as acknowledged, meaning from images. To put it more succinctly, it “is the ability to construct meaning from visual images” (Giorgis, 1). It is pivotal to the graphic arts but is often seen as “peripheral to the ‘real business’ of school and schooling” (Dimitriadis, 361). Current issues in education often involve how to develop literate students. This means that students acquire the necessary skills to understand the meaning in texts and be able to produce their own puissant writing as well. Arguments concerning literacy are centered almost exclusively on written text and this is the only definition of literacy in which most are exposed to. However, we live and work in a visually oriented society in which the idea of being visually literate remains extraneous to the mainstream definition of an educated person.
Required reading material in school often centers on female heroines. In the essay “Why Johnny Won’t Read,” authors Mark Bauerlein and Sandra Stotsky state, “Unfortunately, the textbooks and literature assigned in the elementary grades do not reflect the dispositions of male students…On the other hand, stories about adventurous and brave women abound.” The two authors are stating that there are hardly any male-oriented novels available from a young age, and so there is not much for boys to make self-connections with. The same essay provides several statistics to highlight the idea that girls read more than boys: “Between 1992 and 2002, among high school seniors, girls lost two points in reading scores and boys six points, leaving a 16-point differential in their averages…” Because reading is the sort of test that can be improved only by practice, it is evident that girls read more often than boys. ...
Literature has been part of society since pen met paper. It has recorded history, retold fables, and entertained adults for centuries. Literature intended for children, however, is a recent development. Though children’s literature is young, the texts can be separated into two categories by age. The exact splitting point is debatable, but as technology revolutionized in the mid-twentieth century is the dividing point between classic and contemporary. Today’s children’s literature is extraordinarily different from the classics that it evolved from, but yet as classic was transformed into modern, the literature kept many common features.