Graphic Novels

What is Graphic Novel?

Graphic novels are book-length comics.

Continuous narrative from first page to last
Usually cover fictional material in comic book
form through the use of sequential
illustrations.

Differences between graphic novels

and comic

Graphic novels
are LONGER.
They tell a
complete story

Comic books
focus on
events

Graphic Novel in Classroom

Students tend to talk about the story-talking

about the text before teacher ask them to talk
about the text.
Gives a clearer understanding, and it lets you
comprehend the story faster
Easier to visualize and put in motion
Increase understanding by using two ways to
understand, visually and mentally,

Concerns about Graphic Novels

Dont provide
the kind of rigor
that novels
require

Comic reading can

be a conduit to
heavier reading
(Krashen 20050

Opportunity to Engage all

Students

Graphic novel now offers English language

arts teachers opportunities to engage all
students in a medium that expands beyond
the traditional borders of literacy
(Schwarz 2006, 58)

Provide Visual Elements

To read a graphic novel, students need to

understand traditional literacy, including
character, plot, theme, and writing craft,
particularly dialogue, but they also have the
opportunity explore visual elements such
as color, shading, panel layout, perspective,
and even the lettering style (Schwarz
2006,59)

Provide Reading Opportunity

A study conducted by Joanne Ujie and Stephen

Krashen found that middle school boys who
read comics read more in general than boys
who did not read comics, read more books,
and enjoyed reading more (1996, 52)

Suggestion in support of using

Graphic Novel

1. Teachers read graphic novels and note their

own reading experience in order to better
literacy skills understanding
2. Talk with your administration and your
department about the use of graphic novels
3. Select the graphic novel excerpts with care;
many of them are not school appropriate
4. Obtain graphic novel although it is only black
and white.

Graphic Novels in Support of

Reading Skills

Teach

Suppo
or
rt
reinforc
Visual
e
Literac
inferen
ce Providey
opportuniti
es for
exploring
story
telling
elements

Teach or reinforce Inference

It requires readers to draw background

knowledge with both pictures and text to infer
what is happening.
graphic novels can teach about making
inferences, since readers must rely on pictures
and just a small amount of text. (Council
Chronicle 2005, 2)

Support Visual Literacy

Students have to pay attention to colour,

shading, panel layout, perspective, and
lettering style. (Schwarz 2006, 59)
For students who lack the ability to visualize
as they read, it provides a graphic sense that
approximates what good readers do as they
read (Council Chronicle 2005, 2)

Provide opportunities for

exploring story telling
elements

Character
Setting
Plot
Theme
Literary craft (dialogue and metaphor)

Graphic Novels in Support of Story

Elements

Teaching strategies:
- Teachers who have incorporated graphic
novels into their classrooms
- interviews with adolescents who want to
encourage teachers to bring graphic novels into
the classroom.

Character

Students are invited to draw the main

character exploration in selecting two or three
excerpts that help the reader to see the
character

Setting

The details of the setting increase when the

picture comes to life
Uses colours (shades) to develop setting

Plot

Students read these picture-only texts , then

work in small groups to identify the key plot
points.
Or, use a story that the students have learnt,
then ask them to draw panels to illustrate key
plot points.

Theme

Maus by Art Spiegelman: paints a story

through pictures that encourages students to
explore questions of relationships between
groups.
Its a Bird by Steven T. Seagle & Kristiansem:
explores relationship between man and
Superman who learns that life, even if shortm
is worth living.

Graphic novels in Support

of Literary Terms and Craft

Metaph
or

Dialogu
e

Dialogue

Graphic novel utilizes a format in which text is

placed beneath the storyboard panels.
Result: Dialogue is written with quotation
marks under each character
Students can see how punctuation takes the
place of word bubbles.

Metaphor

Maus by Art Spielgram, the story of Holocaust

is retold with animals.
Jews are depicted as mice and Nazis are cats.
Maus and Maus II (1993) use animals as
metaphors to capture rhe relationships of the
Holocaust.

Satire

Ridiculing foolish ideas or customs for the

purpose of improving society, is alive and well
in graphic novels.
Eg: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank
Miller with Klaus Janson and Lynn Variety
Batman is now aging- his costume and
stomach sagging- considers leaving retirement
and returning to crime fighting.