EDUA 5446 Graphic Novels in the Classroom
REIMAGINING LITERATURE: USING GRAPHIC NOVELS IN THE CLASSROOM
Graphic novels have long been considered the less worthy cousin of traditional literature. Believed to lack academic rigor and relevance, graphic novels are often banished from the classroom. This literary form, however, should not be discounted. Graphic novels are powerful instructional tools in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms and provide teachers with opportunities to develop students’ media literacy, teach essential nonfiction and fiction standards, engage students in high-level analysis and discussions, and foster students’ creativity and enthusiasm for reading.
This course equips teachers with tools to successfully integrate graphic novels in their ELA curriculum and utilize the form’s unique access points for expanding students’ proficiency with multiple medias, close reading strategies, critical thinking and analysis, and reading and writing skills, including specific techniques to reach English Language Learners. Throughout the course, teachers read the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus I and apply the pedagogical practices they learn to develop exemplar activities for their classroom. By the end of the course, teachers will be ready to incorporate graphic novels in their ELA instruction to enliven and enrich their teaching.