Blog Post #1

Graphic Novels

• What's your familiarity with graphic novels? Why/how might graphic novels be useful for the secondary English language arts classroom?

I do not have the greatest familiarity with graphic novels. In one instance, I did write a paper on the graphic novel of Batman. It was interesting because I had never really read a graphic novel like that. It was always just for fun, and to admire the pictures. 

I believe that graphic novels are really useful for the secondary English language arts classroom for a lot of reasons regarding that it is visual! It provides a really engaging way for students to learn rather than the basic reading a book. They are a great way to engage visual learners to read, especially those who really struggle to sit down and read a book. They also have a great way of influencing readers to understand the material while also filling in the words between each panel of pictures. It can be such a brain-stimulating way of interacting with your students and can encourage everyone to get involved because it complements many different learning styles. Another great things that graphic novels can teach to students is to how students can use expression while reading. Because graphic novels do not contain a ton of words, it requires expression and the different tones of your voice to ignite the conversations between the characters. Doing this can help tremendously in learning the author's intentions and what the novel is ultimately trying to portray. Lastly, graphic novels do a great job in introducing different literary devices to students in a way that is different than just finding them through a large book. They can help students point out themes, tone, point of view, and foreshadowing. Having students find these devices in graphic novels can help prepare them when reading larger novels because it is a good way to practice the meaning of each device. Therefore, I believe that graphic novels are an amazing way to give students a different type of literature which can get everyone involved and can improve their reading abilities.