The use of graphic novels in high school classrooms, as primary texts, carries a certain stigma, maybe one from preconceived notions about what constitutes serious literature. I have been a reader all my life, and that reading was sparked, first, by an introduction to comic books before I could even read. I looked at the pictures (panels) and could piece together a narrative, coupled with a developing ability to read. My older cousin, who first introduced me to comics, later told me I desperately wanted to speed up my reading and would annoy him, asking what this or that word was. Later this led to a lifelong fascination with comic books and then the later graphic novel. In college, I continued my studies, except now formally, and began to develop a mastery of the language of comics. Like all areas, comics and graphic novels have their own terminology and vocabulary--a science not unlike any other field of study.
In my classes, I have dabbled in the use of graphic novels--teaching Art Spiegelman's Maus as well as selected strips from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. But, I want to expand that teaching and use the authorized (by Ray Bradbury before his death) graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 in conjunction with the teaching of the novel. This project is an expansion of my graduate thesis--a study of the graphic novel in upper-level high school English classes as primary text. From this endeavor, I hope to incorporate graphic storytelling (what is now becoming sequential art) into my teaching and to have students begin to produce their own stories. But, we must first understand the text and its language and need concrete and widely recognized examples to do so. This project will also expand into the American Libraries Association Banned Book Week.
About my class
The use of graphic novels in high school classrooms, as primary texts, carries a certain stigma, maybe one from preconceived notions about what constitutes serious literature. I have been a reader all my life, and that reading was sparked, first, by an introduction to comic books before I could even read. I looked at the pictures (panels) and could piece together a narrative, coupled with a developing ability to read. My older cousin, who first introduced me to comics, later told me I desperately wanted to speed up my reading and would annoy him, asking what this or that word was. Later this led to a lifelong fascination with comic books and then the later graphic novel. In college, I continued my studies, except now formally, and began to develop a mastery of the language of comics. Like all areas, comics and graphic novels have their own terminology and vocabulary--a science not unlike any other field of study.
In my classes, I have dabbled in the use of graphic novels--teaching Art Spiegelman's Maus as well as selected strips from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. But, I want to expand that teaching and use the authorized (by Ray Bradbury before his death) graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 in conjunction with the teaching of the novel. This project is an expansion of my graduate thesis--a study of the graphic novel in upper-level high school English classes as primary text. From this endeavor, I hope to incorporate graphic storytelling (what is now becoming sequential art) into my teaching and to have students begin to produce their own stories. But, we must first understand the text and its language and need concrete and widely recognized examples to do so. This project will also expand into the American Libraries Association Banned Book Week.
Read more