GRAPHIC NOVELS

for information literacy & Reading Comprehension

Jeannette Hess
LIS 773 - 01
October 31,
2016
 DEFINITIONS
INFORMATION LITERACY
A set of abilities requiring
individuals to recognize
when information is
needed and have the
ability to locate, evaluate,
and use effectively the
needed information.
-ALA, 1989
MEDIA LITERACY
Media Literacy is a 21st century
approach to education.
It provides a framework to access,
analyze, evaluate and create messages
in a variety of forms - from print to video
to the Internet.
Media literacy builds an understanding
of the role of media in society as well as
essential skills of inquiry and self-
expression necessary for citizens of a
democracy.
- Center for Media Literacy
 DEFINITIONS
-GRAPHIC NOVEL-
A term coined by Will Eisner to describe his semi-
autobiographical novel A Contract with God (1978), written
and illustrated in comic book style, the first work in a new
format in which an extended narrative is presented as a
continuous sequence of pictorial images printed in color or
black and white and arranged panel-to-panel, with text given
in captions and dialogue usually enclosed in balloons.
-ODLIS
 IN THE CLASSROOM
C.C.S.S.
Reading Literacy (R.L. 7)
Grd. 2- students are required to use
information gained from the illustrations
and words in a print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding of its
characters, setting, or plot
Grd. 5-analyze how visual and
multimedia elements contribute to the
meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g.,
graphic novel, multimedia presentation
of fiction, folktale, myth, poem)
21st Century Learner
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for
information presented in any format (e.g.,
textual, visual, media, digital) in order to
make inferences and gather meaning.
2.1.6. Use the writing process, media and
visual literacy, and technology skills to
create products that express new
understandings.
3.1.3. Use writing and speaking skills to
communicate new understandings
effectively.
4.1.1. Read, view, and listen for pleasure
and personal growth.
 BONE
IN THE CLASSROOM travesty
ZITA proprietor
S.S.A retribution establishment
allocation sentient amassing
abysmal enigmatic Jeopardized
trajectories unfathomab
atrocious le MAX AXIOM
odiferous orchestrate enthusiasm
annihilate d vocalization
schematics magnetic
molten

SMILE
catastrophe
VOCABULARY HEREVILLE

massacre
extraction AMULET contrite
AVENGERS eccentric
spectacle incompetenc
apprentice
amicable e
marauders unwarranted
discern consequence
ferocious s
paranormal dweller
 UNDERSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVELS

*Graphic Novels have 11 types of panels in use:

plot character setting - conflict
climax - rising action - resolution
foreshadowing theme symbols - combination
*Each of the panels represent one or more Elements of
Story traditionally taught with print-text literature.
*Graphic Novels are an effective tool in teaching reading
comprehension.
 UNDERSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVELS

PANELS: A visual or implied

boundary, and the contents
within it, that tell a piece of
the story (p.4).*

GUTTERS: The space

between the panels. In this
space, the reader moves from
one panel to the next and
comes to a conclusion about
Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn
Your Doodles Into Comics: James
Sturm, Andrew Arnold, Alexis Frederick-
 UNDERSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVELS

BALLOONS:
Typically found inside of a
panel, graphic novel
balloons commonly create
visual boundaries that
contain words, sounds,
images, and other story
elements to further the
storyline (p.10).*
*Monnin, K. (2010).
Teaching Graphic Novels.
Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your
Doodles Into Comics: James Sturm, Andrew
Arnold, Alexis Frederick-Frost
 SELECTING A GRAPHIC NOVEL

*Young Adult Library Services Association

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/great-graphic-novels
*Association of Library Service to Children
http://www.ala.org/alsc/graphicnovels2016
*School Library Journal
http://www.slj.com/2015/11/reviews/best-of/top-10-graphic-novel
s-2015/
*Reading with Pictures
http://www.readingwithpictures.org/recommended-reading/
*Katie Monnin
www.teachinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com
 GETTING STARTED - MEDIA LITERACY

*Select your novel

*Introduce PANELS, GUTTERS, BALLOONS & have the students explore the book for
examples
*The 5 Core Concepts Behind Teaching Media Literacy Texts -The Center for
Media Literacy http://www.medialit.org
1. All media messages are constructed.
2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
3. Different people experience the same media message differently.
4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.
 GETTING STARTED MEDIA LITERACY

*Discuss and share views about intended meaning for Core Concepts.
*Read novel with the Core Concepts in mind.
*Five Key Questions of Media Literacy Text - The Center for Media Literacy
http://www.medialit.org
1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3. How might different people understand this message differently?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted
from, this message?
5. Why is this message being sent?
 GETTING STARTED MEDIA LITERACY

Questions that Link the Five Key Questions of Media Literacy to

the Three Most Important Graphic Novel Terms
1. Who created this message? becomes...
Who created this/these panel(s)? gutter(s)?....balloon(s)?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? becomes...
What creative techniques were used to attract my attention to this/these
panel(s)?...gutter(s)?...balloon(s)?
3. How might different people understand this message differently? becomes...
How might different people understand this/these
panel(s)?...gutter(s)?...balloon(s)?
GETTING STARTED MEDIA LITERACY

4.What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or

omitted from, this message? becomes...
What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented, or
omitted from, this/these panel(s)?...gutter(s)?...balloon(s)?
5. Why is this message being sent? becomes
Why are the panelsguttersballoons sending this/these
message(s)?
*As an assessment these questions can be completed in reflection.
-The Center for Media Literacy (http://www.medialit.org)
-Katie Monnin, (2010).
 READING COMPREHENSION -
ACTIVITIES
SEQUENCING CLOZE PASSAGE
*Erasepanels or word
*Take panels from a bubbles on a page in
page in a graphic novel a graphic novel and
and cut them up so that
have students use
they are out of order.
context clues to make
*Have students put sense of the story.
them in order and justify
their choices in writing. *Compare to the
original story.
 References
American Association of School Librarians. (2009) Standards for the 21st-century learner in
action. Retrieved from www.ala.org/aasl/standards/in-action
Association of Library Service to Children. Accessed October 30, 2016 at
http://www.ala.org/alsc/graphicnovels2016
Biskup, Agnieszka. (2013). The Amazing Work of Scientists with Max Axiom, Super Scientist.
North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
Center for Media Literacy, The. Accessed October 30, 2016 at http://www.medialit.org
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010) Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/
Davis, Eleanor. (2009). The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook. New York:
Bloomsbury.
Deutsch, Barry. (2010). Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword. New York: Amulet Books.
Hunt, Jonathan. The Best Graphic Novels for Young Adults and How to Use Them in Your
Program (Grades 6-12). Accessed on October 30, 2016 from
http://www.getgraphic.org/teachers.php
Hutke, Ben.(2010). Zita: the Space Girl. New York: First Second.
Monnin, Katie. (2013). Teaching Reading Comprehension with Graphic Texts. North
Mankato, MN: Maupin House Publishing, Inc.
Monnin, Katie. (2010). Teaching Graphic Novels. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House.
Monnin, Katie. (2010). Teaching media literacy with graphic novels. New Horizons in
Education, 58(3), 78-84. Retrieved from
https://dom.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.dom.idm.oclc.org/docvie
w/1023530408?accountid=10528
Parker, Jeff. (2015). The Avengers: The Avenging Seven. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO
Publishing.
Reading with Pictures. Accessed October 30, 2016 at
http://www.readingwithpictures.org/recommended-reading
Reitz, J. M. (2014). Online Dictionary for Library and Information Sciences. Retrieved from
ABC-CLIO: http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_about.aspx
School Library Journal. Accessed October 30, 2016 at
http://www.slj.com/2015/11/reviews/best-of/top-10-graphic-novels-2015/
Smith, Jeff. (2005). Bone : Out from Boneville. New York: Scholastic.
Sturm, James, Arnold, Andrew, Frederick-Frost, Alexis. (2009). Adventures in Cartooning:
How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics. New York: First Second.