How to Introduce Graphic Novels to a Class
Many children delight in immersing themselves in the bright colors and vivid images that fill a traditional comic book. These teachers may be equally captivated by the contents of a graphic novel, making this form of writing that proves an easy genre to teach. While some of your students will surely have some experience with the graphic novel form, others may lack the expertise to effectively read works of this type, making introducing the genre properly of paramount importance.
Instructions
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Discuss the graphic novel genre. Activate students' prior knowledge by asking them to tell you about comic books they have read. Make a list of the most common ones on your classroom chalkboard, and, if possible, present students with some examples of traditional comics. Explain to students how graphic novels are similar to these written works, mainly that they consist of pictures and speech bubbles instead of standard paragraph-structured text. Tell students that, with a graphic novel, they have a much longer text to explore.
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Model graphic novel reading techniques. Scan some pages of a graphic novel into your computer and project them onto the wall with an LCD projector. Read through a few pages with your students, showing them how to move from one text bubble to the next in the same way you would read from left to right in a standard book. Remind students to pause and inspect the pictures before rushing on, as much of the information present in a graphic novel is in picture form, making these illustrations more than just decorative.
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Preview the plot. Summarize the plot of the graphic novel you are about to read to your students, creating a summary that makes them eager to read the text, increasing their motivation to dedicate themselves to the task.
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Read the first chunk cooperatively. Move through the first section together so you can help students should they experience difficulty. By doing so, you can assess students' graphic novel reading abilities quickly, identifying areas of weakness or students who may need some extra help with the task. After students have proven their ability to complete this task, allow them to continue reading solo or in small groups.
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