Time for Kids: Elementary school teachers use it to teach social studies. Created by Time Magazine, TFK is a glossy, color 8-page magazine covering current events that impact the lives of our children. I love using it when I teach and the kids seems to enjoy it. This week’s edition was of particular interest to me as it dealt with using comic books in the classroom. From TFK:"In some places, they are part of the lesson. Schools around the country are using comic books to teach reading and other subjects. The Maryland State Department of Education has developed a comic book curriculum using classic Disney comics. After a successful test, it is being used in about 200 classrooms, and continues to expand. The state has introduced a new series of original comic books, Toon Books, in first and second grade. The series was created by Francoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker magazine, and her husband, Art Spiegelman, a prizewinning comics artist."
Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. That’s okay. Those of us who are using them can see the impact on student engagement and learning. As for reading, it takes no time to figure out that the interest in reading skyrockets once comics are added to the curriculum.
Read the Time for Kids article here.
Don't forget that Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! It would be a great time to pick up some comics and see what this new trend in schools is all about.
To learn more about using comics and graphic novels in your classroom, click over to The Graphic Classroom.
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2 comments:
I think Time for Kids is a fantastic idea. I even like the idea of graphic novels in or out of the classroom--get them reading!
There are few trends, though, that I would nip in the proverbial bud if I were the King Gardener.
One, leave that poor Hamlet fellow alone. There are great books for readers of all ages and levels. Read things at the appropriate time. Please use them instead of raping Shakespeare, Chaucer, or Homer to pitch them to sixth graders. The opposite is just as bad. My nephew is 12 and is reading Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_ (unabridged) in his seventh grade class. He is a very strong reader, and he kind of likes the book, but he is the only one in his class that doesn't hate it.
I can imagine what his teacher might be thinking:
"Kids today don't appreciate good literature. They spend all their time watching MTV and reading comic books!"
I am sorry, but wait a while to read the real Frankenstein and his monster. There are plenty of excellent books that readers his age would love instead of hate.
The second concern I have is that students read only comic books. I think using comic books to help our young ones to approach more traditional prose (and poetry) more effectively is fantastic. Let's just make sure that the comic book is a means, not just an end. (Not that I mind reading comic books, I mean...until Logan gets a full body wax and raids Jubilee's wardrobe for a big Saturday night at Martha's, make mine Marvel!)
I am the first to agree with you on this: Students should be exposed to a wide variety of reading materials: traditional literature, poetry, magazines, newspapers and comics.
An exclusive focus robs students of an opportunity to grow. An elitist forbidding of anything but the classics is also detrimental.
Comics are not for everyone, but they do tend to really help students discover a love of reading and should be used to help bridge the gap to other forms of literature.
We teachers should support all forms of literacy. Period.
As for the argument of saving the classics until later, I am not sure about the argument. By that, I mean my mind is not made up. It is for another post. I would love to have the discussion, though.
I can say this: If a book is turning kids off and creating an environment where they hate reading, then the teacher needs to stop the book immediately and do something different. As an elementary teacher, if I am reading a novel aloud and the kids are not responding after significant attempt and good storytelling are engaged, then I say find something else that clicks. It's not about forcing kids to like the books I like. It's about helping the students connect with literature and discover the beauty of reading.
If what I'm doing, teaching or reading is not aiding to that end, then I need to do something different.
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