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Using Comics to Encourage Literacy Development

Merging images with informational text is a creative way to help students develop their critical thinking and literacy skills.

As a teacher, I continue to explore opportunities for my students to engage with the written word and challenge themselves in reading. I’m also in a constant search for materials that build literacy muscles.

Engaging with informational text continues to be a challenge I tackle creatively and intentionally in the classroom, and growing with challenging texts is never-ending work. I recognize that some of the most difficult reading my students do is found in content area texts. Of course, my classes read lots of nonfiction through sources like Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week and other resources that are freely available, and I situate much of our reading in inquiry. In addition to recommended resources like this one, I draw upon a range of visual or multimodal texts and approaches. The comics medium has many possibilities, including creating engagement and close reading opportunities around informational text topics.

Close Reading in Content Comics

One of my go-to approaches for helping students practice the work of examining nonfiction closely is using informational comics. The series Science Comics and History Comics are published by First Second (an imprint of Macmillan) and feature content area connections told in a combination of words and images. Critics of using multimedia approaches in the classroom might note that there are instances of graphic novels that have fewer words in them than many prose-focused works.

However, the images carry their own possibilities for meaning—and I’m all about helping my students get to analysis of the words based on their practice with the images. Students often draw upon a range of elements when exploring an image, including the placement of characters, the depiction of gestures and facial expressions, and the presence or absence of a clear setting.

Paying close attention to the composition of a multimodal page can be a way of attuning focus to the decisions that authors make in prose-only work, as well. In a lesson structure using Science Comics , for example, I have shown a two-page spread on the screen as an opening conversation-builder in class (hint for teaching visual texts: Displaying a copy is extremely useful). I can then ask students open-ended questions about what they notice, what words stand out to them, and how the images relate to/add to the content. This is an exercise in building discussion around a text, but it’s also about homing in on particular images and elements of a page, along with words.

My students have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate what the comic offers, and this acts as a link in literacy to additional readings and work.

Merging Charts, Graphs, and Characters

In a recent reflection on the class, some of my students created a TikTok summary of our semester. One of them noted, “It’s Dr. D’s class. Of course he’s going to draw every character in every book we read.” The worlds of nonfiction and fiction are not so divided that creativity and narrative elements never appear in informational texts. In fact, informational comics frequently merge characters and research. While drawing and the arts is not always an approach that my students feel comfortable taking to process their analysis, I model multiple ways of interacting with content.

After we’ve practiced a graphic organizer approach with a few of our readings (and we do read a great deal in my class, even if the reading centers only around excerpts), my students have options to approach inquiry topics with image-based responses in slideshows, as well as their own illustrations in response to findings.

From my work in arts-based research , I’ve noticed how an idea or aspect of what I’m analyzing sometimes stands out more after a creative step back. Experience is complicated and so is research; when I’m teaching my students how to process and organize information, I recognize that this is an invisible process. Index cards and slide shows are a physical way to think about findings, and responding to these findings with artistic approaches can make the process memorable and engaging.

Of course, I have students who prefer writing-only approaches, and that is wonderful, as well. At the same time, I welcome and celebrate multimodal ways of processing ideas .

Crafting Nonfiction Ideas in Comics Form

Finally, I use comics not only as reading materials, but also as mentor texts for composing both fiction and nonfiction. This could be a multimodal cultural memoir, which is an approach I take with some of my classes at the beginning of our study of world literature. It might also be a visual summary of an inquiry-based text, reworked into comics form. In order to do this work, students must do the following:

1. Read an informational text closely enough to remember the content.

2. Process the information to the degree that they can recite, adapt, and translate it to another form.

3. Engage in the planning and creating process in order to render content with words and images.

4. Polish and revise as they go in order to make sure that content is clear.

In comics, the engagement with a sequential set of ideas often leads to scripting, which then results in planning breakdowns for a page. The art is then created, with additions and substitutions from the artist. Following this approach of creating comics-based texts invites students to reread for natural purposes as they create and means that the inquiry-led activity can then lead to more engagement with the written word and representational thinking as students decide on the images they will use and how these images will be designed and arranged. It’s a complex process.

In addition to these ideas, I embrace the use of infographics as both reading and composing practices, and I enjoy merging images with graphic organizers. As literacy educators, we have the opportunity to link with all the tools of communication that are at our disposal—and this can lead to work that reflects how ideas are shared in the age we live in. There is so much to explore as we help students flex their literacy muscles.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

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Critical Thinking: The problem (with comics)

Can the TEACHING WITH COMICS textbook clear up the issues?

Critical Thinking is a new column that analyzes academic writing about comics.

The Problem (with Comics)

There is a problem with comics: they compete with the establishment. This is true of their content, consumption, and creation. Content is a problem, not so much what the stories are about, but because understanding comics takes self-determination. Consumption is a problem, in the sense of it determining how we think about comics as a medium; the expectations we bring end up binding us. Creation is a crux, the choice between making art that’s nascent or predetermined. Comics are how we fix the problem.

Its title misleads, for the textbook Teaching with Comics isn’t meant to instruct you how to teach with comics, but impart the lessons learned by its authors who use comics to teach. Robert Aman and Lars Wallner ’s curation focuses on identifying how the artform relates to people so that it can be better understood and performed by them. What did I learn about comics from reading a textbook cover to cover, not as a teacher or student, but as reader and a critic, someone who wanted to know the artform better? Follow me, kids.

Comics are the Problem Challenging the Status Quo with Content

Start with literacy as an act of questioning authority. Ashley Dallaqua , Dani Kachorsky , and Sara Kersten-Parrish ’s essay says it is in the nature of comics to consider the source. No document is objective. We like to think of things like the past as ironclad, but all perspectives are subjective, including historical record. Too often the direct reproduction of the photograph is mistaken for objectivity. Comics on the other hand are fundamentally recognized by their audience as artificial. Every reader is forced to interpret the work rather than accept it at face value. The artifice of comics places the onus on the reader to approach what is being relayed to them as an account, no matter the level of realism to the subject matter, and therefore questionable. This treats the reader as an authority who investigates validity, rather than a passive digester of facts.

Shouldn’t we be reading like that anyway? Stories come from somewhere, and there’s a reason they’re told. It’s a mistake to see a photograph or a documentary as a reproduction of reality. Every lens finds its focus in a context. Need it be said? Judging accounts based on how their source shapes the message is a practice with utility outside of reading comics.

Cathy Johnson ’s piece is mostly practices and advice based on the results she’s seen from their use. But part of that is building a classroom where all the students see a place for themselves. So let’s ask. Who is this comic about, and what is it saying about them? What does the absence of inclusion say about the narrative being woven? We look to the medium of comics- the content of the books themselves and the collective creators who make up the art movement that produces them- to see who is present and who isn’t. In this landscape, this scene, where am I? Do these stories respect the value of my identity, or do they use it, is there a place for me or do I have to make one.

This kind of comics reader gives alternate perspectives the same opportunity as stories that adhere to corporate canon and established aesthetics. And so, while some of the major publishers remain locked in stasis, an ever-changing network of art collectives and communities ensure the medium remains creative. Studios and scenes form and disband, making comics a consistent place for outlier storytelling to occur. Their constant rising, dissolving, and reformation means never succumbing to institutional stasis (or unfortunately lasting security for creators).

Also. If multicultural representation is in opposition to the status quo, the status quo needs to change. Who and what comics are about present an opportunity to disrupt the longstanding cultural narratives shaped by industry, colonial wealth, and white supremacy. Comics don’t even have to be about those things to inspire their radical refutation. They just have to be.

That said, what comics are is a headache of contradictory definitions. Comics are objects, traditionally physical publications, but now also a digital medium. Comics are a medium, in the art sense, though when we talk about the character designs, dialog, layouts, lettering, colors- the elements found in comics- we also call that comics. And like film, comics can be a virtual art. Built from something concrete, from words and pictures, yet the story exists not on any page or in any panel but in the mind of the reader. Since the audience is the locus that brings the pieces together and breathes life into the art, it stands to reason that the truth of the work must be reconciled with their personal experience.

Kirby Childress makes the important distinction that this is not a call for universal appeal. We don’t need to all have the same story, we need to recognize the equality of all identities. Making room for conflicting perspectives to exist isn’t the same as integrating them to an all-inclusive experience. The former approach poses a challenge to the reader to reevaluate their views, while the latter, a world without differences, is neither possible nor desirable. To change the meaning of a story to make it suit your understanding of the world is to choose ignorance. Good art, on the other hand, alters your understanding of how you fit into the world.

Negotiating one’s place as an equal in a group where everyone is unique is fundamental to the comic, right down to what they’re called. Comic books as in ha-ha funny. Donna Pursall ’s piece addresses the common comics misconception conflating seriousness and maturity. Like Dellacqua et al. Pursall advocates for anti-authoritarian educational models. Humor is critical social literacy. Comedy is the violation of expectations, and the recognition of humor in incompatible elements requires understanding them in their normal context. Otherwise, a joke’s subversion of consequences is meaningless. It takes knowledge to recognize what is and isn’t funny. Living socially means negotiating personal desire and acknowledging different experiences. Comics accept the non-resolution of intent versus result from a place of good humor. Shouldn’t we?

Michael Scholz presents a way of looking at realism in comic books that also speaks to the power of comedy: realism needs silliness to stand in contrast to, or it doesn’t succeed in fulfilling the artistic expectation of seriousness. Yet comics that are comic are still capable of resounding emotional depth and profound meaning. The idea that photorealistic representation is tied to a more dedicated effort on the creator’s part and therefore a more authentic take on its subject matter hinges on being seen aesthetically in opposition to the immaturity of “comics.” Simple comes to mean lacking in substance, a polarized delineation that leaves no room for the egality of humor. Instead of quality being determined by many different perspectives, what’s best conforms to a traditional, institutional measure of achievement. More means better.

Comics Problems The Challenging Status Quo of Consumption

Despite comics being a medium that naturally agitates, it has long struggled with breaking free from cultural inertia. There are problems within comics, conflicts that hold the artform back. Clio Ding ’s essay puts the naming of comics in perspective. People can’t agree on what constitutes a comic, what to call them, and have massively inconsistent standards for recognizing creators’ contributions. We talk about the structure and history of the industry when we mean to speak about the practice of the art. Editorial categories and layout techniques come to define the medium they were once instruments of. Comics becomes a term trapped in a cage, adhering to preconceived expectations.

If the terms used to identify comics are treated like they are the defining elements of comics themselves, the comics of the future will never be able to grow. Approaches outside the basic, traditional, institutional are treated as revisionist. Outsider comics. Yet when there are so many approaches, where is the center, the inside? What definition of comics doesn’t fall apart? Whose comics are real comics? Philip Troutman said of the medium’s go-to how-to book on sequential art theory, Understanding Comics, “all it takes to turn [author] Scott McCloud ’s sweeping truths into contestable claims is to read some comic books.” Noran Amin ’s essay also tries to reconcile comics with the arts.

It’s Ding who really drives home the why . Amin and Ding agree comics are an interdisciplinary art, and as such will always have competing definitions. But Ding observes these contradictory definitions in comics only come into conflict in the context of the medium’s cultural competition for legitimacy. Like many other modern artforms! The closer comics come to traditional standards of beauty, the more institutional recognition they attain. The desire to be perceived as a “real” art collides with the question of whether “comics” are for kids or adults (the answer is yes), spinning out an identity crisis so severe we don’t even know what to call the damn things.

Ultimately it’s up to us to decide. The difference between a comic, graphic novel, album, a codex, a picture book, a triptych, and graphica within in the realm of sequential art is subject to the background of the person categorizing. Their makeup of words and pictures means that comics will always have multiple ways to be viewed, resolving conflicting definitions is the essence of multidisciplinary art. Amin discusses art’s honorific aspect, where those who know in the art world decide what is and isn’t art. Bart Beaty said “comics are objects recognized by the comics world as comics.” I think that’s as close to a definition as we’ll ever get. I think there is a distinction between comics that came after the invention of caricature and the various forms of sequential art that share elements with comics but precede them that’s worth making. But whether something is a comic or not is a reflection of cultural consensus, not of content.

Institutional legitimacy takes the decision out of our hands. The division between high art and low culture removes a craft from its social context, so it can be elevated to the status of fine art. High art is universal, work that stands apart from any particular time or place. Art that’s severed from the environment that produced it is no longer defined by community consensus.

Sylvia Pantaleo ’s essay on effectively incorporating practices that encourage creativity shed some light on why the distinction between institutional and community definitions of art matter. Creativity can’t exist without community: it’s collaborative. Creative ideas are “statistically infrequent, unique, and unusual” according to Kyung Kim , a concept determined collectively. Morris Stein and JP Guilford put it more poetically, positing the characteristics of creative thought are originality and effectiveness . Creativity is collaborative! But communities are no longer the arbiters of art, institutions are.

Creativity is a social act, one that needs (low) culture to be in conversation with and to be recognized by. Novelty- creative ideas are unexpectedly interesting- sparks thought. Interaction is required. On both ends: art is shaped by the context of the artist’s life, and its power to stand out comes from having a median to be measured against. My personal take is: someone who makes art for themself and it resonates with others, that’s creative.

Comics are the Solution Responding with Creation

In the early 17th century, Joannes David was making text-annotated illustrations about making text-annotated illustrations. David used art to teach religious theory, his parable-as-schematics a means of “contemplation of the invisible through the visible.” If everything we perceive in the physical world is an expression of a divine concept, illustration can be used to give form to the invisible aspects of existence as well as reproduce the physically concrete. The question in the 21st century is about creativity, are comics to be determined by the community that comics are a part of, or a corporation’s financial returns.

Comics offer an opportunity to experience the unknown, so why limit their scope to repeating pre-existing structures? Laurence Grove brings David into the picture because of comics’ power to open doors within the reader to before-unimagined experiences. It’s true that the more you know about comics, the better you’ll be able to articulate your ideas with them. It’s also true that comics don’t need articulation or experience to be effective (or original). Rather than striving for institutional cohesion, comics can obtain authenticity by looking ahead. There has never been a broader range of perspectives making nationally recognized work in the medium than there are today. And, look at all these essays derived from classroom experience, the next generation is already building upon the fuller history that today’s revisionists have been dragging into the light.

Hannah Sackett ’s piece focuses on the importance of creating without constraints, subtly dovetailing Pantaleo’s assertions that creativity is communal not individual. When you’re cartooning, are you reproducing the elements of an idea you’ve already had, or are you discovering them through the act of cartooning? It’s probably both, though how much of one or the other depends on the mood of the cartoonist. Making art is giving form to a preconceived idea, but each piece suggests where it should go as it is created; the concept shifting from its initial form is an aspect of its being executed. “The work yields clues that one pursues,” as Elliot Eisner put it.

The unpredictability of the process is what gives art its vitality. Life and storytelling are alike, patterns that are consistently unique. The personality and context of each story’s teller makes it so even adaptation cannot be predicted or repeated. Think about creative teams with a separate writer and artist(s), the bridge that connects the story to the drawn comic is largely absent from its script. It exists as the style the artist has developed, the relationship the creators have as collaborators, the ambitions of their editor, as the priorities of the publisher. You cannot make comics without culture. It connects the idea to the page. Without people, nothing is communicated.

If the problem is how comics are made, the solution is to make more comics.

Arpad Okay has degrees in education and journalism, but also writes in third person on the internet. If there are deductive flaws, they are reflections of my analysis and not the source material.

Click here to read more Critical Thinking.

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35th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee!

This text will allow you to harness students’ love of comics and graphic novels while increasing critical thinking and engagement in the classroom. Author Tim Smyth offers a wide variety of lessons and ideas for using comics to teach close reading, working with textual evidence, literature adaptations, symbolism and culture, sequencing, essay writing, and more. He also models how to use comics to tackle tough topics and enhance social-emotional learning. Throughout the book, you’ll find a multitude of practical resources, including a variety of lesson plans—some quick and easy activities as well as more detailed ready-to-use unit plans. These thoughtful lessons meet the Common Core State Standards and are easy to adapt for any subject area or grade level to fit into your curriculum. Add this book to your professional library and you’ll have a new and exciting way of reaching and teaching your students!

Chapter 1 | 8 pages, my journey into teaching with comics, chapter 2 | 6 pages, defense of comics, chapter 3 | 4 pages, chapter 4 | 11 pages, how to read comics, chapter 5 | 7 pages, comics as artifact, chapter 6 | 6 pages, some quick and easy comics lessons for any classroom, chapter 7 | 4 pages, sequencing and personal interpretation, chapter 8 | 8 pages, symbolism and culture, chapter 9 | 5 pages, tough topics, chapter 10 | 12 pages, wordless comics, chapter 11 | 3 pages, using comics to teach essay writing, chapter 12 | 9 pages, bringing creators into your classroom, being human, social media, and the emotional impact of comics, chapter 13 | 11 pages, literature adaptions, chapter 14 | 5 pages, fairy tales and folk tales as artifact, chapter 15 | 9 pages, civil rights, chapter 16 | 21 pages, making comics, chapter 17 | 10 pages, refugees and immigration, chapter 18 | 9 pages, social-emotional learning and graphic memoirs, chapter 19 | 4 pages, think outside the comic, chapter 20 | 2 pages, final thoughts.

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Comics and the Development of Critical Thinking Skills: AnEducational Approach

In the vibrant world of education, where traditional texts and digital media converge to create a tapestry of learning opportunities, comics emerge not just as a form of entertainment but as a potent tool in cultivating critical thinking skills. Far from being mere child's play, the integration of comics into educational settings offers a unique pathway for students to navigate complex ideas, unravel narratives, and engage with content in a manner that promotes analytical thinking and problem-solving. This post explores how comics can be instrumental in overcoming barriers to critical thinking, and outlines practical steps and exercises to harness their full potential.

Overcoming Barriers to Critical Thinking with Comics

Critical thinking is an essential skill, crucial for the analysis and evaluation of arguments and ideas. However, several barriers often hinder its development, including preconceived notions, emotional biases, and the overwhelming volume of information. Comics, created for example by Frank Cho , with their blend of visual and textual storytelling, offer a unique solution to these challenges. They engage the reader's attention in a way that traditional texts may not, breaking down complex ideas into manageable, visually appealing pieces. By presenting scenarios that challenge stereotypes and provoke questioning, comics can dismantle preconceived notions and encourage readers to approach issues from multiple perspectives.

Moreover, the combination of images and words in comics can help mitigate emotional biases by providing a buffer of abstraction. This distance allows readers to process and reflect on the content more objectively. Additionally, the sequential art form of comics can simplify the navigation through vast amounts of information, making it easier for readers to identify key points and underlying themes.

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills Through Comics

The journey to developing critical thinking skills involves a series of deliberate practices and exercises that encourage deep analysis and reflection. Comics can be a central part of this journey, offering a medium that is both engaging and intellectually stimulating. Here are some practical ways in which comics can be used to foster critical thinking:

Analyzing Characters and Motivations:

Encourage readers to delve into the characters' motivations and the complexity of their personalities. This exercise helps in understanding character development, conflict resolution, and the gray areas of moral dilemmas.

Exploring Themes and Messages:

Comics often deal with themes that mirror societal issues and personal growth. Identifying and discussing these themes can prompt readers to connect the stories with real-world contexts, enhancing their ability to analyze and evaluate broader societal messages.

Decoding Visuals and Symbolism:

The visual element of comics is not just about aesthetics; it carries meanings and connotations. Critical thinking exercises can involve interpreting symbolism, understanding the interplay between text and imagery, and analyzing how visual elements contribute to the narrative.

Comparing Different Comics:

By comparing and contrasting different comics or different adaptations of a story, readers can engage in critical thinking exercises that highlight how narrative choices affect perception and interpretation.

Employing Comics as a Critical Thinking Test

Comics can serve as an innovative platform for critical thinking tests, challenging students to apply their skills in a dynamic context. These tests can take various forms, from analyzing a comic's narrative structure to debating the ethical decisions of characters. For instance, educators can prompt students to dissect the storyline of a comic strip, identifying logical fallacies, biases, and the effectiveness of the arguments presented. Such exercises not only test the student's ability to critically evaluate content but also encourage them to articulate their thoughts and reasoning coherently.

Another aspect of using comics as a critical thinking test involves the interpretation of visual metaphors and the relationship between text and imagery. This requires students to engage both their analytical and creative thinking skills, offering a holistic approach to understanding complex concepts.

Fostering Critical Thinking and Problem Solving through Comics

The sequential art form of comics naturally lends itself to critical thinking and problem-solving. By following characters through their challenges and decisions, readers are invited to think critically about the situations presented and consider alternative outcomes. Educators can leverage this by setting tasks that require students to create their own comic panels or endings to existing stories, encouraging them to think critically about cause and effect, sequence, and resolution.

Additionally, group discussions based on comic narratives can stimulate critical dialogue and debate, further enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These discussions can revolve around character decisions, ethical dilemmas, or the effectiveness of the narrative structure, encouraging students to articulate their thoughts and engage with differing viewpoints.

Steps to Critical Thinking Through Comics

Integrating comics like Liberty Meadows by Frank Cho into the educational journey to develop critical thinking involves a series of intentional steps. Here's how educators and students alike can approach this process:

Identify and Understand the Problem: Use comics to present a problem or dilemma. Begin by understanding the context and the characters involved, setting the stage for critical analysis.

Gather Information: Encourage students to gather all relevant information from the comic. This includes understanding the narrative, the characters' backgrounds, and the socio-political context within which the comic is set.

Analyze and Interpret the Information: Engage students in activities that require them to analyze the motivations of characters, the plot development, and the visual elements of the comic. This step is crucial for developing an ability to interpret and evaluate information critically.

Formulate Solutions and Alternatives: Based on their analysis, students can then be tasked with proposing alternative storylines or solutions to the problems faced by characters. This step fosters creativity and problem-solving skills alongside critical thinking.

Evaluate the Solutions: Have students discuss and evaluate the feasibility and implications of their proposed solutions. This can be done through group discussions, debates, or written reflections.

Communicate the Conclusion: Finally, students should be encouraged to communicate their findings and conclusions effectively. This could be through presenting their alternative comic strips, writing a critical essay, or participating in a classroom debate.

By following these steps, comics can be transformed from a passive form of entertainment to an active learning tool that promotes critical thinking and problem-solving. Through critical thinking exercises, tests, and structured approaches to problem-solving, comics have the potential to break down barriers to critical thinking and foster an environment of analytical and reflective thought.

Implementing Critical Thinking Exercises with Comics in the Classroom

To make the most out of comics as educational tools, it's essential for educators to craft exercises that challenge students to engage deeply with the material. Here are some practical critical thinking exercises tailored for the classroom:

Character Decision Analysis: Have students pick a critical decision made by a character in a comic. Ask them to analyze the decision-making process, considering the character's motivations, the information they had at the time, and the potential outcomes of different choices.

Theme Exploration Projects: Assign students to identify and explore a theme within a comic or graphic novel, such as heroism, justice, or identity. They can present their findings through essays, presentations, or their own comic strips that expand on the theme.

Debate on Ethical Dilemmas: Use the ethical dilemmas presented in comics as the basis for classroom debates. This encourages students to articulate their positions on complex issues, consider opposing viewpoints, and refine their arguments in response to critical feedback.

Visual Rhetoric and Symbolism: Encourage students to analyze the artwork of comics, focusing on how visual elements like color, framing, and perspective contribute to the narrative and themes. This exercise helps develop visual literacy, a key component of critical thinking in our increasingly image-driven world.

Integrating Comics into Critical Thinking Tests and Assessments

To assess the development of critical thinking skills through comics, educators can design tests and assignments that reflect real-world applications of these abilities:

Analytical Essays: Assign essays that require students to analyze a comic or graphic novel, focusing on its narrative structure, themes, character development, and visual techniques. This assesses their ability to engage critically with texts and articulate their analyses clearly.

Project-Based Assessments: Students can create their own comics or graphic stories that address a societal issue, applying critical thinking and problem-solving to develop their narratives. This type of assessment allows students to demonstrate their understanding of the material in a creative and personal way.

Reflection Papers: After completing a unit involving comics, ask students to write reflection papers on how the material influenced their thinking. This encourages them to articulate the process of their critical thinking development and recognize the value of comics as a learning tool.

The Future of Comics in Education: Beyond Entertainment

As we continue to explore and understand the multifaceted benefits of comics in education, it becomes clear that this medium holds vast potential beyond mere entertainment. Comics offer a unique blend of visual and textual storytelling that can engage students in ways that traditional texts may not, making them an invaluable resource for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The future of comics in education is bright, with increasing recognition of their value as a pedagogical tool. By integrating comics into the curriculum, educators can provide students with a more engaging and diverse learning experience, one that prepares them for the complexities of the modern world. As students learn to navigate the narratives, themes, and visual rhetoric of comics, they also learn to navigate the challenges of their own lives with greater critical awareness and creativity.

Comics offer a compelling and versatile tool for developing critical thinking skills. By engaging with comics, students learn to navigate complex narratives, understand diverse perspectives, and articulate well-reasoned arguments. The integration of comics into education challenges traditional notions of learning materials and opens up new avenues for critical engagement, creative expression, and problem-solving.

As we continue to explore the intersection of comics and education, it becomes clear that the potential of comics extends far beyond entertainment. In the hands of thoughtful educators and engaged students, comics can transform learning experiences, making the development of critical thinking skills not just a goal but an enjoyable journey.

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Visual Literacy in College: The Role of Comics in Developing Critical Thinking

Posted by The Game of Nerds | Jan 31, 2024 | Comics

If you are new to the concept of visual literacy, the best way to see how it works is to approach it in practice. Speaking of the elements or the tools that make it possible, it is essential to mention comics as they instantly take college-level students’ critical thinking to another level. Comic books also help to improve the gradual thinking system and develop analytical skills without unnecessary pressure and stress. Since you can read again, slow down, feel empathy, and let your eyes do all the work, you learn to shape unique interpretations and apply critical thinking without bias.

Addressing Analytical Skills.

Comics help to develop better critical thinking skills by teaching students how to use analysis as they coordinate the visual aspect of what’s been drawn to the events and the dialogues. The same is true for descriptions, as they provide a correct setting and serve as a way to set an explanatory tone. If you wish to learn more about how all of that works in practice, an essay service online is one of the best and safest ways to learn more and improve your comprehension and writing skills with a trained assistant!

Learning to Connect the Dots.

One of the perils of critical thinking is knowing how to connect the dots and follow the story. This is where comics provide a visual aid and show how to make things work as you learn how to understand the script and train your brain to follow the main author’s ideas. It is like reading and watching animation content in slow motion. Classic comics are close to traditional literature as many authors and editors tend to follow high standards and use visual aspects in balance with the text captions, quotes, emotional tricks, or basic descriptions.

The Art of Storytelling.

This aspect is not often mentioned, yet comics teach students to master the art of storytelling and learn how to express their thoughts in a logical and accessible way. A good exercise, according to educators and psychologists, is to follow the character traits of a particular protagonist (or an antagonist) to see how the peculiarities are explored and how metaphors or exclamations are used to add an emotional effect.

Improved Text Comprehension.

Comics help to take text comprehension to new heights as they have a clear therapeutic effect where the learner’s brain receives information in a processed or a condensed way. It helps if you take a text chapter from a book you know well and turn it into a comic book by playing with the wording. You can see here if you are struggling with this part and ask an expert to guide you through your efforts!

Learning to Narrow Things Down.

Most importantly, comic books help to develop critical thinking through the lens of narrowing things down. Unlike other types of literary works, comics always stay focused and keep text content to a minimum. It is a great way to train one’s cognitive skills, like attention and memory span issues. If you need to do brain work, do yourself a favor and consider starting with famous comic books!

From Grammar Improvement to Style Workflow

The use of graphic novels and comic books has been present in the field of school education for quite a while as a way to keep youngsters inspired. Luckily, the same set of rules applies to all age groups. If we take a deeper look at college learners these days who spend hours busy on social media or playing video games, the presence of correct and accurate text helps to teach grammar and facilitates a deeper, much better comprehension of grammar constructions and expressions that help to transfer diverse emotions. The comic books also address certain text formats, fonts, and many other neural aspects that help students with learning challenges overcome barriers and remain in their preferred style workflow. It helps to train and improve grammar skills as college students tend to read comic-style presented information differently as if they are playing a game or interacting with each other.

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Weekly Comics Pull; 5-23

May 30, 2018

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1st Edition

Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels Fun and Engaging Strategies to Improve Close Reading and Critical Thinking in Every Classroom

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Description

35th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee!

Tim Smyth is a high school social studies educator and Reading Specialist of more than 20 years who travels the country giving professional development to educators on the power of teaching with comics. Smyth was also part of a global online comics in education program through the US State Department. He has been published in many outlets, such as PBS, and he also shares many resources on his website, TeachingWithComics.com. Smyth loves interacting on social media (@historycomics) and is the founder of two Facebook education communities—"Comic Book Teachers" and "Teaching With Comics." He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife and three comic book-loving children.

Critics' Reviews

"Comics and graphic novels are finally being appreciated for the rich literary experience they offer readers. They allow students to see themselves in literature, and to engage with diverse voices, experiences, and perspectives. The powerful lessons in this book empower educators to use the power of comics and graphic novels to reach every reader. Highly recommended!" —Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the graphic novels Speak and Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed . "Tim Smyth's Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels is the preeminent text for any educator or librarian working to bring sequential narratives into the classroom. Tim makes it real and makes it plain how comics can be used to reach students in ways no other medium can. Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels is an essential text for every classroom and library." —Andrew Aydin, co-author of the graphic novels March and Run .

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Instructional Resources

Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning

Adventures in critical thinking: using uofl student-created comic books in your teaching, critical thinking · active learning.

This session will showcase the new critical thinking comic book series called Adventures in Critical Thinking and guide you in thinking through how these digital resources can be used effectively with students to develop and hone their critical thinking skills in situations both inside and outside the classroom. The series of six comic books were written and illustrated by UofL students, under the guidance of faculty member Brian Barnes as part of an i2a SUN Grant, who were trained in using the Paul-Elder critical thinking framework. Each of the comics depicts a beginning critical thinker, Paul Elder, as he makes his way through undergraduate life on Belknap Campus. Paul faces opportunities and situations in his everyday life that can benefit from new ways of thinking and applying the concepts of critical thinking.

As a result of attending this session, you will be able to:

Explore, with the facilitators, the content and structure of the new critical thinking comic book series and the guidelines for using the books;
Glean ideas and strategies for accessing and using the comic books in or outside the classroom with students in order to foster critical thinking and/or integrate into course content; and
Practice using the comic books to read, reflect, analyze and reflect on the content and generate ideas for leveraging the tools with students and applying the concepts to their everyday lives.

Session Date

Presenter Bios

Edna Ross, Ph.D. , has been with the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences since 1984. She is associate professor and co-course director for the department’s Introduction to Psychology course and teaches this popular course with enrollments of several hundred students. Dr. Ross has been nominated as a Faculty Favorite and received the A&S; Outstanding Faculty Award. She holds a joint appointment with the Delphi Center and serves as the i2a specialist for critical thinking.

Brian Barnes, Ph.D. , has been a visiting scholar at The Foundation for Critical Thinking, developers of the Paul-Elder Framework, since 2012. Barnes is also a senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, where he has taught applied ethics and classes in reasoning skills since 2004. Barnes’s dissertation developed critical thinking methods for teaching Business Ethics, and he has published a textbook that applies the Paul-Elder framework to that discipline, as well as having created a series of comic books for undergraduates that inculcate critical thinking skills. Barnes is Director of UofL’s EcoReps Sustainability Education Program, and he presents widely on critical thinking and sustainability topics.

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All of the services and resources provided by the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning are welcome to all at the University of Louisville. If you have questions about eligibility, please contact [email protected]

Thinking Critically

Subject: SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)

Lesson Length: 1 - 2 class sessions

Topic: Reasoning

Grade Level: 10, 11, 12, 9

Standards / Framework:

CASEL: RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING

Brief Description: Students will represent how critical thinking skills can be used in and out of school.

Know Before You Start: Students should be familiar with the term critical thinking .

“What does it mean to be critical?”
“When have you used critical thinking skills in our class?”
“Which critical thinking skills do you use on a daily basis?”
Split students into two teams. Each team will be supporting one side of a controversial topic.
Explain what the hot topic is and the general stance that each team will take, e.g., using ChatGTP in school, banning books, etc.
Have each team generate a list of reasons to support or oppose the controversial topic as well as find resources to provide evidence.
Have students debate using their findings.
Have students reflect through a whole group discussion on which critical thinking skills they used to research, debate, and collaborate with their teammates. Record a list of the critical thinking skills captured in the conversation.
Have students select one of the critical thinking skills discussed and create a comic demonstrating how that skill is used in and out of school.
Display student comics in the classroom for visual reminders of their critical thinking skills.
Students will share their comics in partnerships or small groups.
Share with the class that thinking critically helps to improve their decision-making skills, and problem-solving ability, stimulates their curiosity, and helps them make sense of the world. Critical thinking helps you reflect and understand your own points of view and biases.

Differentiation:

Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
Allow students to use the voiceover to read their comics aloud.
Provide students with the Main Idea Web or Concept Map graphic organizers to plan for their comic.
Comic to print or display: Comic .
Main Idea Web
Concept Map
5 Top Critical Thinking Skills (and How To Improve Them) - Indeed.com
100+ Controversial Debate Topics to Challenge Your Students by WeAreTeahers.com
The Benefits of Developing Critical Thinking Skills in The Workplace - LinkedIn.com
5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking by Samantha Agoos
How to Develop Critical Thinking- Empowering Speech by Jordan B Peterson

Related Ideas

Main Idea and Details

Students will determine the main idea and at least two supporting details of a passage.

Community Well-Being

Students will create a comic to illustrate a task that has a positive impact on a community.

Walk in My Shoes

Students will create a comic to demonstrate their understanding of empathy by showing the perspective of another person or party.

The Benefits of Using Comics for Visual Literacy Development

omics, with their unique combination of visuals and text, offer a valuable tool for developing visual literacy skills in students. This article explores the benefits of using comics in educational settings and how they can enhance visual literacy development.

Enhancing Reading Comprehension

Comics require students to navigate the interplay between images and text, improving their reading comprehension skills. By analyzing the visual cues, students learn to extract meaning from both the images and the accompanying text, leading to a deeper understanding of the story or content.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Comics often require readers to make inferences, analyze visual details, and draw connections between panels. This process stimulates critical thinking skills, as students must interpret the visual information and make connections with the narrative or informational content.

Fostering Visual Literacy Skills

Comics serve as a visual language, requiring students to decode and interpret visual elements such as symbols, icons, colors, and spatial relationships. This fosters visual literacy skills, enabling students to understand and communicate through visual means effectively.

Encouraging Sequential Thinking

Comics are structured in a sequential format, guiding readers to follow a specific order of panels. This encourages sequential thinking as students learn to interpret the visual narrative, understand cause and effect relationships, and identify story arcs.

Cultivating Creativity and Imagination

Comics offer a visually stimulating and imaginative medium that sparks creativity and imagination in students. They can create their own comics, develop characters, and construct visual narratives, promoting creative thinking and storytelling skills.

Promoting Multimodal Learning

Comics combine visuals and text, facilitating multimodal learning experiences. Students engage with both visual and textual information simultaneously, leading to enhanced comprehension and retention. This multimodal approach caters to diverse learning styles and preferences.

Increasing Engagement and Motivation

Comics' visual appeal and storytelling nature capture students' attention and increase their engagement with the material. The combination of images and text creates an immersive and enjoyable learning experience, fostering motivation and a love for reading and learning.

Expanding Cultural Awareness

Comics offer a diverse range of narratives, characters, and perspectives, helping students develop cultural awareness and empathy. They can explore different cultures, historical events, and social issues through comics, fostering a broader understanding of the world.

Supporting Reluctant Readers and English Language Learners

Comics can be particularly beneficial for reluctant readers and English language learners. The visual support in comics provides context and aids in comprehension, making the reading experience more accessible and enjoyable for these students.

Integrating Technology and Digital Literacy

Comics have evolved into digital formats, allowing students to engage with them through digital devices. This integration of technology supports digital literacy development, as students navigate digital platforms, interact with multimedia elements, and explore digital storytelling possibilities.

By incorporating comics into educational settings, educators can harness their unique qualities to develop visual literacy skills, enhance reading comprehension, stimulate critical thinking, foster creativity, promote cultural awareness, and increase student engagement. Whether in print or digital form, comics offer a valuable medium for visual literacy development and can inspire a lifelong love for reading and learning.

Educational Trends & Innovation

Classroom decor ideas to create an inspiring learning environment, culturally responsive teaching: creating inclusive classrooms for all students, personalized learning: tailoring education to individual student needs, the benefits of teaching with comic strip creators: empowering student creativity, join our newsletter and get the latest posts to your inbox, top 10 educational apps for interactive learning in the classroom, 10 reasons why you should teach abroad: expanding horizons and making a difference, teacher burnout: recognizing and preventing exhaustion, stay in touch.

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The adventure begins: exploring exotic teaching destinations around the globe, unconventional teaching jobs abroad: thinking outside the classroom for exciting opportunities, teaching abroad with a teaching fellowship: gaining professional development and global experience.

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Global history is not just significant events on a timeline, it is also the ordinary, mundane moments that people experience in between. Graphic novels can capture this multidimensionality in ways that are difficult, and sometimes impossible, in more traditional media formats, says Stanford history professor Tom Mullaney .

Tom Mullaney, a professor of history in the School of Humanities and Sciences, uses graphic novels in his teachings to help students appreciate different experiences and perspectives throughout history. (Image credit: Ilmiyah Achmad)

Mullaney has incorporated graphic novels in some of his Stanford courses since 2017; in 2020, he taught a course dedicated to the study of world history through comic strip formats.

While graphic novels are not a substitute for academic literature, he said he finds them a useful teaching and research tool. They not only portray the impact of historic events on everyday lives, but because they can be read in one or two sittings, they get to it at a much faster rate than say a 10,000 word essay or autobiography could.

“It accelerates the process of getting to subtlety,” said Mullaney, a professor of history at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences . “There’s just so much you can do, and so many questions you can ask, and so many perspective shifts you can carry out – like that! You can just do it – you show them something, they read it and BOOM! It’s like an accelerant. It’s awesome.”

For example, in Thi Bui’s graphic novel The Best We Could Do , themes of displacement and diaspora emerge as she talks about her family’s escape from war-torn Vietnam to the United States. The illustrated memoir shows Bui’s upbringing in suburban California and the complicated memories her parents carry with them as they move about their new life in America. In other chapters, she depicts her mother and father back in Vietnam and what their own childhood was like amidst the country’s upheaval.

Graphic novels like The Best We Could Do and also Maus , Art Spiegelman’s seminal portrayal of his Jewish family’s experience during the Holocaust, illustrate the challenges and subtleties of memory – particularly family memory – and the entanglements that arise when narrating history, Mullaney said.

Graphic novels prime readers for the complexity of doing and reading historical research and how there is no simplistic, narrative arc of history. “When I read a graphic novel, I feel prepared to ask questions that allow me to go into the harder core, peer-reviewed material,” Mullaney said.

The everyday moments that graphic novels are exceptionally good at capturing also raise questions in the reader’s mind, Mullaney said. Readers sit in the family living room and at the kitchen table with Spiegelman and Bui and follow along as their characters try to understand what their parent’s generation went through and discover it’s not always easy to grasp. “Not everything mom and dad say makes sense,” said Mullaney.

These seemingly mundane moments also present powerful opportunities for inquiry. “The ordinary is where the explanation lives and where you can start asking questions,” Mullaney added.

Graphic novels can also depict how in periods of war and conflict, violence can become part of everyday existence and survival. The simplicity of the format allows heavy, painful experiences to emerge from a panel untethered and unweighted from lengthy descriptions or dramatizations.

“They’re banal. They’re not dramatic. There are no strings attached. In a work of nonfiction, in an article or book, it would be almost impossible to do that. There would have to be so much expository writing and so much description that you would lose the horror of it,” Mullaney said.

A ‘fundamental misunderstanding’

Graphic novels like Maus and The Best We Could Do were included in Mullaney’s 2020 Stanford class, Global History Through Graphic Novels .

In 2020, Tom Mullaney, a professor of history, taught Global History Through Graphic Novels , a course that paired graphic novels such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus with archival materials and historical essays to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century. He created a poster for the class, as shown here. (Image credit: Tom Mullaney)

In the course, Mullaney paired graphic novels with archival materials and historical essays to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century.

The course syllabus also included the graphic novels Showa , Shigeru Mizuki ’s manga series about growing up in Japan before World War II, and Such a Lovely Little War , about Marcelino Truong’s experience as a child in Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Most recently, Mullaney has offered to teach a variation of the Stanford course to the public, free for high school and college students , this summer.

Registration for the online course opened shortly after news emerged and made international headlines that Maus was banned by a Tennessee school board for its depiction of nudity and use of swear words.

Within two days of Mullaney’s course registration opening, over 200 students from across the world signed up.

Mullaney believes that there is a “fundamental misunderstanding” about what young people can process when it comes to negotiating complex themes and topics – whether it is structural racism or the Holocaust. They just need some guidance, which he hopes as a teacher, he can provide.

“I think students of high school age or even younger, if they have the scaffolding they need – which is the job of educators to give them – they can handle the structural inequalities, darknesses and horrors of life,” he said.

Mullaney noted that many teenagers are already exposed to many of these difficult issues through popular media. “But they’re just doing it on their own and figuring it out for themselves – that’s not a good idea,” he said.

Mullaney said he hopes he can teach Global History Through Graphic Novels to Stanford students again this fall.

For Stanford scholars interested in learning more about the intersection of graphic novels and scholarship, there is a newly established working group through the Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Comics, More than Words .

Media Contacts

Melissa De Witte, Stanford News Service: [email protected]

Comic Books Reviews Skepticism

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Comic Books Reviews

Comic Books

‘hocus pocus’ brings critical thinking (and magic) to comics.

Professor Richard Wiseman has a long history of teaching the public about quirks of psychology (“ Quirkology ” is actually the title of one of his books). A well-known figure in the skeptical community, Wiseman has examined a multitude of subjects that fit into the arena of “weird stuff,” and the first issue of Hocus Pocus: Magic, Mystery, & the Mind , described as an“interactive comic series about the history and science of the paranormal,” is no exception.

Wiseman teamed up with writer Rik Worth and comic artist Jordan Collver to examine the alleged abilities of three mind-reading performers from history — two humans, and one horse. Without giving too much away, I appreciated the little Easter eggs, including one gimmick that relies on a choose-your-own-adventure mechanic to demonstrate the Forer Effect (don’t click if you want to avoid spoilers; read the book and all will be revealed).

The magician’s hand is evident, as the first issue of Hocus Pocus actually performs a couple of “tricks” as you read along. Wiseman, it should be noted, is not just a Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology, he’s also a member of the Inner Magic Circle , an exclusive British organization dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.

“Mind Reading!” is only the first of a five-part series; the first three issues, on mind reading, seances, and ghosts, are available now. These comics, while certainly entertaining, also educate readers on critical thinking and experimental design. As such, the creators offer them as free digital downloads in order to make them widely available (though you can choose to pay something, if you wish). I found the Gumroad app easy to install and use, and the art was pristine when viewed on that platform. Trying to use the “read now” button on my laptop, however, resulted in a lower-res version that was not as readable.

Nevertheless, a spin around the Hocus Pocus website is incredibly rewarding. Extras like a printable PDF of a charming cartoon dragon you can assemble yourself into a 3D illusion are fun, but the short comic introduction to pareidolia is required reading for any comic artist or fan. As a cartoonist and longtime skeptic myself, knowing that Wiseman was behind this comic, I went into the first issue armed with knowledge about the psychological tricks used to tell a story with pictures, all the comic psychology theories of Scott McCloud, and the gag deconstruction of Newgarden and Karasik.

But as I clicked through the pages, I found myself simply carried along by the stories, enjoying the nostalgic, time-travel feeling created by Owen Watts’ limited palette that seems to blend cowboy sepia tones with a touch of the superhero fantastic. When a favorite old-timey comedy duo popped up in supporting roles, the cameo delighted me. I failed to deconstruct; I merely enjoyed.

I’ve heard from magician friends that this is the feeling they get when they watch a true master of the craft. While knowledgeable about the gimmicks, techniques, and means of misdirection, they nevertheless get swept up by the performance and it leaves them as amazed as the average audience member.

AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics .

‘E-Ratic’ #3 review

Marvel reveals a new era for storm begins in ‘marauders’ #20, in case you missed it.

Using Comics to Spark Creativity and Imaginative Learning

by Moni Barrette | Mar 1, 2021 | Comic Spotlight , Comics Plus , Resources | 0 comments

Reading is fundamental—as the saying goes—but it’s not the only effective means of learning. Adapting to multiple learning styles is an important component in meeting students where they are, and maximizing learning outcomes. Comics can ease readers into new subject matter while building their confidence, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. They also help foster a joy of reading which can level the academic playing field.

Beyond their educational value, comics also inspire readers to find their own voices. One of the most common ‘side effects’ of reading comics is telling one’s own stories—sometimes with their favorite characters, or original creations—building their own worlds to explore and share.

Whether you have an elaborate makerspace or a single Chromebook, collaboration and artistic expression are amazing ways to explore key concepts beyond traditional educational media. When combined with a visual medium that readers already love, like comics, there is no limit to how much enrichment can come from a craft activity, art project, or science experiment.

Our Get Inspired, Get Creative! list of recommended titles will help spark creativity and imaginative learning, whether you are working in-person or in virtual environments.

Atlas: ABC’s for Superheroes by Darren G. Davis & Mark Brooks

With large illustrations, clear, colorful backgrounds, and bold, easy to read text, this serves as a wonderful starter comic for early readers. Young superhero fans will delight in the cartoonishly musclebound Atlas, his fun origin story, and entertaining use of the alphabet. In lieu of illustrating violence, Atlas engages a supervillain through the letters K-O (Kick, Laser, Muscles, Never give up, and Ouch).

Humor is infused throughout this quick read, and it is a wonderful addition to any list of books focused on teaching the alphabet and how to read, or interactive storytimes.

Penciling, Inking, and Coloring Your Graphic Novel by Frances Lee

This essential guide includes comprehensive chapters on basic drawing tools and concepts of proportion and perspective, before diving into the details of penciling, inking, coloring, and shading. It reads like a book of secrets nobody tells you before starting your first graphic novel, but you should absolutely know them. The step-by-step instruction leads to exhilarating results as simple pencil lines become fully actualized characters which evolve into a vibrant whirlwind of imaginative creativity. This is a great jumping off point for all ages with extensive back matter which includes a glossary, additional resources, recommended websites, and an index.

Seeing the process unfold on the page is an adventure itself, while achieving the end result will take a lot of practice that can be encouraged in makerspace activities.

A Geek’s Guide to Cross-Stitch; Journeys in Space by Clarissa Thorne, Bonnie Burton, Oceano Ransford

“I am a geek. That means I give myself permission to love things with total abandon. I actively seek out ways to express that love, and I have found that there is no medium unworthy of sharing my obsession with the world.”

The foreword by creator Clarissa Thorne speaks not only to our inner geek, but also emphasizes why exploring creativity through comics is a great way to express ourselves and grow. It starts with Stitch Camp which includes an explanation of cross-stitch itself, what tools are needed, and where to acquire them. How-to descriptions are accompanied by photographs that make the whole process feel very manageable. It gets really exciting when it gets to Mission Schematics, at which time we blast off into outer space complete with cosmic patterns, design tips and mission narration.

This base camp setting creates a fun collaborative environment for group projects. Cross stitch novices and experienced stitchers alike will enjoy sharing their progress, ideas and challenges. There are multiple Mission patterns, giving space for independent choices while working towards a shared collective outcome.

The Oatmeal: 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides) by Matthew Inman

From the comedic mind of The Oatmeal’s creator, Matthew Inman, comes this “guide” of both the practical and inane. Should we be taking life advice from such a light-hearted source? At this point, a little levity simply can’t hurt.

While on its face, some suggestions feel purely humorous, others turn out to be head-scratchers that will stick with you, and possibly turn out to be pretty decent advice. Topics range from the far-fetched, like how not to die while giving a bear a haircut—or bearcut, if you will—to legitimate lessons on how to properly use contractions, the origins of cheese, the science of bacteria, and so much more, all illustrated with crackpot cartoons.

An enjoyable read on its own, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth can also be used in classrooms and makerspaces as participants will have fun illustrating and sharing their own advice and observations.

How to Draw Manga: Next Generation by Robert Acosta, David Hutchison, Fred Perry

This series begins with the very, essential basics. Black and white throughout, the focus is kept on the content and the how-to instruction. Starting with an explanation of Manga art paper, the text interweaves the history and origins of Manga as an art form in a very natural flow with the step-by-step instructions. Everything from pencil type recommendations to the essentials of Manga eyes and expression portrayal are covered.

Accessible to most readers as the concepts are broken down for easy understanding, the art style includes detailed anatomical artwork and is recommended for older Teens already familiar with more mature Manga titles. That said, How to Draw Manga: Next Generation could be presented to a class, or handed to a teen, and can be easily followed to create basic Manga characters from start to finish.

Practical exercises are included that could be used in partner or group work, in addition to the potential for virtual participation. Lessons on depth and perspective are included, making this a good overall resource for aspiring artists in various media.

Engage, Excite, Circulate!

With Comics Plus , students and library patrons can have access to thousands of age-appropriate digital comics, graphic novels, and manga. Learn more at comicsplusapp.com and sign for a free demo account .

Resource Center

Comics and Graphic Novels

Comics Pedagogy
Citing Comics
Databases and Journals
Featured Books
Special Collections
Film Reviews and Industry Data
Making Comics

Great Power and Great Pedagogy

Video and web resources, featured "comics and instruction" books, discussion guides, comics communities.

A graphic Introduction to Comics Studies (Free PDF)

Teaching Practically Anything with Comics
The Power and Responsibility of Comics Pedagogy
Comics as a Conduit
Teaching and Learning with Comics
Teaching Graphic Novels Online
The Case for Comics in the Classroom
The Complexities of Teaching Graphic Novels
Comics-Education Web Lisitings
Pop Culture Classroom
Get Your Mind in the Gutter: Sequential Art as Inference Tool

A slideshow presentation and discussion on non-fiction comics as a teaching tool, featuring cartoonists working in the fields of science, politics, art and more. This event is part of Will Eisner Week, and Eisner’s own educational and instructional comics are the inspiration for this panel. With Malaka Gharib , Scott McCloud , Whit Taylor , and Kriota Willberg , moderated by R. Sikoryak .

The field of Comics Studies is an ever-growing scholarly space involving a wide range of participants. Susan Kirtley (Portland State University), Antero Garcia (Stanford University), and Peter Carlson (Green Dot Public Schools) examine this space while reflecting on their recently published work, With Great Power Comes Great Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, and Comics. As the panelists discuss their approach to gathering comic creators, scholars, and educators from various fields and settings to set out the stakes, definitions, and exemplars of contemporary comics pedagogy into one edited volume, they analyze how sources of personal identity, nostalgia, and history affect our evolving relationships to comics. As they share the discoveries uncovered in their editing process, the panelists will reveal the purposes for cultivating the three key areas of this volume: Foundations of Comics Pedagogy, Comics Pedagogy in Practice, and New Directions for Comics Pedagogy.

Henry Barajas (author of La Voz de M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo ), Rodney Barnes (author of Killadelphia ), Darcy Van Poelgeest (author of Little Bird: The Fight for Elder's Hope ), and David F. Walker (author of Bitter Root ) discuss comic books that tackle real world issues, be it environmental activism, civic engagement, physical and mental health awareness, and more, (including how their work is being used by librarians and educators). Viewers will leave with programming and acquisition ideas designed to inspire their readers to see the world differently and then change it for the better.

Peter Carlson (Green Dot Public Schools), Susan Kirtley (Portland State University), and Antero Garcia (Stanford University) lead this panel that reveals practical activities and theory involved in teaching with comics while discussing teaching and making comics with the incredible creators and educators Nick Sousanis ( Unflattening ), Ebony Flowers ( Hot Comb ), David F. Walker ( Naomi ), and Brian Michael Bendis ( Naomi ). www.comicspedagogy.com

Meryl Jaffe ( Worth A Thousand Words ) with panelists Laurence Tan (educator) Rachelle Cruz (educator, author Experiencing Comics ), and Talia Hurwich (educator, author Worth A Thousand Words ) discuss how graphic novels can inspire and enrich online classroom lessons for students grades 3 and up. We discuss challenges, lesson ideas, and loads of resources.

Join us to learn about the ever-growing mountain of evidence on the educational efficacy of comics that is making comic converts out of even the harshest critics. Learn how research shows that reading comics and graphic novels strengthens literacy and content learning for students of all ages, interests, and levels of achievement and how creating comics can bolster critical thinking and social-emotional skills. Our education and comics experts will share with you all the rationale and research you need to prove that comics belong in the classroom. Panelists: Dr. Theresa Rojas Dr. Stephen Krashen Dr. Susannah Richards Tracy Edmunds Moderator: Alex Simmons

This panel provides an inside look at ground-breaking courses by the professionals and academics who are bringing Geek Culture to campuses nationwide (and beyond)! Join Paul Levitz (Columbia University), Rob Salkowitz (University of Washington), Frank Cammuso (Syracuse University), Darlyne Overbaugh (Ithaca College), Chris Irving (Virginia Commonwealth University), and moderator Ed Catto (Ithaca College).

"Interested in knowing more about comics, putting them to use in your classroom, and trying your hand at making them? I set up this site initially for the class on comics for educators that I taught at Teachers College and have since been growing to serve as a database of comics-education resources. " Dr. Nick Sousanis Eisner-winning comics and San Francisco State University professor of Humanities & Liberal Studies.

Noteworthy Sections

Science comics, blind accessible comics, race, gender in comics, historical resources & digital archives.

While some dismiss comics as less intellectually challenging than “real” books, the reality is that graphic novels offer an opportunity to think abstractly in a way few other storytelling media can. The space between panels – the gutter – requires readers to make connections on their own, while the art portion of the media demands patience and attention that isn’t guided by words lined up on the page. Listen as seasoned educators share their use of comics as a tool for all types of inferring: determining causes, solving problems, predicting likely outcomes, and connecting dots. Panelists: Dr. Isabel Morales (moderator) Jana Tropper Shveta Miller Ronell Whitaker Dr. Rachelle Cruz

Hyperlinked in the titles below are toolkits created by Dr. Valentino Zullo, Ph.D., in 2020/21. They are modeled after the Get Graphic! with the Ohio Center for the Book discussions hosted at Cleveland Public Library (home of the Ohio Center for the Book) since 2014. These guides aim to promote the study of comics with other libraries, classrooms, book clubs, independent readers, and anyone else that wants an education in comics! The toolkits offered here represent only selection of comics titles. The list does not reflect an established pedagogical canon of comics to teach on.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (Comics: A Medium)

11 x 17 Sheets (Can be folded into 8.5 x 11 Booklet) (PDF)
8.5 x 11 Single Sheets (PDF)

One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry (Creating Comics)

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel (Comics as Medicine)

11 x 17 Sheets (Can be folded into a 8.5 x 11 Booklet) (PDF)

Maus by Art Spiegelman (The Holocaust)

Persepolis by marjane satrapi (iranian revolution), fun home by alison bechdel (lgbtq history in the united states), the best we could do by thi bui (vietnam war), march (book one) by john lewis (us civil rights movement), palestine by joe sacco (israeli-palestinian conflict), grass by keum suk gendry-kim (janet hong, translator) (korean “comfort women”), arab of the future by riad sattouf (pan-arab nationalism).

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Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels 1st Edition

35th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee!

This text will allow you to harness students’ love of comics and graphic novels while increasing critical thinking and engagement in the classroom. Author Tim Smyth offers a wide variety of lessons and ideas for using comics to teach close reading, working with textual evidence, literature adaptations, symbolism and culture, sequencing, essay writing, and more. He also models how to use comics to tackle tough topics and enhance social-emotional learning. Throughout the book, you’ll find a multitude of practical resources, including a variety of lesson plans―some quick and easy activities as well as more detailed ready-to-use unit plans. These thoughtful lessons meet the Common Core State Standards and are easy to adapt for any subject area or grade level to fit into your curriculum. Add this book to your professional library and you’ll have a new and exciting way of reaching and teaching your students!

ISBN-10 0367520370
ISBN-13 978-0367520373
Edition 1st
Publisher Routledge
Publication date July 6, 2022
Language English
Dimensions 7.01 x 0.5 x 10 inches
Print length 218 pages
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Editorial Reviews

"Comics and graphic novels are finally being appreciated for the rich literary experience they offer readers. They allow students to see themselves in literature, and to engage with diverse voices, experiences, and perspectives. The powerful lessons in this book empower educators to use the power of comics and graphic novels to reach every reader. Highly recommended!"

―Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the graphic novels Speak and Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed .

"Tim Smyth's Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels is the preeminent text for any educator or librarian working to bring sequential narratives into the classroom. Tim makes it real and makes it plain how comics can be used to reach students in ways no other medium can. Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels is an essential text for every classroom and library."

―Andrew Aydin, co-author of the graphic novels March and Run .

About the Author

Tim Smyth is a high school social studies educator and Reading Specialist of more than 20 years who travels the country giving professional development to educators on the power of teaching with comics. Smyth was also part of a global online comics in education program through the US State Department. He has been published in many outlets, such as PBS, and he also shares many resources on his website, TeachingWithComics.com. Smyth loves interacting on social media (@historycomics) and is the founder of two Facebook education communities―"Comic Book Teachers" and "Teaching With Comics." He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife and three comic book-loving children.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (July 6, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0367520370
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0367520373
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.01 x 0.5 x 10 inches
#580 in Arts & Humanities Teaching Materials
#690 in Lesson Planning for Educators
#1,207 in Language Arts Teaching Materials

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Comics in Education: Benefits and attitudes

Many researchers and educators have been advocating the idea of implementing comics in the classroom due to how appealing and motivational comics can be in a learning environment. Indeed, a number of experiments and observations showed that comics are effective in engaging the learners to the lesson. Yet, other studies revealed that teaching with comics is still a challenging endeavor. This is due to the attitudes that teachers and learners may have towards the material.

The following article is an attempt to report and review the studies that dealt with the educational advantages of comics while illustrating with examples of comic titles that addressed issues congruous with the claims of the mentioned works. It also discusses the shortcomings by addressing the attitudes and challenges that this medium can represent in the educational context.

The definition of comics

The very first question to ask is how to define the keyterm comics. Popular culture enthusiasts have long been giving attention to this medium and considering it an art form. One of the most influential comic artists and theorists Will Eisner referred to it as “sequential art” that conveys narrative information to the reader through visual storytelling. 1 It may or may not contain words and when it does, it is usually in the form of captions to lend voice to the narrator or speech bubbles to show the discourse of the characters. Comics have distinct language that makes it stand out from other art forms. These include icons, pictorial runes, panels, page layout or external compositional structure, speech balloons, captions, sound effects, etc. All of these elements are combined to create a story in the form of a sequence making it appealing to the readers. In this context, Scott McCloud defined comics as “juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence.” 2

The image below displays and defines the components of comics that contribute to the creation of its language.

This image defines the elements of comics in more detail.

The benefits of comics as a learning tool

First and Foremost, comics proved to be effective pedagogical materials in developing learning and literacy skills. Frey and Fischer revealed that using graphic novels in class developed the learners’ writing skills. They discussed the dialogues, vocabulary, and ideas found in the comics and that led to generating more ideas about the invoked themes and coming up with complex sentences. The visual stories helped understand the author’s mood and tone. The learners became motivated to “explore more sophisticated word choice.” Implementing graphic novels also encouraged the teachers to create more writing activities based on them. 4 Similarly, Leon and Cardenas asserted that implementing comics in the classroom improved reading comprehension skills, particularly vocabulary and narrative plot. As a narrative text, it also helped raise motivation and interest in the story. 5 In the same vein, Zsuzsanna deduced that students could recall words better with comics unlike students who underwent traditional text conditions. 6 Vinoliya claims that comics ameliorate linguistic intelligence in that learners seem to learn more vocabulary, pronounce words correctly, and make usage of appropriate grammar. 7

Along the same line of thoughts, connecting concepts with the visual context of comics allowed students to build knowledge in multiple modalities. This entails that comics promote learning and develop literacy skills. In fact, Bolton-Gary experimented with comics in her class and found out that they aided her students in biochemistry by “provid[ing] cognitive-psychological and pedagogical-technical effects.” 8

Notwithstanding, the researchers have only applied the aforementioned studies in specific contexts, mainly in Western environments including the United States and Europe making it challenging for the results to be generalizable and applicable to African populations, for example. These latter tend to be inexperienced with this material and that would be hard for teachers and learners alike to get familiar with comic-based curricula. Besides, the authors did not address different learning styles and how some learners may not feel motivated despite the appealing nature that comics offer to the readers. These types of learners may be more inclined towards novels and books or they may learn best by watching videos. They mainly focused on the potential of comics without paying attention to their limitations.

Comics and critical thinking

As far as critical thinking skills are concerned, Krusemark ascertained that comics make readers think outside the box to teach them about life lessons, develop their cognitive skills, foster their reading motivation and imagination, grow their vocabulary, and engage them with art appreciation. Learners can discuss a myriad of debatable topics using comics and that would automatically invite them to think critically of a particular theme or issue.

“Randolph-Seng and McKenny (2013) found that a graphic text approach, as opposed to a traditional textbook, encouraged readers to engage in a storyline, assess the situation, and update their evaluations all while considering content.” 9

As the author of this article claimed, the study targeted comic readers and did not consider how non-comic readers may use critical thinking when reading comics about leadership. This undoubtedly creates a shortcoming that dismisses non-comic readers and that results in considering to include them in a future research to make the findings more reliable. In fact, non-comic readers most probably outnumber comic readers in the classroom and that makes it even more appropriate to conduct a study on how the majority use critical thinking skills in comics.

To illustrate with manga, Heads by Higashino Keigo and Mase Motoro 10 tells a story of a young man who got shot in the head while attempting to save a little girl during a robbery. He eventually undergoes a brain transplant whose donor is the criminal himself. The main character gradually becomes perplexed and torn between two personalities, his own personality which is kind and loving and the donor’s which is rebellious, rude, and aggressive. The protagonist discovers the mystery of his operation and realizes that the donor who is also the criminal that shot him was in rage against the banker who sabotaged his mother, which made their life a living hell. The fact the criminal himself chose to have his organs donated after his death makes him someone who is not inherently evil even though he appeared to be so while attempting a robbery and a murder. Of course, this does not mean that criminals are allowed to do however they please. Everyone must be responsible for their behavior in society no matter how they feel. The point of this story is to simply understand that most humans are fluid beings who cannot be labeled as inherently evil or good. This is definitely a critical point of view that would spark a debate on morality and whether we can control the way we are with the brain we have and the experiences that shape our individuality.

The picture above shows the choice of the main character after undergoing this chaotic experience that a medical surgery caused. He pointed two guns to his head to kill both brain hemispheres which represent a part of him and his donor. Both characters have merged into one and decided to put an end to this misery. This is a tragic end and it reveals how inhumane and unethical the operation was. This is also a painful lesson that sometimes dying is better than living in hell. Death is natural; it can happen anytime and through different causes, whereas trying to preserve life in cruel conditions is unacceptable and unfair.

Comics and emotional intelligence

What is more intriguing about comics is that research further indicates that they have potential to foster emotional intelligence competence. The manga Heads mentioned previously helps its audience recognize that experiencing reality from others’ perspective can facilitate empathizing with them on a deeper level and understanding their struggles. Bolton-Gary asserts that comics have the potential to release emotions of a particular problem by creating a positive environment of learning. In her experiment, the way learners perceive the course has changed thanks to the implementation of comics in the classroom in that it generated more enjoyment and intrigue. Actually, comics promote empathy by helping students relate to the characters’ struggles.

One example is Craig Thompson’s autobiographical graphic novel Blankets 11 in which he tells the story of his life with a Christian community. The reader can relate to the ups and downs the main character goes through as in how he was struggling in his relationship with his first girlfriend and how he had to go to the camps to be taught about Christian principles. Most importantly, one can empathize with his pain of growing up in poverty. Another example would be American-Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. 12 This graphic novel tells the story of a Chinese child who moved with his family to an all-American neighborhood and in which the child has to fit in at school while enduring the bullies. The reader, here, can feel how being different can be tough particularly in a homogeneous environment. Similarly, Mirion Malle published a graphic novel entitled This Is How I Disappear 13 depicting mental health problems like trauma and depression. It is a novel that makes the reader sympathize with the feelings of the protagonist even if they have not experienced these kinds of mental issues before.

Attitudes towards comics

Even though comics have proved to be valuable tools in education and teaching, attitudes toward their implementation in the classrooms remains controversial. This is due to how they are perceived as an art form in the first place. In fact, they used to be considered artistically insignificant because of the juxtaposed pictures and words nature of comics, the low-quality literary form compared to literature, their belonging to “low” art of caricature, and the stereotype of them being targeted to children only. Nowadays, comics are gaining attention worldwide that even “universities are teaching comics. It’s now part of the culture without having to be something to apologize for.” In this regard, it is possible to wonder why this shift in the way comics are perceived. Weiner explains this rise by stating four counter reasons including more movies are being based on graphic novels, there are more publications of literary graphic novels, novelists are getting involved with the medium by joining the industry to “explore serious literary novels,” and the media is giving it more attention. 14

Accordingly, comics started becoming even more popular and educators began using it in pedagogy. Kachosrky addressed this issue to observe how teachers and learners perceive comics in the classroom. In the science class, the teacher perceived comics as a tool while the learners saw it as entertainment. The English class, on the other hand, the teacher was hesitant to label comics either as a medium or a traditional form of literature. The learners, however, thought it was simply a medium. Therefore, “different positionings of the comics proved meaningful in different contexts and with different participants.” The researcher concluded that there is a clash between teacher’s objectives for using comics and their literacy practices, teachers and students did not perceive comics in the same way, and traditional methods kept controlling the lessons even with the use of multimodal texts. 15

The limitations of comics

In addition to the problematic attitudes towards comics that are mentioned previously, this medium still has other limitations including how it can seem confusing for some learners, particularly those who are inexperienced with it. Likewise, the connection between words and pictures can lead to misinterpreting information due to how complicated it can be for certain types of learners. In some countries where comics are not that popular, there is a limited number of comic books and buying them can be extremely expensive. This makes them almost unavailable in markets and that inevitably leads to their difficulty to gain access to classrooms. What is also important to consider is that comics are mostly effective for visual learners. Auditory and kinaesthetic learners may find it uninteresting or challenging to study using this material. However, this invites more research to be conducted to assume whether such a claim is valid or not.

So what should be done?

Consequently, more research needs to be conducted on comics in language teaching and pedagogy as a whole. This will impact the development of curricula by including comics in the educational programs and textbooks. This should be applied in foreign language contexts as well while considering the cross-cultural effects that may influence the teaching environment. For instance, using comics among a cultural group that is inexperienced with the medium may hinder the learning process. Yet, this does not mean educators and researchers motivated to implement comics in the classroom should drop the idea and continue sticking to traditional methods. These latter can propose remedies by offering training to the teachers to apply comic-based intervention programs and introducing students to the medium and helping them understand its idiosyncratic features.

In a word, comics can develop literacy, linguistic, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking skills making them a highly significant material that is worthy of attention and consideration to be included in education. Despite witnessing tremendous positive changes, ambivalent attitudes toward this art form continue to dominate and hinder the way teachers and students are supposed to perceive them. This entails that educators interested in comics should work on changing these perceptions and raising awareness about the benefits of comics.

Works Cited

Eisner, W. (1985). Comics and sequential art. Poorhouse Press. ↩
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics . Kitchen Sink Press. ↩
Differenceengine. (2018). Elements of a comic strip [image]. https://differenceengine.sg/for-educators/elements-of-comics/ ↩
Frey, N. & Fisher, D. (2004). Using graphic novels, anime, and the internet in an urban high school. English Journal, 93 (3), 19-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4128804 ↩
León, A.P.M., & Cardenas, B.A.C. (2018). Improving reading comprehension through comics as a narrative text [Bachelor’s thesis, Corporación Universitaria Minuto De Dios Education Faculty]. https://core.ac.uk/reader/323208960 ↩
Zsuzsanna, K. (2017). The possible benefits of using comic books in foreign language education: A classroom study. Képzés és gyakorlat, 15, 243-260. ↩
Vinoliya, D.A. (2016). Implementing comics in ELT in primary schools. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 6 (6), 281-3. ↩
Bolton-Gray, C. (2012). Connecting through comics: Expanding opportunities for teaching and learning. US-China Education Review , 389–95. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533545 ↩
Krusemark, R. (2015). The role of critical thinking in reader perceptions of leadership in comic books. Sequential Art Narrative in Education (SANE), 2 (1), 1-25. ↩
Keigo, H., & Motoro, M. (2003). Heads . Young Sunday (Weekly). ↩
Thompson, C. (2003). Blankets . Top Shelf Productions. ↩
Yang, G.L. (2006). American-Born Chinese. First Second Books. ↩
Malle, M. (2020). This is How I Disappear . Drawn and Quarterly. ↩
Williams, R. (2008). Image, text, and story: Comics and graphic novels in the classroom. Art Education, 61(6), 13–19. ↩
Kachorsky, D.P. (2018). I am not Prometheus: Traditional literacy and multimodal texts in secondary classrooms [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Arizona State University. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/158457042.pdf ↩

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Overweight Superheroes and Supervillains

90 Comments

I can see how it comics could prove to be an aide in mathematics and the sciences; it uses more of the senses.

I think comic books designed for educational purposes can also be oriented for scientific lessons, which would be engaging for both the teachers and learnes, at least to a certain degree.

An absolute must, if you’re teaching this area, or have an interest to incorporate comics into your teachings, is Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”. I think it is arguably one of the best books I’ve read, and used with students, when it comes to developing an understanding of visual literacy….very beautifully put together, very clever, very readable. Highly highly recommended.

Indeed! I actually have a copy of that book and I am urged to read it again. It is a golden work about comics that will always be a valuable reference for any scholar working in the field of comics, visual literacy, semiotics, and linguistics.

Disagree. I think there are only ten pages worth reading, those on which McCloud explains his concept of ‘closure’, or the way sequential meaning is made via reading the transition between one panel and the next in comics. This is the essential component in comics and McCloud should be applauded for his explanation of it. He spoils it a bit by deciding to name it with a term widely used to mean a sense of finality and cohesion in narrative and experience but McCloud’s powers of graphic invention when it comes to non-fiction subjects are so powerful that any initial confusions are swiftly swept aside. The rest of the book is a variable mix of ill-chosen and fractionally baked ideas (some half-baked, some threquarters baked, some barely baked at all) and can pretty much remain ignored.

I’ve taught comics in schools, and the kids have loved it.

There is a danger in comics getting too “respectable” and losing their edge, but it seems to work okay in Japan. There are still plenty of “disreputable pictures” over there.

It’s a challenge. You’ll need it given the closed minded skeptical people who have no understanding of the medium and look down on it just because it has pictures and doesn’t consist entirely of prose. These people never look to see for themselves that comics can tell interesting and complex stories as well as tackle important subject matter and does not entirely consist of men in capes and the very best writers/artists can still do interesting work with deconstructing or re imagining the standard superhero tropes.

You know what has loads of pictures? Films! Heck, I would go so far as to argue they’re nothing BUT pictures!

…is an argument I might use in another context.

“You’ll need it given the closed minded skeptical people who have no understanding of the medium and look down on it just because it has pictures “…..although the same people would queue around the block for the latest Marvel movie without a hint or irony!…I’ve got better stories in my old 2000ads in my loft. And I don’t have to pay £10 a seat and have it spoiled by a brat on a mobile…

There is a serious lack of books for children with learning difficulties who don’t want to read the ‘baby’ books. Maybe this is an area where graphic novels could step into the void.

Asterix were always huge favourites of mine when I was a kid and ignited my love of history.

Jeff Smith’s superlative ‘Bone’ comic would be the answer there. Perfect for kids but still great fun to read as an adult. Beautifully drawn and genuinely funny.

The range of great adult comics is a mile long nowadays. For people that prefer story and dialogue to prose (or those like myself that enjoy both) there are plenty of excellent comics that are nothing to do with superheroes.

You should try the Phoenix Weekly comic. A great children’s comic with adventure and humour strips.

I run many workshops for schools and libraries and kids with learning difficulties devour the comic with great enthusiasm.

If you read one graphic novel in your life I recommend reading Maus. Took me a while to get around to it as the artwork seemed a bit crude and the subject too depressing. It really surprised me how good this book is.

Also, I am frustrated at how few European works seem to get translated into English. Why is that? Just have a browse in a French bookshop to see what your missing.

Short answer: Because of the nature of the market.

Long answer: Because there are only a handful of major comic traditions and two of them necessitate a culture of translated media to gain an audience.

The US has the easiest way into the UK market because you can essentially reprint the work you have and be done with it.

For European comics, you have to pay a very good translator (I would argue that in many ways comics are more challenging to translate than pure prose), edit the whole thing (esp. where length issues develop), set the whole thing all over again … a risky investment for a market in which American comics have grabbed the biggest share in a way that diminishes interest in the other (mainly Belgian/French) styles. There are few truly excellent translators to begin with, and fewer who are willing to go through the ordeal of translating a comic, with its low word count and high technical requirements compared to other projects.

Then there’s Japanese comics, which have managed to ride the wave of hype for Japanese animated series — they get translated and published because the market of Japanophile or Anime-obsessed is enough to guarantee sales without having to worry about competition too much.

If you want to see what a country with a truly diverse comic readership and publishing industry looks like, try Germany — France has its blind spots with everything non-French as much as the UK has a problem with anything not in English. Everything apart from a handful of local artists is translated, English and French and Japanese language works, so they all require some investment into translation. Result: more diversity.

Acceptance of translated media in general is dismal in the UK because the dominant culture is that of the US. In the rest of Europe, that dominant culture has to be translated first as well, so there’s a general acceptance of the concept (and lately a great deal of snobbery from people who greatly overestimate their English comprehension, insisting that they watch/read everything in English while missing half the content — especially true in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden).

Nice one. Germany has some great comics of their own (I’m a Nick Knatterton fan) but isn’t adverse to translating comics from other nations, although I get the impression that children’s/young adults manga has taken the upper hand in last couple of years.

Good read. But am I alone in liking comics because they are cheap and lurid entertainment.

Probably not alone, but not all comics are cheap and lurid, just as “proper literature” is not all cheap and lurid.

Actually they’re expensive, lurid entertainment.

Comics was my gateway drug into the greater world of literature.

A parallel thought. In our Sign Language class, one woman said she didn’t ‘get’ cartoons. I explained about the first frame setup with a conclusion or punchline in the final frame, but no – cartoons did not make sense for her. Interestingly, she also struggled with the ‘mime’ part of sign language.

Abstract ideas are not universally understood and if the recipient has not heard your message, you haven’t really sent it.

Comics and Sequential Art by the great Will Eisner is a good one: Eisner really broke the ‘square box’ approach while retaining the narrative. Sheer genius.

My university has an English class with Watchmen as a unit so that’s cool.

That is really cool! I loved that graphic novel!

Interesting. I will try to incorporate this into my lessons.

Great article. Piggying back on it, I feel we need to make Comics studies more relevant! What do you all think?

Thank you! I am working on that in my research to help make the medium more accessible both in my country and at schools.

I think the real key to making comic studies and the entire medium more relevant and better appreciated is to break down the barriers that prevent many would-be creators from access due to privilege and/or class.

Right now a lot of the medium seems more like a playground for almost anyone BUT the folks who most want to get involved. So it’s brushed off lightly in much the way other forms of art that are deemed to be simply the realm of a certain type are. Remember, there’s a reason a lot of people shun or look down on fine/modern art.

The artforms with the most acclaim, relevance and appreciation in our culture tend to be ones that at least attempt an even playing field for all who want in. Literature, film, music, etc may not actually be the platonic ideals we wish they were when it comes to letting everyone in. But they seem way more accessible to all than comics have in most of recent history.

That’s just my two cents. I’m not an expert. But yes, I believe the key to making comics appreciation as essential and ubiquitous as other forms is to expand accessibility.

I’d say that depends on what you’re hoping to output. To start out in cinema you need a functioning camera… to start out in comics you just need some printer paper and a decent pen. Self-made black-and-white ‘zines were done in people’s bedrooms and then printed using a library photocopier.

Professionally printed comics may be a more restricted field, but start looking into webcomics and suddenly it opens up massively. People are making comics and posting them online weekly just for the love of it, and then gaining enough of a following that printed versions, (sometimes personally funded, sometimes crowd-funded) become possible later. Most of these webcomics don’t make it into the shops because they survive solely off and cater solely to their existing fan base. The anonymity of the internet also allows for stories on a greater range of topics that probably wouldn’t make it past a publisher due to perceived lack of selling potential or inappropriate material.

Of course that means that some web comics are of lower quality, because no one’s regulating what gets posted but the artist, however others are of a very high story-telling or artistic calibre. ‘The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal’ is a personal favourite of mine, posted one page per week by the artist over 4 years.

Yes that gives webcomics a somewhat ephemeral nature – they can appear and disappear at the discretion of the artist, or their ability to pay for a web domain if they want one – but that’s always been the draw of comics. The move from photocopier print to internet blogs hasn’t changed that.

Glad to have The Artifice as an ally in bringing comics to kids.

Pupils get so much out of the different genre and often Graphics novels are a great way in to more difficult subjects such as physics and Shakepeare and WW2- brilliant.

The genre could be taught across the curriculum, from Art to Literacy to politics and philosophy. Detractors who dismiss comics as “kids’ stuff” clearly don’t think children are intelligent.

I like comics but I think that they have some obvious limitations. The biggest one is how there isn’t room for long passages of text unless you want to distract from the picture and make it like you’re reading a comic and reading a book at the same time. The other is that you only see limited glimpses that mimic moments in time and thus you’re only getting a truncated version of real events. That can be a plus when you’re showing multiple people talking at the same time but is a disadvantage more often than not, especially when you’re using the medium of comics as an educational tool.

Comics have unique limitations like any other medium. You mention not being able to have long passages as a limitation but you’re comparing comics and books too much by doing so. A long passage can span the course of pages of panels, accompanied by an array of images. The pacing of the text can elicit a different reading experience because you have to pause and consider the associated panel.

The second “limitation” you mention is also taken from a perspective that I just can’t agree with because it feels like you are comparing comics to movies. You are right, comics generally cannot physically move (there are examples of animated webcomics that do though), but then you need to consider WHY an artist deliberately decided to snapshot a moment. Sure, you can argue it’s a truncated experience, or you could argue that it brings attention to that particular moment and highlights it as significant. Why this expression, why that composition, why is the panel this shape, what is included in the framing, what is being cropped? You can do a lot of analysis on just a single panel in a comic depending on how you approach it.

I think it’s very helpful to look at adaptations to see how different mediums can elevate or take away from a story. For example, I recently read the graphic novel adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. The artist did an amazing job at taking advantage of the way that comics uniquely work as their own medium in adapting the story, making use of the paneling, varying colour palette, and dynamic style to create a really powerful presentation. I don’t think Slaughterhouse Five is easy to adapt either, time travel and the fractured narrative play such an integral part of the story that no one’s attempted another film adaptation since the 70s. But comics were the perfect medium for an adaptation.

If you work with comics as an educational tool, you have to work with it as its own medium. Books, movies, comics – they are all excellent tools for teaching but they all require different approaches to be useful.

Thank you for your comment! I have benefited from your critical viewpoint and I agree with your last point about how all media can be used as educational tools. I think that comics are just one of them. It would be interesting to compare different adaptations as well like you said.

I see what you’re saying. You strike a good point about how you can share a written passage over several panels. I’m not as sold on your other point about highlighting a single moment being special. My reasoning on that front is that you have to stuff a lot of moments into one and I much prefer say, an animated film where everything is arranged more organically. To each their own. There are good things about comics too, as they’re good at showing scenes that books can’t and animation often doesn’t. I wanted to highlight some of the negative aspects of comics since the article, for better or worse, deals only with the negative aspects of comics for education, not the limitations of comics themselves.

It’s exciting to see teachers and librarians starting to pick up on comics as a way to inspire kids to read, write, draw and get into storytelling.

We had some awesome comics making with families at the Pop Up Festival a few years back in London with Neill Cameron, Jamie Smart, Nana Li, Gary Northfield, Jamie Littler, David O’Connell…

Delighted to see this article. I’ve been visiting schools for the last few years giving kids my Comic Art Masterclass, based on my 25 years working for everyone from The Beano to Marvel comics and Doctor Who. This year alone I’ve taught comics in Jordan and Switzerland as well as everywhere from the Mull Of Kintyre to Cornwall & all points inbetween.

Since I did my masters’ dissertation on the translations of Asterix (how the medium works in different cultures, the translation of humour and the translation of cultural concepts) back in 2003, I am glad to read and support this article.

Your master’s dissertation seems like a really interesting source. I am sure it is a valuable contribution to the literature on comics. If it is available on a database, can you give me its full title? Thank you for supporting and liking my article.

If comics is an art form, it is an art best characterized by Bernadette on The Big Bang Theory as “picture books of flying men in their underwear”.

Great line but totally untrue.

Graphic novels may or may not be art, depending on their content.

What they definitely are is accessible and in terms of teaching basic literacy are very effective.

– V For Vendetta – Maus – We3 – The Invisibles – The Walking Dead – Some of Neil Gaiman’s work

The public perception of comics by people who have no understanding of the medium have no clue that you can tell a wide array of stories that don’t need to always involve an impossibly square jawed flying muscular man with a cape.

May I add “Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid in the World” or “Building Stories” both by Chris Ware. These are a couple of the tenderest works I’ve ever read.

Although not read any (yet), Joe Sacco’s work would also be an obvious addition of non-cape comics.

There are plenty of comics without “flying underwear” if you care to look.

Watchmen obviously doesn’t qualify, but its prose easily stands up to non-graphic novel standards. When I read it as a comics novice 20 years ago that was the most surprising thing about the book for me.

You could argue it’s one of the more ancient art forms; after all, some cave paintings are stories made from pictures with a time line. What could be more natural?

So The Big Bang Theory is a superior art form to comic books?

You’re confusing a genre (superhero stories) with a medium (graphic art / comic books / graphic novels, whatever term you like).

Based on your statement, prose fiction is a complete write-off because 50 Shades of Grey exists.

Watch out, apparently the minute you start studying anything in schools children hate it and are traumatised for life.

It would be great if comics were accepted in schools but the industry is almost extinct, with actual extinction just around the corner I imagine. Point of sale being a major factor along with distribution costs. People keep telling me print is dead, yak yak yak, it’s dead here because it’s been strangled, a look at the diverse market abroad, tells a different story.

Depends on where you live. The UK comic industry is far from dead, in fact it is thriving. For the past five or six years, successful UK comicbook/graphic novel publishers have been going from strength to strength, including, SelfMade Hero, No Brow, Blank Slate, Jonathan Cape and Titan amongst others, all of which have seen plenty of international success.

It might not be the comics industry we recognised from years ago with kids spending their precious weekly pocket money on comics that filled the newsstands. Now, it’s a burgeoning book market, with its own dedicated areas in Waterstones and Foyles, with parents putting their hands in their pocket instead.

These days there are dozens of Comic Conventions dotted around the country, littering the calendar year, packed with guest stars from all over the world, and not just your Marvel pencillers; French BD Auteurs mix with Manga superstars as well as our home-grown talent.

Kids comics too, in danger of being trampled underfoot by the unstoppable juggernaut that is adult graphic novels, are seeing a resurgence with The Phoenix weekly comic and its parade of book collections, and The Beano, which has had a fantastic revival the last couple of years and steadied its sales, bringing in young and vital new blood to the art and writing chores. No Brow have also brought out a fantastic imprint, Flying Eye Books, including the international success story that is Hilda by Luke Pearson.

I’ve been knocking around in this industry for 12 years and it’s fantastic to see what a diverse, exciting and successful medium comics has become in this country.

Couldn’t agree more. Also what’s happening now is pretty much what many people in comics envisaged when the graphic novel was first established in the uk booktrade during the 80s. It took a long time in construction but a thriving scene has been built.

Comics certainly not cheap these days. That much is true.

And the quest for comics to be taken seriously continues… if the uncultured must be taught to understand why blobs of oil on a canvas are worth millions then surely the cultural elite must be taught that a comic can be as worthy as a urinal.

No argument from me that graphic novels are an art form… But wish people wouldn’t keep lumping them in with literature… They’re clearly not the same thing.

Clearly? Really?

That’s funny. Because I think they very clearly are. They’re very clearly not novels (as in “just novels”) or short stories (as in “just short stories”), but they fulfill every criterion there is for being literature.

Nonsense. They are a visual medium and have more in common with film or “art” i.e. painting, etc, than they do with literature.

Surely comics came first and painting, films and writing are its children. The question is more, where do the other arts stand in relation to comics?

As a comic artist, this is a topic I’m really passionate about and I was happy to see such a well articulated and researched article on this subject! You did a great job covering it. Thank you for sharing your work!

I am so glad a comic artist commented on my article! I wish I could see your work. Thank you so much for your positive feedback!

While I agree that academic study is valuable and important (I’m an academic myself, in a different field), I think general accessibility is more important. And the media has a huge role to play in this.

Headlines for articles about comics which start which “POW! ZAP!” or some similar rubbish are still infuriatingly regular, and just serves to reinforce the mistaken assumption that all comics are about superheroes, and are for kids (though this is true for many, and many of those are excellent, thank you very much).

Then there’s the constant calling comics a genre (ARGH!).

The Times had a piece about the comics laureate recently, which predictably made both of those mistakes when trying to advertise the promotion of comics, ironically.

But articles like this make a great contribution. As do excellent projects like CLAw and the wonderful annual Comics Art Fest in the Lake District.

Academically it’s on the grow, too (see Nick Sousanis’ PhD thesis about comics, written in comic form – wonderful!). And long may this growth on all fronts continue!

Thank you for your comment! I agree that comics still have a lot of negative stereotypes and the idea of implementing them in academia is still being challenged. I would love to check that thesis you mentioned. It is really interesting that he made it in a comic form. I have just checked the art and it looks appealing. I will definitely read it when I get my hands on it! thank you for this recommendation.

I love me comics. Helped me get o levels grade As in English lit and lang. Only got a c in PE.

the more kids read the better, but it doesn’t have to be classic fiction books. it’s this narrowminded vision that puts kids off reading and education in general. my daughters teacher told us not to be concerned she was shunning the classic kids stories her sister devoured, instead she likes to research topics online, mostly about animals, but also countries, natural phenomena etc ….. she makes power point presentations up. she also likes to read those glossy coffee table books you get as gifts and put away the day after boxing day, never to be opened again. not all kids like enid blighton.

Thank you! I try to tell people the value of comics, but every one just looks at me sideways, maybe you can change this mindset. I mean people learn to read because of comics, yet they are frowned upon and outright banned for reading material in schools.

As an adolescent, interested in learning, I love educational graphic novels, and I would really love more of them!

Reading them is a unique experience. It’s somewhere in between a book and a movie. The artwork styles vary and people will no doubt has their favourites just like I do.

Too many people have the opinion that they are above comics and that they’re just for kids. Go into any comic shop and its full of businessmen in suits picking up their favourite books! Give comics a chance. You might just enjoy it!

My best friend has dyslexia and she had a lot of trouble with reading when I introduced her to comics they completely sucked her in and now she loves reading just like me. we read chapter books together. I am really proud of her.

That is really awesome! I’m glad you introduced her to comics.

Comics are a much faster way of conveying information and easier to memorize than plain text.

I enjoyed reading this article a lot. It is great to see referenced work here as well, it means I can come back here and read more on the topic if I want to.

Other comments mentioned how the stigma on comics used in the classroom is similar to film. I would like to read more about interpretations from critics on comics as an art medium as I have seen film hit a ceiling where it is either regarded as grossly commercial and arthouse with no traction. Do you have any recommendations on sources for this?

I wonder if reading more about comics journey through this criticism could help me more effectively champion film as an artistic medium as well.

Thank you! Sadly, I haven’t found a lot of sources that worked on the stigma of comics in the classroom except the one I mentioned by Kachorsky (2018).

I finished High School last year, one year and even though nobody did, when we got to choose books to read for projects, comics and graphic novels were completely allowed.

Great article! I too am interested in alternative mediums of storytelling that can be incorporated into the classroom alongside (or in some grades replace) traditional modes of storytelling. Perhaps, as comics are both visual and literary, they can be analysed for both content simultaneously. What I mean is, literary analysis as well as techniques specific to the medium such as composition, colouring and art style, which all contribute to story and impact.

Interesting examination, especially in the era of so many graphic novels.

Great discussion. Indeed comics in the classroom have a lot of value, but as with anything need to have a clear and focused purpose in the selection and use. Good to see this up here.

I love the visual of the comic components! Super helpful to know for anyone teaching about comics. Comics appear to be much like fiction: ways to broach a difficult or dry topic (as well as build emotional literacy and critical thinking skills). Thanks for sharing this article. It will be interesting to see whether policy makers will integrate comics into Australia’s curriculum at any point or whether graphic novel adaptations will find their way into the classroom.

It’s about time that someone started advocating for the educational use of comic books! When I was learning to read, my mother actually encouraged me to read comics, namely old Archie and Howard the Duck comics she owned as a child. Of course, I went on to read Superman and The Incredible Hulk instead, but comic books not only taught me how to read, but also served as my gateway to classic and modern literature.

This was an interesting ready, especially because I want to become an educator in the future.

From an educators perspective, comics are a GREAT resource in the classroom for any age/grade. I used graphic novels and comics in my 7th grade ELA classroom and it was extremely engaging. At first, the “non-comic readers” were not enthusiastic about it– they thought it would be too easy, boring, “childish,” etc. The “comic readers” were the most excited about it. Coincidentally, the students who would fight tooth and nail against reading novels were the ones practically leading our comic lessons every day. But the trick to successfully teaching with comics is to be creative; make lessons engaging, interesting, and challenging. Yes, it may be difficult to hit all the different learning styles but it is not impossible. I believe teaching comics are worth the effort. If done correctly, they will learn many skills that will translate through every aspect of life such as problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing, literacy, how to use text features properly, etc. Teaching with comics will make the self-identified “book-haters” look forward to reading and will help educators and students see the endless possibilities in the classroom (if we aren’t scared to try something new).

Thank you for your comment!

I think that everyone learns differently and comics, if done properly, can help learners who have difficulties reading textbooks and/or often find themselves easily immersed in a storyline. I use a book by Robert Cialdini in my course and one semester a student accidentally bought the comic book version, which I had no idea existed. I asked her to bring it in and said that I would pay her for it since she wanted to get the actual book anyway. My coworker said he knew about it, but would never tell students because it wasn’t educational. It was written by the author himself!

I did not find it easy to engage with personally, but I loaned it to one student in a different class who was interested in the topics but found it hard to do research. He read the entire book. He learned that way and the other student learned from the more standard presentation of text. All mediums have their place in education.

I abhor people who don’t see comics as genuine literature. There’s so much to be gleaned from stories like Dark Knight Returns and Maus and they don’t deserve to be dismissed as “childish.”

I use them at the college level. If you choose the right ones, it works very well.

Excellent article. Education and comics are nothing really new in Europe. When I was a teen, the Belgian government have used comics to pass general public health information such as safe sex practices, drug prevention, bullying, depression, suicide and the likes. Interesting to see this approach in the US which always seems to be late when it comes to those subjects.

This is really fascinating. I worked in an elementary school library for a time and so often teachers would discourage their students from checking out graphic novels. I always thought it was a bit unfair. The amount of pictures doesn’t lessen the impact the story can have on someone.

Dr. Brian Barnes

Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Genre Study

Resources & Preparation
Instructional Plan
Related Resources

This lesson capitalizes on the popular appeal of comics by using them to introduce the concept of genre. Students begin by working in small groups to analyze differences and similarities among a selection of comics from a variety of subgenres. Based on their discussion, they determine what subgenres are represented and divide the comics accordingly. They then analyze the professional comics' uses of conventions such as layout and page design. Finally, they create their own comics using an online tool.

Featured Resources

Comic Creator : Students use this online tool to create their own comics.

From Theory to Practice

Recently emerging as a genre "worth" studying in school, comics can act as a springboard for genre study as well as tap higher-order thinking skills. Versaci (2001) points out that "[A]side from engagement, comic books also help to develop much needed analytical and critical thinking skills. A common goal, regardless of the level we teach, is to help students read beyond the page in order to ask and answer deeper questions that the given work suggests about art, life, and the intersection of the two. Comic books facilitate this . . ." (64).

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Access to the Internet
Overhead or LCD projector
Examples of comics

Student Objectives

Students will

explore a variety of comic strips.
discuss components of comic strips.
examine conventions of comic strips.
analyze online Comic Creator interactive and create a planning sheet for using the tool.
apply what they have learned about comics by creating one of their own.

Instruction and Activities

Begin by brainstorming with the students the names of different comics that they know. Also have the students give descriptions about them.
Pass out samples of many different types of comics and comic books. Be sure to include historical, political, Illustrated Classics, "funnies," superheroes, and examples from contemporary books such as Spiegelman's Maus.
Is there dialogue? How is it presented?
What are the characters doing? How is that shown?
What is the shape of the comic frames? What does that represent?
How is action shown?
What happens from one frame to the next?
Using the information from their discussions, have the students come up with the different comic subgenres such as those noted in #2 above. The students should realize that within comics there are many genres and sometimes genre determines convention.
Comics manipulate space on a page to guide the reader and affect the interpretation of the story.
Page layout and design can represent different organizational models, especially for storytelling. For example, a page with many frames can represent an ongoing scene with a lot of action. Larger frames with a great deal of detail may be an artist's attempt to set a forthcoming scene. Even page divisions add a certain element of story organization.
Comic "storytellers" are careful not to include too many disjointed scenes on one page; as with a written narrative, such a mixture would make for a confusing and jumbled story.
Layout is important when combining images and text, and with comics, students can transfer knowledge of visual organization to verbal and written organizational models.
The concept of exploring one idea fully before moving onto the next could be likened to the page-break concept in graphic art.
With the new information they have, students should observe the conventions of page design and layout. Then they should analyze professional comics' use of the conventions.
Using an LCD projector, demonstrate the Comic Creator student interactive and all of its tools. The students can use their knowledge of comic components and conventions to guide the teacher through a whole-class created comic.
Finally, using the Comic Creator on their own, students experiment with the conventions of page design and layout in their own comics.
As a writing activity, the students in small groups can create a planning or tips sheet that can be given to Comic Creator users. This sheet would help them make decisions about creating their own comic strip. The creation of this tips sheet is also the assessment that determines how much the students understand from the first session of the lesson.
If you want to continue using comics in your classroom, visit the National Association of Comics Arts Educators for additional lesson plan, activities, and other resources.

Student Assessment / Reflections

As this lesson is the introduction to a longer unit on comics and genre study, teacher observation and conferences and interviews should make up the bulk of the assessment to ensure that students are grasping and retaining the material as they move through the unit. Participation in guided discussion should also be considered. If grades are to be given, teachers can assess the creation of the comic strip as well as the tips sheet if they chose to do the extension activity.

Student Interactives
Lesson Plans
Professional Library
Calendar Activities

The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (prewriting, pre- and postreading activities, response to literature, and so on).

In this article, Versaci details the many merits of using comics and graphic novels in the classroom, suggests how they can be integrated into historical and social issues units, and recommends several titles.

Students create a short, humorous story with at least one action character, and then use online tools to make a flipbook.

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COMMENTS

Using Comics to Teach the 4 Cs Across Grade Levels
Picture Partners / Alamy Stock Photo. Students today are digital natives who need to develop the 4 Cs —critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Comics are perfectly situated for use in developing these competencies, and they work across grade levels—a single story may have the capacity to speak to both elementary and ...
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INCIDENTAL COMICS: Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking. I collaborated on a series of comics for the OECD Center for Educational Research and Innovation for use in the classroom. Thanks to Carlos González-Sancho and Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin for working with me on the project! Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest.
Critical Thinking: The problem (with comics)
Critical Thinking is a new column that analyzes academic writing about comics. Teaching with Comics: Empirical, Analytical, and Professional Experiences Editors: Robert Aman and Lars Wallner Writers: Robert Aman, Lars Wallner, Clio Ding, Noran Amin, Dona Pursall, Cathy G Johnson, Ana Pedrazinni, Constanza Zinkgräf, Paola D'Adamo, Lucía ...
Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels
This text will allow you to harness students' love of comics and graphic novels while increasing critical thinking and engagement in the classroom. Author Tim Smyth offers a wide variety of lessons and ideas for using comics to teach close reading, working with textual evidence, literature adaptations, symbolism and culture, sequencing, essay ...
Comics and the Development of Critical Thinking Skills
Overcoming Barriers to Critical Thinking with Comics Critical thinking is an essential skill, crucial for the analysis and evaluation of arguments and ideas. However, several barriers often hinder its development, including preconceived notions, emotional biases, and the overwhelming volume of information.
Visual Literacy in College: The Role of Comics in Developing Critical
Most importantly, comic books help to develop critical thinking through the lens of narrowing things down. Unlike other types of literary works, comics always stay focused and keep text content to a minimum. It is a great way to train one's cognitive skills, like attention and memory span issues. If you need to do brain work, do yourself a ...
Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels
35th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominee! This text will allow you to harness students' love of comics and graphic novels while increasing critical thinking and engagement in the classroom. Author Tim Smyth offers a wide variety of lessons and ideas for using comics to teach close reading, working with textual evidence, literature adaptations, symbolism and culture, sequencing ...
Adventures in Critical Thinking: Using UofL Student-Created Comic Books
Critical Thinking · Active Learning. This session will showcase the new critical thinking comic book series called Adventures in Critical Thinking and guide you in thinking through how these digital resources can be used effectively with students to develop and hone their critical thinking skills in situations both inside and outside the classroom. . The series of six comic books were written ...
Thinking Critically
Display student comics in the classroom for visual reminders of their critical thinking skills. Students will share their comics in partnerships or small groups. Share with the class that thinking critically helps to improve their decision-making skills, and problem-solving ability, stimulates their curiosity, and helps them make sense of the ...
The Benefits of Using Comics for Visual Literacy Development
Comics offer a powerful tool for developing visual literacy skills in students. This article highlights the benefits of using comics in education, including enhancing reading comprehension, fostering critical thinking, promoting visual literacy skills, encouraging sequential thinking, cultivating creativity and imagination, supporting multimodal learning, increasing engagement and motivation ...
How graphic novels can accelerate critical thinking
Mullaney has incorporated graphic novels in some of his Stanford courses since 2017; in 2020, he taught a course dedicated to the study of world history through comic strip formats.
'Hocus Pocus' brings critical thinking (and magic) to comics
00:00. 02:01:50. Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast! Hocus Pocus brings a few disciplines to the drawing table besides solid sequential art storytelling, offering vignettes of historical mind-reading techniques and a bit of insight into those who attempted to understand such powers.
Using Comics to Spark Creativity and Imaginative Learning
Adapting to multiple learning styles is an important component in meeting students where they are, and maximizing learning outcomes. Comics can ease readers into new subject matter while building their confidence, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. They also help foster a joy of reading which can level the academic playing field.
The Importance of Comics
Integrating comics into academics supports and promotes critical thinking. "Comics provide a unique opportunity for students to think critically about representation, power, and social justice" (Barberis & Grüning). Urging students to analyze and break down visual narratives and examine artistic decisions allows for more insight into the ...
Research Guides: Comics and Graphic Novels: Comics Pedagogy
This collection highlights the diverse ways comics and graphic novels are used in English and literature classrooms, whether to develop critical thinking or writing skills, paired with a more traditional text, or as literature in their own right.
Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels
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Critical Thinkers Cartoons and Comics
Critical Thinkers cartoons and comics. Nurture critical thinkers with our collection of thought-provoking cartoons. Explore the power of questioning, analysis, and problem-solving through witty visuals that will engage and inspire young minds. Remember, curiosity killed the cat, but it made the cartoonist proud!
Comics in Education: Benefits and attitudes
Comics and critical thinking. As far as critical thinking skills are concerned, Krusemark ascertained that comics make readers think outside the box to teach them about life lessons, develop their cognitive skills, foster their reading motivation and imagination, grow their vocabulary, and engage them with art appreciation. ...
Dr. Brian Barnes
Barnes co-hosts the weekly radio show, Critical Thinking for Everyone!, on 106.5 Forward Radio in Louisville, and he also created the critical thinking comic book series, Adventures in Critical Thinking. Dr. Barnes is a Scholar of the Foundation for Critical Thinking, and was a direct student of Dr. Richard Paul.
Critical Thinking Cartoons and Comics
Critical Thinking cartoons and comics. Get those gears turning with our collection of critical thinking cartoons! Perfect for educators, training materials, or just inspiring your own mental acrobatics. Because thinking outside the box is always more fun when you have cartoons to guide you. critical-thinking critical thinking critical thinker ...
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Genre Study
Recently emerging as a genre "worth" studying in school, comics can act as a springboard for genre study as well as tap higher-order thinking skills. Versaci (2001) points out that " [A]side from engagement, comic books also help to develop much needed analytical and critical thinking skills. A common goal, regardless of the level we teach, is ...

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INCIDENTAL COMICS

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

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Critical Thinking: The problem (with comics)

The Problem (with Comics)

Comics are the Problem Challenging the Status Quo with Content

Comics Problems The Challenging Status Quo of Consumption

Comics are the Solution Responding with Creation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Comics and the Development of Critical Thinking Skills: AnEducational Approach

Overcoming Barriers to Critical Thinking with Comics

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills Through Comics

Analyzing Characters and Motivations:

Exploring Themes and Messages:

Decoding Visuals and Symbolism:

Comparing Different Comics:

Employing Comics as a Critical Thinking Test

Fostering Critical Thinking and Problem Solving through Comics

Steps to Critical Thinking Through Comics

Implementing Critical Thinking Exercises with Comics in the Classroom

Integrating Comics into Critical Thinking Tests and Assessments

The Future of Comics in Education: Beyond Entertainment

Visual Literacy in College: The Role of Comics in Developing Critical Thinking

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