RR-April 7- Graphic Goodies

Hello Everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather! I know I am!

So this week, we had to read about Graphic Novels and their use, function, and purpose in the classroom. The two authors I really connected with were McTaggert and Carter.

McTaggert:

What i really liked about McTaggert's article is that it had a question for almost every question I had. She really went into detail and thoroughly explained what a graphic novel was, the different types, and why they are valid in a classroom. To be honest, I never thought of graphic novels in my classroom because whenever I think of them or comic books, I think they are for children and not meant for high school. But after listening to McTaggert explain why, it really made sense to me.

The one line she said that really was a wow moment for me was when she said "They have grown up with TV,  electronic games, video games, and graphic software, and they need graphics to help them understand the message. The graphic novel satisfies their need." It never really hit me at just how many graphics I come across in my daily life. In fact, one of my favorites websites is just a website filled with nothing but funny pictures. McTaggert made a great point that in our classrooms, we need to look into graphics because of not only our generation, but of those who come after us.

Carter:

Carter focused more attention to graphics novels in the classroom and included a little section on how graphic literacy can help in the English classrooms. He brought up the example of storyboarding in the classrooms (a thing we are very familiar with) and how the graphics can help students bring the story to "life." As an English major, I have a love for books and the written word, but there are times where I would not mind having a picture or two. After all, I always say, and even Carter said it that "A picture is worth a thousand words" I have always believed in that statement and as much as I love reading, there are just some words that cannot be described about a picture.

Overall, I now see the use and validity of graphic novels and such in a classroom. I think they will be a great help, especially to those who are still struggling to read and comprehend, and that we as future teachers need to start looking into ways we might think are a little "childish"


Until next time, take care and have fun and remember....

~Add a little Streiff to your life~

-Joey S.