It seems like we still need to make the case for using graphic novels, based on the amount of posts I've seen on Twitter this school year from educators fighting to include them as choice reading for students. Unfortunately, graphic novels are often seen as less than their full-prose counterparts, the novel, and as lacking academic prowess.

Graphic Novels are "Real" Reading

The argument for including graphic novels in choice reading has been expounded by many. The Today show even published "5 Reasons Your Child Should Read Graphic Novels" (https://www.today.com/parents/5-reasons-your-child-should-read-graphic-novels-t165336) after Jerry Craft's historic Newberry win for New Kid (side note, the article is written by YA author Kami Garcia, which is just cool in and of itself). This topic comes up so often that Book Riot published an article titled "Annual Reminder that Graphic Novels are 'Real' Reading" (https://www.bookriot.com/annual-reminder-that-graphic-novels-are-real-reading/). As school librarians, we know the power graphic novels to draw our students in and captivate their imaginations. There are so many ways for our students to engage with text either through traditional print, interactive eBooks, audiobooks, and graphic novels.

Graphic novels, while highly enjoyable, also provide students with the opportunity to engage with content in a much different way than traditional print novels or nonfiction books. According to a short online piece on the Northwestern website titled "The Research Behind Graphic Novels and Young Learners," "With graphic novels, students use text and images to make inferences and synthesize information, both of which are abstract and challenging skills for readers" (https://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/blog/research-behind-graphic-novels-and-young-learners). Processing graphic novels is not necessarily easier than traditional text. Each format has its own complexities.

While graphic novels should be included in our school library collections and made available for all students to select for choice reading, we can also use them for instructional content in the school library. I want to be very careful about this though. We don't want to always turn reading into work. Once it becomes work, it loses a little (or a lot) of its joy. As such, the lessons this month provide ways for students to learn more about graphic novels, while still employing an element of fun.

Covering the Basics

For each of our lessons this month, you will need to have a selection of graphic novels handy, either in print or online, as students will be exploring examples you have in your library. I would recommend a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. If graphic novels move off your shelf as quickly as they did in my elementary library, you may want to plan ahead for this lesson and reserve a few titles in advance.

One thing I have reaffirmed with myself after writing lessons for Curriculum Connection this year is that it is so important to begin at the beginning. Which is why, for the elementary lesson, I am starting with the basics:

• What are the elements of a graphic novel?
• How do you read it?
• What is included on the page?
• What do these elements tell us about the story?

I also learned so much about the elements of graphic novels. One thing I learned while creating this lesson was how to read the word bubble by its outline (regular line, dashed line, a cloud bubble, or jagged edges), and how each illustrates a different kind of speech (regular, whisper, thought, scream). In this lesson, students learn about the various elements of a graphic novel, and then they seek examples from the library before creating their own graphic novel pages using a variety of these elements. Exploring the various components of a graphic novel will help students understand the books they're reading, and they will be able to exercise their creative muscles when writing their own stories.

Diversity in Graphic Novels

For the secondary lesson, Stefanie Green puts a twist on the traditional book tasting lesson. Instead of exploring various genres or graphic novels in general, students explore graphic novels with an eye for the diversity of human experience (Stefanie provides a list of recommended titles below). Students identify elements of diversity (race and racism, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, religion, citizenship, ability, and more) and think about what benefit a book on this topic can have on society. Through the rotations, students are able to encounter multiple elements of diversity while also seeing the many ways topics can be addressed in graphic novel form—both as fiction and nonfiction.

In a fairly relaxed way, both lessons allow students to explore a variety of books they can check out for choice reading. By getting familiar with the components of graphic novels and considering them a little more deeply, those who have never read a graphic novel might be encouraged to check one out—and those who already love them, might come to consider them in new ways.

For both lessons, Stephanie and I used articles and other educational resources to inspire our instruction. The great graphic novel debate has sparked quite a bit of discussion, but that discussion has led to some fabulous conversations, articles, lesson plans, and resources, which can be used to adapt additional lessons—or to make the argument that graphic novels ARE reading, and they can be powerful instructional resources.

Additional Resources from School Library Connection

Comics and Graphic Novels in Educational Spaces, article by Ashley K. Dallacqua, August 2017
Developing Visual Literacy with Graphic Novels, lesson by Tom Bober
Using Graphic Novels to Explore the Experiences of Immigrants and Displaced People, article by Karen W. Gavigan and Kasey Garrison, January 2021
Why Graphic Novels? Five Practices to Transform Your Library, webinar with Alicia Abdul and Jack Phoenix