How they can be useful and stuff…
 Eric Kallenborn
-Teaching experience: 10 year.
-Levels: All high school grade levels…
-Work with graphic novels featured on the cover of The
Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Daily
Southtown.
-@comics_teacher
-www.theothercomicbookteacher.com
Comic
Prose
 It was a beautiful day in Springfield,
so the Simpsons decided to take a
trip to the park; they stopped at the
teeter totter. As Homer sat on the
teeter totter, the rest of the
Simpsons family went quickly into
the air; Maggie actually flew a foot
off of the teeter totter! The force of
Homer falling caused him to impact
an entire foot into the ground. And,
no matter how powerfully Santa’s
Little Helper pulled at Bart’s shoe
laces, he could not pull them from
the power of Homer’s huge butt.
I decided to attempt some research…
I wanted to see if I could create a
project that would allow me to
defend the relevance of graphic
novels and comics in the classroom
in some way.
Beowulf Graphic Novel vs.
Beowulf Complete Text
27 Students: Graphic Novel
27 Students: Full Text
 Full reading time of all
 Full reading time of all
27 students…
60 hours.
27 students…
155 hours
 Average per student…
 Average per student
2.2 hours
5.7 hours
27 Students Graphic Novel
27 Students Full Text
 Average score on test…
 Average score on test…
78%
81%
 It took less time to read the graphic novel.
 With the test as it was, the average was only 3% higher.
 Big Question: without even changing the exam, is the
3% increase worth the extra 3.5 hours of reading, or
would that time be better spent doing other things?
 How much was Sparknoted?
Original Text Reading
Log Data (28 Students)
Graphic Novel Reading
Log Data (26 Students)
 Full reading time of all
 Full reading time of all
students:
97 Hours 16 Minutes
students:
68 Hours 24 Minutes
Average:
3 Hours 28 Minutes
Average:
2 Hours 38 Minutes
Original Text Quiz
Numbers:
Graphic Novel Quiz
Numbers:
 Original Text Average
 Graphic Novel Average
23/29
79%
25/29
86%
 In a survey of 75 students involved, 85% (64) stated
that the project was a very positive experience, 8% (6)
had a neutral experience, and 6% (5) has a negative
experience.
 92% (23/25) of students that read the graphic novel
enjoyed it.
 92% (23/25) of students that read the graphic novel
wanted other disciplines to use graphic texts.
 73% (19/26) of students that read the graphic novel
said that they completed more of this book than any
other book that they had read in other English classes.
Speed. The pace at which a
student can read and take away
from a work of graphic literature is
amazing.
 More titles, many through paired
reading.
 More skills touched upon…
With the DBQ including 451…
-39/46 85% Used It
-42/46 91% Enjoyed It
-28/46 61% First Graphic Novel
Hamlet Project
-37/43 Female Students had a Positive Experience
-Out of the remaining, 3/6 were neutral
 Ronell Whitaker
 www.thecomicbookteacher.com
 Teaching for 10 years, grades 9-12, English
 @MisterWhitaker on Twitter
The goals of the first unit were to cover
 Thesis
 Characterization
 Plot
 Conflict
 Outstanding for visual
learners and reluctant
readers.
 Art helps to cover
advanced topics like:
symbolism, mood,
author’s intent
 Also helps reinforce basic
skills like: infe rencing,
drawing conclusions,
main idea.
 Because we were able to
read the text at a faster
pace, I was able to
challenge the class to
write beyond what the
initial unit called for.
Turned into an essay on theme, conf lict, and
characterization, juxtaposition and author’s purpose.
When we went from
this…
To this…
My question?
 Could comics make
students more motivated
to read and write?
Romeo & Juliet
Kafka’s Metamorphosis
 Jason Nisavic
 Social Studies Teacher – 9 yrs.
 AP Psych., Psych., U.S. Government
 Speech Coach (Extemporaneous Speaking &
impromptu Speaking)
 Coach – Improv. Team
 Just because our primary focus is different from AP
Lang./Lit. does NOT mean we can’t take advantage of
comics & pop culture!
 Beyond political
cartoons…
← From Cagle.com
Hyperboleand
ahalf.com
 Remember, not all graphic novels are for kids! A good
rule of thumb would be to separate them by genre and
age-appropriateness.
 Try to collect different genres; not all students like
super heroes, and there are so many different types of
graphic novels out there.
 If you are new to graphic novels, head to your local
library and ask them to show you to the section. You
may find that you like what you find!
 www.readingwithpictures.org
 www.diamondbookshelf.com
 www.graphicnovelreporter.com
 www.libraryjournal.com
 www.schoollibraryjournal.com
 www.publishersweekly.com
 www.booklist.com
Time for Q & A!