Ahad Althumayri
ED 633
Written Article Summary 1
Carter, J. B. (2009). Going graphic: understanding what graphic novels are--and aren't--can
help teachers make the best use of this literary form. Educational leadership, 66(6),
68-73.
An effective tool that can help students to improve their literacy is the graphic novel. It
depends on the teacher to foster the using of the graphic novel with the curriculum in order to
create an effective lesson that benefit the learners’ understanding. This topic addressed in the
article Going Graphic: Understanding What Graphic Novels Are--And Aren't--Can Help
Teachers Make the Best Use of This Literary Form (James Bucky Carter, 2009). According to
Carter, not all the teachers believe it is an effective tool because some of them think it is risky to
use it, others refuse to use any new tool, and many believe it is helpful for uninterested readers.
In order to clarify which claim is right, Carter explains some facts and gives a few practical
suggestions for teachers who prefer to use graphic novels in their classes.
These kinds of texts are published as graphic novels or comic books and they exist since
the earliest cave printing. Comics are one kind of graphic novels which are not new for this
generation only. They started to be popular in the 1880s and 1890s, and they existed in America
since the 1920s. In the last couple of decades, sequential art narratives become familiar and they
defined as images placed in sequence to tell a story. In fact, teachers, literacy experts, and
librarian are considering the graphic novels as a great tool which is using to gain the readers’
attention, to help English Language Learners, and to motivate readers.
One of the misconceptions that need to be clarified is that graphic novels and comics are
an art form not a genre of literature. Clarifying this concept is important because some teachers
are looking for a genre in order to support their curriculums rather than using comics as a
supportive to attract the students to the lesson. It is effective for teachers to integrate comics into
the existing themes of the curriculum rather than teaching them in separate (Cater, 2009, p. 69).
Teachers should be careful in using comics as a supportive to their curriculum in order to focus
on the connection-building method.
Another claim says that young people who never saw themselves as readers, were tend to
read graphic novels. As a result of this claim, educators started to use them as a supportive to
their low-level readers. Some students prefer to read visual texts rather than without visual
elements, so supporting their education by introducing comics with the curriculum will improve
their literacy skills. Graphic novels or comics are used to engage the less interested students, or
to help the English language Learners, too. Nevertheless, researches proved that comics
motivated the unmotivated students and the students who are already motivated. According to
Carter, “Mitchell and George (1996) used superhero comics to examine morality and ethical
issues with gifted students, and I have observed teachers using graphic novels as literature with
honors-level seniors,” (2009, p. 70). Graphic novels and comics are effective to engage readers
of different levels to the curriculum not only for the less-interested readers.
Actually, graphic novels are great supportive for teachers of different levels. Even little
kids who are not able to read yet, they can recognize pictures and build their vocabulary.
Additionally, the graphic novels is an effective tool for the English Language Learners in order
to improve their language. Those kind of books are valuable because the students or the readers
can read to learn and read to enjoy themselves.