Literary Craft Mini-Lesson: What are Graphic Novels?
Caroline Bond
Purpose: Students are aware that there are different types of books available to them. They are not always aware of the range of genres that exist though. Out of all the genres, one of the most appealing (to some students) but little known genres is the graphic novel.
Objectives: Seventh Grade
Objective 5.02: Study the Characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:
· analyzing what genre specific characteristics have on the meaning of the work.
· analyzing what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text such as the influence of setting on the problem and its resolution
National Standard 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding many dimensions (e.g. philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experiences.
Graphic novels are important to introduce students to for many reasons. Students are given opportunities to analyze many forms of literature. Some of these are poetry, fiction, and non fiction. Graphic novels are often not taught at all by teachers. They can be an excellent resource though. Students who may not respond well to some literature might love graphic novels. They are similar to comic books in appearance but have the depth of novels. By learning about the characteristics of graphic novels, students will better understand the characteristics of other genres because they will be given the chance to compare and contrast different genres. In this lesson students will use their own papers to create a graphic representation. Students can see how the specific elements they use will change, improve, or worsen the message they are trying to convey in their writing. This lesson will fit well into the year. Students have the opportunity to pick their own literature to read. Students will know about graphic novels and be able to read graphic novels during the year. They will have a better understanding of the many different ways that stories can be represented.
Time: 50 minutes (5 minutes for instruction, 30 minutes for drawing, 15 minutes for discussion)
Materials:
Students should have previously read a graphic novel to prepare them for this mini lesson.
Students will need to use a paper that they have previously written. It does not matter which paper it is.
Markers, colored pencils and pens.
Paper with outlined squares.
Resources:
Graphic novel book list: http://archive.ala.org/booklist/v94/youth/my1/55yatalk.html
Future Resource:
Reviewed young adolescent books: ALAN Review
www.alan-ya.org
Script:
“I am sure that you have all read comic strips that are printed in the newspaper. Some popular comic strips are Calvin and Hobbes, Ziggy, and Family Circle. Many of you have probably also read comic books. The most popular topic that comic books focus on is superheroes. I bet that not as many of you have heard about graphic novels. Graphic novels are in a comic strip format but written as a novel. These novels are expressed through many frames of pictures and words. The graphic novel that you have previously read should give you a good idea of what a graphic novel is. I want you to take the paper that you have chosen to use and create a graphic representation of it. You should base your format on the book that you just read. [Give students a sheet with many frames that they can fill in.] Use this paper to show your paper through short phrases and words. [Allow students to finish this in about 30 minutes.]
Now we are going to discuss how you felt about putting your story in pictures. [Prompting questions: Do you think that people will interpret your story better by reading your paper or by reading the graphic representation you created? What will your readers understand better when reading the graphic paper? Why? What will they not understand as well? Why? Which form best expresses what you are trying to say? If you could choose to read your peers papers or graphic stories, which would you prefer?]
Graphic Novels for Young Adolescents:
Chadwick, Paul. Complete Concrete: Concrete is hard of body but not of heart. His superhero battles for goodness often center on timely topics and require thought as well as action. He appears in several short story collections and full-length novels.
Gaiman, Neil. Books of Magic: A young boy escapes into the many worlds of magic in one of several titles from a prodigious storyteller. Several illustrators contributed artwork.
Gonick, Larry.
The Cartoon History of the
Kubert, Joe. Fax
from
Llewelyn, Morgan and others.
Morice, Dave. More Poetry Comics: If you are lucky enough to have this hilarious book, hang on to it. The text is drawn straight from the likes of Blake, Dickinson, and Shakespeare; the illustrations are blatant visual puns. It's great booktalking material for ESL classes.
Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen: Although this book, along with its three
companion volumes, is currently out of print, rumor has it they'll be published
again soon. The powerful series focuses on the bombing of
Pini, Wendy and Pini, Richard. The Forbidden Grove: There's plenty of humor and lots of suspense in this Elfquest adventure in which Skywise sets out to locate other elf tribes. Just a sample from the popular, ongoing graphic novel series.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale: Along with its companion volume Maus II (1988), for which the author received a Pulitzer Prize, this book recounts the Holocaust and its effects on survivors and their children. Jews are depicted as mice, the Nazis as cats, and other ethnic and political groups as pigs and dogs, among other animals.
Takahashi, Rumiko. Ranma ½: The first of an ongoing series, this manga saga features a girl who is really a
boy--and his (her) panda. Takahashi is known as
Talbot,
Vance, James and Burr, Dan.
Kings in Disguise: The Depression-era