It’s an exciting time to be involved with comics and education. At the recent annual librarian’s association convention, the Graphic Novel Institute occupied a whole day of programming at ALA’s Pop Top Stage.
Pop Top was symbolically well placed. Flanked by the traditional print publishers on one side and the new media purveyors on the other, it positioned graphic novels as the bridge-builders in the coming literary revolution.ALA Pop Top panelistsThe Graphic Novel Institute was the brainchild of Diamond’s John Shableski, the maestro of comics and education on the convention circuit.
At “Great Graphic Novels for Teens: Ground Zero for a Cultural Shift in American Publishing” librarians Robin Brenner, Michele Gorman, Kat Kan, Mike Pawuk, and Jody Sharp discussed the process of creating YALSA’s Graphic Novels for Teens list–the ins and outs of getting permission from the larger organization to do so, as well as the nitty gritty of the selection process itself. It was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what a group of committed and intrepid supporters of the form can do. Michelle Gorman also spoke passionately on the need for creating graphic lists for the children and adult markets.
At our panel, “Reading and Teaching with Graphic Novels,” Peter Gutiérrez was a skillful and charming moderator. He asked thoughtful questions and offered germane anecdotes from his teaching and consulting experience. Broward-county librarian David Serchay, author of the encyclopedic The Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and ‘Tweens, referred librarians to relevant listservs—e.g., comix scholars—as well as foundational professional books in the field.
Reading expert Katie Monnin, author of Teaching Graphic Novels, offered the literacy perspective. She discussed how important and necessary it is for librarians to begin the process of “foundationalizing” (my new favorite word) graphica. (This in response to an excellent question about using webcomics in the classroom.) Katie also concisely and passionately positioned graphic texts within the literacy revolution—from prose-based literacy to multiple-media literacy.
As for me? I talked about empowering teachers. I’ve always believed that teachers really can address any content or skill with the graphic form. Often, all it takes is getting comfortable with the architecture of a comic page, the vocabulary of a new form, and the range of resources out there. In this regard, I mentioned Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (vol. 1), chapters 1.2 Comics terminology, and 11.1 Panel design.
Leaving the ALA’s convention floor at the end of the day, my head filled with pedagogical minutia of graphica, I turned once more to look at Pop Top Stage’s Graphic Novel Institute sign.
I thought how fitting it was to have The Graphic Novel Institute at ALA. From the beginning, librarians have been the early adapters when it comes to embracing the graphic form as literature.
Close - if you post it above in the discussion forum it will have its own url and won't get lost (stuff on the comment wall gets buried) - just copy and paste into this (see where the hand says "add discussion") right above where we're commenting: DIscuss.gif
No big deal - Ning master - that is a funny name, I might "don a cloak" and become one - thanks for working through this - it is a great post esp. if you soup it up with some cool hyperlinks!
Hey all!
My name is Jay and I am an MFA student studying comics at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. I am working on my thesis right now, for which the current working title is "Comics for Literacy: From Birth to Adulthood." I am glad to meet you all, and would love to discuss any ideas on this front with anyone. I have a website with some of my recent work up at jnoblepeteranetz.com if you want to take a look! Thank you all!
Hi Jay - you might copy and paste your question up above in the discussion forum so it can:
1. Be broadcast on a crowdsource Tuesday
2. Be archived with its own URL
3. not get buried here in the comments section. I'm sure lots of folks will have great ideas for you!
Thanks for posting that, Ryan. Anyone else, feel free to follow on twitter: @dwandwp or "like" our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Drawing-Words-Writing-Pictures/337947... and you'll get updates when we post new comics-learning resources. We have several more guest-posts from English teachers (and others) at various levels in the works.
Jessica - don't be shy about cross posting some key blogs/material up above in the discussion forum. When Stergios posts stuff it is from his blog. We'd love to see more of your work here if that was of interest to you!
Greetings group. My name is Tony and I am a Lecturer in English at Northeastern State University at Tahlequah, Oklahoma. I'm in the process of developing the very first course ever presented by our department on the Literature of the Graphic Word. It's going to be a summer course (8 weeks) and will include an introduction to Lit Theory, Comics Theory, Storytelling, Comics as Discourse, and Comics as Remediation for ESL Students. I've got a list of works to use, most are the "usual suspects," and I'm searching for lesson plans created using Will Eisner's Contract with God and The Plot. Any suggestions? Thanks for allowing me to participate.
Hi Tony - I think folks would LOVE to help you. As you can see above there are lots of GN rockstars here. Unfortunately, big questions like yours here on the comment wall are not easy to respond to and get buried over time. Please consider copying and pasting your question above in the discussion forum (right above the comment wall). That way your question has a URL and a "reply feature." Then the GN folks will give you feedback, it will be in the forum for the next person with a similar ? AND I can broadcast the question to the whole Ning on crowdsource Tuesday! Thanks for getting in and contributing! Ryan:)
Thanks, Ryan. I have to tell you, it's comforting to find this group. I've felt like I was crying out against the darkness for years, making one convert at a time, while fighting administration about the validity of my field. I've done as you suggested and we'll see where it goes from there.
Welcome aboard, Tony. I sent out the comic Torah link on the comixscholars listserv. good to see you on this forum too. Ryan has assembled quite a group here, and always growing. best, Nick
Square? Not you, Ryan! Yeah, I posted the torah in regards to something else on a different forum, but here 'tis: http://thecomictorah.com/. Unfortunatetly, I don't have a lesson for his Eisner project - sounds great though, Tony. - N
Hey Nick! I picked up the link in the "other group" and have to say I've really enjoyed reading the material. Thanks for responding. When I get something worked out as a lesson plan set, is there a place here I could post it for others?
Does anyone know what happened to Plantwide Software's Comic Book Creator program? They seem to have just vanished off the map. I was wanting to list this as one of the resources for my class I'll be teaching this summer but its no where to be found. I don't want to use the online comic creator websites because we don't have student computer access in all our classrooms. Suggestions and comments?
Crowdsource? What is this mysterious Crowdsource you speak of? I turned my back for a year or so and all this new nomenclature and technology snuck up behind me and I didn't notice.
Thanks to everybody for the information about Graphic Novels for young readers. The P.T.O. gave me almost $300.00 to replenish my classroom library with graphic novels. EVERY child is so anxious to read!!!!!!
I even ordered multiple copies of a graphic "book" that teaches the kinds of graphs that can be read and made by students. Every child had a "part" to read. Now students are prepared to make their own graphs by the way graphing was presented in all of the bubbles.
Students are now electing to write non-fiction in cartoon form using bubbles as one form of formative assessment.
My second graders are now reading 45 minutes without looking up or being distracted. They are sharing their books. Thank you, all the writers, for making reading "pop" for kids!
Chirs,Would you consider moving this question above in the discussion forum? When you post your ? above your "affinity group" peeps can give you feedback. Because forum ?s have URLs it will be in there for the next person with a similar ? AND I can broadcast the question to the whole Ning on crowdsource Tuesday.
Ryan, I've posted about some new online comic makers. I'll link to my posts so you can see if you think they are worth adding to the software list above. Digger and the Gang, Beanotown, Stripcreator.
Hey Marcy - looks cool. Would you consider moving this resource above in the discussion forum? Because forum discussions have URLs then it will be in there for the next person looking for a cool MLK resource AND I can broadcast the your post to the whole Ning for the Week in Review!
Call to writers and publishers in the group: I'm working with three textbook committees as we put together a series of rhetoric/readers for freshman composition and intro to literature books. We're looking for short graphic stories that are reprint affordable for possible inclusion. Suggestions and recommendations? Off-list email: oseland@nsuok.edu.
Hi folks. I'm having to rebuild my bookmarks because of, well, cat vs. computer related problems. What was the publishing company that puts out the CD with all the lesson plans for graphic novels, please? I want to get an order off to them in the next couple of weeks. Thanks everyone.
Hi folks. I've gone temporarily brain dead (end of semester, 120+ research projects to grade, 4 committee papers to write, 3 textbooks to help assemble for publication) and I seem to have lost any references I have for some place online to download template pages for drawing comics. Once, many moons ago, I found a .zip file that had about a dozen different types of pages, and when Planetside was still putting out Comic Book Creator they had some downloads, but alas, earwax! Any suggestions? These are to hand out to students so they can rough out their comics for the summer course I'm teaching. Thanks.
i am going to be starting an extra writing/art session with a few of my students and was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a comic book writing curriculum suitable for third graders that could be done over a three week period.
@Tony, it's just a single 9-panel grid, but we have a pdf you can download here: http://dw-wp.com/2010/03/chapter-1-building-blocks/
@tony and @Gilbert, if you haven't looked around dw-wp.com (or our book, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures), please check it out, I think you'll find lots of useful material there in the blog, the teaching resources section, and the book guide. Nothing specifically geared towards third graders but you'll find a lot of activities that can be used/adapted
Hi Gilbert & Tony - these are great questions. Unfortunately, big questions on the comment wall are not easy for folks to respond to and get buried over time.
Would you consider moving this questino above in the discussion forum? When you post your ? above your "affinity group" peeps can give you feedback. Because forum ?s have URLs it will be in there for the next person with a similar ? AND I can broadcast the question to the whole Ning on crowdsource Tuesday.
Thanks to both of you for getting in the mix - as always - please share more cool ?'s and ideas!
I teach second graders and they can't type yet, so comic book making on-line is very limited. I also believe that students this young want to draw their own pictures and write their own bubbles, not choosing someone else's. I made a PowerPoint of a mini-economy unit about cocoa beans, students read about cocoa beans from an article I printed out, and the students saw a you-tube movie about a cocoa bean plantation. As they were reading from a variety of sources, students quickly sketched out some steps it takes to cut down and harvest cocoa, bag them and ship them from Ghana to England. I found a template on-line and students used their "storyboards" to make a page of a graphic novel to explain where cocoa comes from. This took about a week and it was fabulous! I hope this helps you. I've searched on-line for suitable younger-age cartoon making, and they all involve typing or choosing events that are already made. This kills the creativity!
Ryan Goble
Great write up! Thanks for sharing!
RRG:)
Jul 19, 2010
Sari Wilson
Jul 19, 2010
Sari Wilson
Pop Top was symbolically well placed. Flanked by the traditional print publishers on one side and the new media purveyors on the other, it positioned graphic novels as the bridge-builders in the coming literary revolution.ALA Pop Top panelistsThe Graphic Novel Institute was the brainchild of Diamond’s John Shableski, the maestro of comics and education on the convention circuit.
At “Great Graphic Novels for Teens: Ground Zero for a Cultural Shift in American Publishing” librarians Robin Brenner, Michele Gorman, Kat Kan, Mike Pawuk, and Jody Sharp discussed the process of creating YALSA’s Graphic Novels for Teens list–the ins and outs of getting permission from the larger organization to do so, as well as the nitty gritty of the selection process itself. It was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what a group of committed and intrepid supporters of the form can do. Michelle Gorman also spoke passionately on the need for creating graphic lists for the children and adult markets.
At our panel, “Reading and Teaching with Graphic Novels,” Peter Gutiérrez was a skillful and charming moderator. He asked thoughtful questions and offered germane anecdotes from his teaching and consulting experience. Broward-county librarian David Serchay, author of the encyclopedic The Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and ‘Tweens, referred librarians to relevant listservs—e.g., comix scholars—as well as foundational professional books in the field.
Reading expert Katie Monnin, author of Teaching Graphic Novels, offered the literacy perspective. She discussed how important and necessary it is for librarians to begin the process of “foundationalizing” (my new favorite word) graphica. (This in response to an excellent question about using webcomics in the classroom.) Katie also concisely and passionately positioned graphic texts within the literacy revolution—from prose-based literacy to multiple-media literacy.
As for me? I talked about empowering teachers. I’ve always believed that teachers really can address any content or skill with the graphic form. Often, all it takes is getting comfortable with the architecture of a comic page, the vocabulary of a new form, and the range of resources out there. In this regard, I mentioned Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (vol. 1), chapters 1.2 Comics terminology, and 11.1 Panel design.
Leaving the ALA’s convention floor at the end of the day, my head filled with pedagogical minutia of graphica, I turned once more to look at Pop Top Stage’s Graphic Novel Institute sign.
I thought how fitting it was to have The Graphic Novel Institute at ALA. From the beginning, librarians have been the early adapters when it comes to embracing the graphic form as literature.
It was a kind of homecoming.
NOTE: This blog entry was cross-posted from Drawing Words & Writing Pictures' website.
Jul 19, 2010
Ryan Goble
DIscuss.gif
In my past life I was a traffic cop - I swear :)
Jul 19, 2010
Sari Wilson
Jul 19, 2010
Ryan Goble
Thanks for adding your writing to the mix!
RRG:)
Jul 19, 2010
Sari Wilson
Jul 19, 2010
Ryan Goble
Jul 19, 2010
Jay Peteranetz
My name is Jay and I am an MFA student studying comics at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. I am working on my thesis right now, for which the current working title is "Comics for Literacy: From Birth to Adulthood." I am glad to meet you all, and would love to discuss any ideas on this front with anyone. I have a website with some of my recent work up at jnoblepeteranetz.com if you want to take a look! Thank you all!
Jul 22, 2010
Sari Wilson
Jul 22, 2010
Ryan Goble
1. Be broadcast on a crowdsource Tuesday
2. Be archived with its own URL
3. not get buried here in the comments section. I'm sure lots of folks will have great ideas for you!
Great to have you in the mix!
Ryan:)
Jul 22, 2010
Ryan Goble
dwandwp I caught via Twitter:
New guest post on using Tan's The Arrival in classroom, from a UK English teacher: http://bit.ly/bgdFLe #comicsedu
Sep 16, 2010
Jessica Abel
Sep 17, 2010
Ryan Goble
Keep drawing cool stuff.
RRG:)
Sep 17, 2010
Jessica Abel
Sep 17, 2010
Ryan Goble
Sep 17, 2010
Tony O'seland
Nov 24, 2010
Ryan Goble
Nov 24, 2010
Tony O'seland
Nov 24, 2010
Nick Sousanis
Nov 24, 2010
Ryan Goble
So Nick can you post the comic Torah up above in response to Tony's ? or what - lol :)
Happy Turkey Day to all!
RRG:)
Nov 24, 2010
Nick Sousanis
Nov 24, 2010
Tony O'seland
Nov 24, 2010
Ryan Goble
All resources that help w/ teaching and learning = good resources.
Nov 25, 2010
Tony O'seland
Does anyone know what happened to Plantwide Software's Comic Book Creator program? They seem to have just vanished off the map. I was wanting to list this as one of the resources for my class I'll be teaching this summer but its no where to be found. I don't want to use the online comic creator websites because we don't have student computer access in all our classrooms. Suggestions and comments?
Dec 11, 2010
Ryan Goble
Tony, that might be a crowdsource ? You could have them download trial versions of Comic Life? (See the software list above).
Dec 11, 2010
Tony O'seland
Crowdsource? What is this mysterious Crowdsource you speak of? I turned my back for a year or so and all this new nomenclature and technology snuck up behind me and I didn't notice.
Dec 13, 2010
Ryan Goble
LOL - well Tuesday we do crowdsource ?s - see this - and info on the general tech term = here
Dec 13, 2010
Tony O'seland
Ah...I think I understand now. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Dec 13, 2010
Ryan Goble
My pleasure :)
Dec 14, 2010
Marcy Prager
Thanks to everybody for the information about Graphic Novels for young readers. The P.T.O. gave me almost $300.00 to replenish my classroom library with graphic novels. EVERY child is so anxious to read!!!!!!
I even ordered multiple copies of a graphic "book" that teaches the kinds of graphs that can be read and made by students. Every child had a "part" to read. Now students are prepared to make their own graphs by the way graphing was presented in all of the bubbles.
Students are now electing to write non-fiction in cartoon form using bubbles as one form of formative assessment.
My second graders are now reading 45 minutes without looking up or being distracted. They are sharing their books. Thank you, all the writers, for making reading "pop" for kids!
Dec 24, 2010
Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook
Dec 24, 2010
Ryan Goble
Dec 25, 2010
Marcy Prager
Dec 25, 2010
Ryan Goble
A truly great question !!
Jan 7, 2011
Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook
Jan 9, 2011
Ryan Goble
Jan 9, 2011
Marcy Prager
Here is a great new link to graphic novels - And there's one that looks great about Martin Luther King, Jr.
https://www.tarabooks.com/books/books/adults/picture-books--visual-...
Jan 17, 2011
Ryan Goble
Jan 17, 2011
Tony O'seland
Jan 18, 2011
Ryan Goble
Tony, if you post that in the discussion forum I can share that in the Week in Review - FWIW. Thanks for sharing! RRG:)
Jan 18, 2011
Tony O'seland
Feb 3, 2011
Ryan Goble
Feb 3, 2011
Lea Hansen
Mar 9, 2011
Tony O'seland
Apr 14, 2011
Gilbert Grimmett
Apr 15, 2011
Matt Madden
@Tony, it's just a single 9-panel grid, but we have a pdf you can download here: http://dw-wp.com/2010/03/chapter-1-building-blocks/
@tony and @Gilbert, if you haven't looked around dw-wp.com (or our book, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures), please check it out, I think you'll find lots of useful material there in the blog, the teaching resources section, and the book guide. Nothing specifically geared towards third graders but you'll find a lot of activities that can be used/adapted
Apr 15, 2011
Ryan Goble
Would you consider moving this questino above in the discussion forum? When you post your ? above your "affinity group" peeps can give you feedback. Because forum ?s have URLs it will be in there for the next person with a similar ? AND I can broadcast the question to the whole Ning on crowdsource Tuesday.
Thanks to both of you for getting in the mix - as always - please share more cool ?'s and ideas!
RRG:)
Apr 15, 2011
Marcy Prager
Hi Gilbert,
I teach second graders and they can't type yet, so comic book making on-line is very limited. I also believe that students this young want to draw their own pictures and write their own bubbles, not choosing someone else's. I made a PowerPoint of a mini-economy unit about cocoa beans, students read about cocoa beans from an article I printed out, and the students saw a you-tube movie about a cocoa bean plantation. As they were reading from a variety of sources, students quickly sketched out some steps it takes to cut down and harvest cocoa, bag them and ship them from Ghana to England. I found a template on-line and students used their "storyboards" to make a page of a graphic novel to explain where cocoa comes from. This took about a week and it was fabulous! I hope this helps you. I've searched on-line for suitable younger-age cartoon making, and they all involve typing or choosing events that are already made. This kills the creativity!
Apr 15, 2011
Tony O'seland
Apr 15, 2011