Author Archives:
Author Jonathan Hennessey on the Power of Graphic Novels in Education
Jonathan Hennessey, author of the new bestselling graphic novel The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World’s Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today’s Craft Brewing Revolution and The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, recently visited RWP board member David Cutler’s Government and United States History class at Brimmer and May School. The Brimmer Gator staff has posted some great video of Hennessey’s visit in which he talks about the use of graphic novels in education, graphic adaptations as scholarly sources, and how words and pictures together can make difficult subjects more accessible and learning more enjoyable. Click here […] Read More
RWP at SDCC 2015
Reading With Pictures held four exciting panels at San Diego Comic-Con. Thank you to everyone who attended! We appreciate your enthusiasm and support and hope you all had a fabulous time at Comic-Con. As promised, below you will find links to information about all of the panelists and the resources that were mentioned during our discussions. If you have photos, audio, or video of any of our panels to share, please email info@readingwithpictures.org. Thank you to everyone who came out — you’re awesome! Panels: Comics Are For Everyone: Helping Every Student See Themselves in the Medium Content […] Read More
Classroom Success with Graphic Novels
by Kim Shields I first became aware of Reading with Pictures at the 2011 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2). I had attended the first C2E2 in 2010, and discovered the “Pro Day” on Friday included some panels for teachers. So, as a comic book fan of over 20 years, I had to attend! I heard Josh Elder speak, followed by Dr. Meryl Jaffee. After processing the information from both panels, I was hooked. I had to try this in my classroom! Luckily, at that time, I was also in a graduate class covering “content area reading”. We had to […] Read More
Teacher-Created Science Comics by Laura Balliett
The Cool School Rap My name is Laura Balliett, and I am the creator of The Cool School Rap, STEM curriculum in comic form. I teach middle school math and science at a Lakewood charter school for at-risk youth. These are kids that haven’t been able to make it in public school. They enter my classroom with a wide variety of learning needs, many of these needs leaving them to enter the classroom with below grade level learning skills. One of the most prominent challenges I have faced with my students is an aversion to reading. Many of my students […] Read More
Comics for Younger Readers with Female Leads
My local comic shop contacted me recently, requesting some ideas for parents who come in asking for comics “for girls.” Now, we all know that good comics can be enjoyed by both boys and girls, but I understand the intention of the question. Often girls don’t see themselves represented in mainstream superhero comics or product tie-in comics that many boys enjoy. To that end, I put together a list of comics featuring female lead characters. I have divided the list into younger readers (up to age 8) and middle grade readers (ages 8-12), but these age ranges are approximate. These comics […] Read More
Can Graphic Texts Aid Readers in Finding Information?
by Naomi Kruger-Arram, IOE, London First off, I’m going to admit something – I don’t really like graphic works. I find the pictures are often harsh and distracting, and I prefer to read a regular, linear or “block” text. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan. I truly am – just not for myself. As a teacher, I love the way some kids grab onto them and get so immersed. I love how people who don’t like reading, or have tremendous difficulty reading, find comfort in graphic texts and plunge in, undeterred and unintimidated. Second, I’m going to be calling […] Read More
Library-based comic cons: A do-it-yourself kit
This past weekend at New York Comic Con, Kids Read Comics and Reading With Pictures announced the start of our new joint venture — a free guide for public libraries that want to put on a comic-con-style event. The guide will include tips on programming, staffing, budgeting, finding guests, running an artist alley, and more…and our goal is to make it scalable to suit the needs of a wide range of libraries and the diverse communities they serve. Check out a PDF of our handout from NYCC in the link below. If you’re a librarian, we’d love to get your […] Read More
Guest Post: She Already is a Reader by Dan Conner
I’m Dan Conner, a moderately successful and somewhat well-known cartoonist. My comics, including My Gal, the Zombie and Dracula: Graphic Chillers, have been published by Antarctic Press, Abdo, Lamp Post, Hachette Books in Europe and Australia, and Editora Prumo in Brazil. Maybe you’re familiar with my work. What you probably don’t know, however, is that I am also an educator. It was during my first year as a full time high school special education teacher that I wrote my first “real” published graphic novels, which were adaptations of Shakespeare plays. I’ve worked in comics and education in a variety of […] Read More
RWP Blog Series at Teach.com: Teaching Content With Comics
Throughout the month of August, Teach.com and Reading With Pictures are bringing you Comics in the Classroom, a blog series about using comics in education, including why graphic novels are complex texts as defined by the Common Core Standards, how to use graphic texts to teach in the content areas, how and where to find the best graphic texts, and more. Read the third post in this series: Teaching Content With Comics. In addition to teaching and strengthening literacy skills for all students, the comic format is a powerful tool for teaching content! Teach.com, from the USC Rossier School of Education, is a comprehensive resource for information on becoming […] Read More
RWP Blog Series at Teach.com: Comics as Educational Texts
Throughout the month of August, Teach.com and Reading With Pictures are bringing you Comics in the Classroom, a blog series about using comics in education, including why graphic novels are complex texts as defined by the Common Core Standards, how to use graphic texts to teach in the content areas, how and where to find the best graphic texts, and more. Teach.com, from the USC Rossier School of Education, is a comprehensive resource for information on becoming a great teacher in any state across the country. It provides state specific information on how to become a teacher, teacher salaries, teaching credentials, teacher certification tests, alternative teacher certification, […] Read More