A Visual History - Graphic Novels In The Humanities

Source: The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation; Harper Collins

Most English and social studies teachers no longer view graphic novels as simply "long comic books." The educational benefits of blending illustrations with narratives have been well established. But rarely do books come along that masterfully capture the dynamic, eye-popping power of art and history.



We are currently mesmerized by one such book, The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation, with text by Jonathan Hennessey and visuals by Aaron McConnell. We're not normally in the habit of plugging specific books, but this expert volume could become an American history textbook for the visual generation.

Source: The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation; Harper Collins

Source: Graphic Gettysburg

The stunning paperback uses "Lincoln's words to tell the whole story of America's Civil War, 1776 to the present." The book is thrilling in its account of regional rifts and in its pictorial precision on each page.

Even more so, the book reinforces the key skills of graphicacy, where words and images unite to offer an enhanced presentation of facts and themes. Here, the sequential art translates action and communicates cause-and-effect for certain learners in ways that traditional paragraphs cannot.

We've been long-time admirers of the authors' prior creation, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, which made our nation's foundational legal document accessible (and even exciting) for our middle-schoolers.

Source: Better World Books

Similar to Larry Gonick's superb The Cartoon History Of The United States, young doodlers or comic fans are instantly drawn to the compelling shades and textures of the Gettysburg panels. They then internalize the critical messages of national division and leadership decision-making. For older students, a discussion of visual rhetoric could offer avenues for acknowledging time, motion, and the "manipulation of viewer experience."

For other information on ways to incorporate graphic novels into the humanities classroom, we recommend these resources:

• Getting Graphic With The Past: Graphic Novels And The Teaching Of History
• The Case For Graphic Novels In Education
• Why Teach With Graphic Novels?
• But This Book Has Pictures! The Case For Graphic Novels In An AP Classroom

Source: The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation; Harper Collins

D-LIT: Comics, Superheroes, and the Arts

Source: ASIDE, 6th Grader

It's been a while since we wrote about D-LIT. Essentially, it is design, literacy, information, and technology used together to create a product that reflects the learning. We have used D-LIT with Storybird, Voicethread, and Voki in our classrooms with lots of success. The projects range in duration and complexity, but sometimes it is the simple integration of technology that adds to the fabric of a lesson. One of our favorite D-LIT assignments is the collaborative project between the LibTech and performing arts classes.

In the project, students design visualizations of superpowers using the Marvel comics website to produce superheroes based on characters they create in their drama classes.

Source: Marvel

Marvel allows kids to create their own superheroes with its avatar creator. Students can choose from three body types, mix and match costumes, and customize faces, hair and other features. Of course, this website could be fun just to play around with, and many of our students continue to use it on their own.

Source: ASIDE, 6th Grader

The drama teacher clearly works with the students to fully develop their characters and their special powers through acting. From this point, their charge is to imagine what their superhero would look like and to create a visual representation. Connecting it to curricular learning changes the dynamic, and the outcome for each student is different.

The freedom given to our students to use their creativity and think carefully about how they wanted to portray their superhero was striking. It never ceased to surprise us how selective the students were in making images of their ideas. When they were given the opportunity to design the look and feel of their superheroes based on their ideas, it was amazing how their personal qualities seemed to penetrate the final design. The lack of restrictions enabled them to let their interpretation grow.

Source: ASIDE, 6th Grader

Free choice and decision-making let the students engage in the assignment with a sense of openness to create likenesses for their characters that they would not necessarily otherwise portray.

Kids identify with superheroes in much the same way we did when we were their age. While it is not necessarily "academic," the creativity, imagination, and choice benefit each student's learning.

Other resources for students and teachers: Superhero Mathematics 101 from Visual News; UGO Entertainment