Teaching Visual Literacy Using Graphic Novels....and I Have Lots of Resources For You!

 

Have you seen Follett's Resource Center?  It is amazing!  

Inside of Follett's Resource Center you will find several Themed Collections such as... 

..Exploring Digital Literacy, Makerspace, Healthy Minds and Lives, Fighting Fake News, and more.

Within these Themed Collections you will find resources including lessons plans, discussion questions, teacher guides and creative activities.  Each Themed Collection also includes lists of book put together by the wonderful collection development staff at Follett, which includes resources from the various publishers too.

They are a wonderful place to start when introducing and teaching these topics within the library and classroom.

November's theme was Using Graphic Novels.  

 

Graphic Novels are such an important part of our library collections.  In my library, I watched the Graphic Novel section grow and become more and more popular and visited all the time.  It was hard for me to keep graphic novels on the shelves because the students connected to them in a very personal and passionate way as readers and young people.  They were definitely favorites among our students.  

The Using Graphic Novels Theme Collection from Follett states, 

Integrating graphic novels into your curriculum means students can choose from a variety of topics and reading levels.  Plus, these stories are rich in narrative plots and dialogue, encouraging new vocabulary and enticing students to read.  

Yes, I couldn't agree more!  

One of the best projects I ever did with my fifth graders was when I used graphic novels to teach visual literacy.

According to Merriam-Webster, Digital Literacy is the the ability to recognize, interpret, evaluate and understand ideas conveyed through visible actions or images, such as pictures.  

 

In this project, we Skyped with several graphic novelists to hear about their work and thought process as we read, evaluated and interpreted the graphic novels they wrote.

At the end of our exploration and reading, the students created their own graphic novels using StoryboardThat which they shared with others throughout our school community and world.

In the Using Graphic Novels Themed Collection, you will find resources and ideas for bringing graphic novels to your students and using them to teach visual literacy.  

Let me show you what they have included.  

 In the Resources box, you will find several lesson plan ideas, guides and activities for your readers. 

A few of the resources include A Guide to Graphic Novels with Children and Teens, 

 Discussion Questions for Drama by Raina Telgemeier, 

 Graphix Story Starter featuring Art by Raina Telgemeier and...

a Zita word find and maze.  

You will love looking through the Graphic Novel Catalog from Follett and...

K-5 Using Graphic Novels to Teach Visual Literacy Titlewave List, which includes over 300 titles. 

At the bottom of the page, you will find several graphic novels paired with the activities, lesson plans and other information they might include from the publisher.

These range from K-12 grade. All of these materials are free too.  

I also wanted to include a couple of the Behind the Book interviews that you will find in the Resource Center as well.  

Both of these interviews are perfect to share when using graphic novels with your students.  They will love hearing from two of their most favorite and popular graphic novelists.  

I have included several ideas and graphic novels, now I would love to hear how you use graphic novels with your students.  

Please leave comments in this post or tweet me at @shannonmmiller.