1. How they can be useful and stuff…

2. Eric Kallenborn -Teaching experience: 10 year. -Levels: All high school grade levels… -Work with graphic novels featured on the cover of The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Daily Southtown. -@comics_teacher -www.theothercomicbookteacher.com

3. Comic It was a beautiful day in Springfield, so the Simpsons decided to take a trip to the park; they stopped at the teeter totter. As Homer sat on the teeter totter, the rest of the Simpsons family went quickly into the air; Maggie actually flew a foot off of the teeter totter! The force of Homer falling caused him to impact an entire foot into the ground. And, no matter how powerfully Santa’s Little Helper pulled at Bart’s shoe laces, he could not pull them from the power of Homer’s huge butt. Prose

7. I decided to attempt some research…

8. I wanted to see if I could create a project that would allow me to defend the relevance of graphic novels and comics in the classroom in some way.

10. Beowulf Graphic Novel vs.Beowulf Complete Text

11. 27 Students: Graphic Novel Full reading time of all 27 students… 60 hours. Average per student… 2.2 hours Full reading time of all 27 students… 155 hours Average per student 5.7 hours 27 Students: Full Text

12. 27 Students Graphic Novel Average score on test… 78% Average score on test… 81% 27 Students Full Text

13. It took less time to read the graphic novel. With the test as it was, the average was only 3% higher. Big Question: without even changing the exam, is the 3% increase worth the extra 3.5 hours of reading, or would that time be better spent doing other things? How much was Sparknoted?

15. Original Text Reading Log Data (28 Students) Full reading time of all students: 97 Hours 16 Minutes Average: 3 Hours 28 Minutes Full reading time of all students: 68 Hours 24 Minutes Average: 2 Hours 38 Minutes Graphic Novel Reading Log Data (26 Students)

16. Original Text Quiz Numbers: Original Text Average 23/29 79% Graphic Novel Average 25/29 86% Graphic Novel Quiz Numbers:

17. In a survey of 75 students involved, 85% (64) stated that the project was a very positive experience, 8% (6) had a neutral experience, and 6% (5) has a negative experience. 92% (23/25) of students that read the graphic novel enjoyed it. 92% (23/25) of students that read the graphic novel wanted other disciplines to use graphic texts. 73% (19/26) of students that read the graphic novel said that they completed more of this book than any other book that they had read in other English classes.

18. Speed. The pace at which a student can read and take away from a work of graphic literature is amazing. More titles, many through paired reading. More skills touched upon…

19. With the DBQ including 451… -39/46 85% Used It -42/46 91% Enjoyed It -28/46 61% First Graphic Novel Hamlet Project -37/43 Female Students had a Positive Experience -Out of the remaining, 3/6 were neutral

20. Ronell Whitaker www.thecomicbookteacher.com Teaching for 10 years, grades 9-12, English @MisterWhitaker on Twitter

23. The goals of the first unit were to cover Thesis Characterization Plot Conflict

24. Outstanding for visual learners and reluctant readers. Art helps to cover advanced topics like: symbolism, mood, author’s intent Also helps reinforce basic skills like: infe rencing, drawing conclusions, main idea.

25. Because we were able to read the text at a faster pace, I was able to challenge the class to write beyond what the initial unit called for.

26. Turned into an essay on theme, conflict, and characterization, juxtaposition and author’s purpose.

27. When we went from this…To this…

28. My question? Could comics make students more motivated to read and write?

29. Romeo & JulietKafka’s Metamorphosis

33. Jason Nisavic Social Studies Teacher – 9 yrs. AP Psych., Psych., U.S. Government Speech Coach (Extemporaneous Speaking & impromptu Speaking) Coach – Improv. Team

34. Just because our primary focus is different from AP Lang./Lit. does NOT mean we can’t take advantage of comics & pop culture!

35. Beyond political cartoons… ← From Cagle.com

43. Hyperboleand ahalf.com

45. Remember, not all graphic novels are for kids! A good rule of thumb would be to separate them by genre and age-appropriateness. Try to collect different genres; not all students like super heroes, and there are so many different types of graphic novels out there. If you are new to graphic novels, head to your local library and ask them to show you to the section. You may find that you like what you find!

46. www.readingwithpictures.org www.diamondbookshelf.com www.graphicnovelreporter.com www.libraryjournal.com www.schoollibraryjournal.com www.publishersweekly.com www.booklist.com

47. Time for Q & A!