Week 3
Does the use of comics and graphic novels (hard copy/electronic versions) within the primary literacy curriculum undermine the values of the classroom or do they offer opportunities for learning?
National Curriculum England (2013) literacy programme of study states that
Key Stage 1 learners should be able to discuss ‘a wide range of poems, stories
and non-fiction’, while Key Stage 2 learners should ‘read and discuss an
increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference
books or textbooks’, and aim to read books ‘that are structured in different
ways’. The exact types of texts teachers incorporate into their teaching is
ambiguous, and the increasing use of popular culture and technology in the
classroom has sparked debate as to whether comic books and graphic novels have
their place in the primary literacy curriculum.
Comic books are stories told using sequential panels and
pictures with captions and speech bubbles to deliver information, while graphic
novels are longer, more complex stories which still retain a comic book layout.
One of the main arguments against using these in the classroom is the belief
that they do not offer as high quality learning as one would get from traditional
literature. In his book Seduction of the
Innocent, Wertham (1955) argues that reading comic books disallows one to
appreciate literature as they will get accustomed to visual images describing
scenes for them. However, Walsh (2010) acknowledges that ‘rapid development of
digital technologies has changed the nature of literacy’ and ‘writing is now
often a move towards a product that may contain quite sophisticated layout,
graphics, photographs and images.’ This is known as ‘multimodal literacy’, and
reading comic books and graphic novels supports this, as they expose the reader
to a range of semiotic resources and modalities involved in making meaning and
communicating information. This also supports Yang’s (2008) argument that
pictures and text ‘share narrative responsibility’ and should be regarded as
equally important. Therefore, it can be argued that comic books and graphic
novels are more appropriate resources to children’s literacy
learning in the 21st century.
Comic books and graphic novels have also been criticised for
their inappropriate content and stereotypical themes; ‘boys comics have been
thought to promote violence, girls’ to induce a soppy passivity based on a
preoccupation with domesticity, appearance and dress, which denies girls agency
in the adult world’ Millard and Marsh (2001). However, Stafford (2009) uses the
example of the children’s comic Wonderland:
Children of the future age to prove this is view is too generalist, as this
is a child friendly comic which portrays a female child hero protagonist.
Millard and Marsh (2001) also make reference to Beano and Dandy, and
comics for younger children, framed as ‘edutainment’ which contain mixtures of
word searches and puzzles along with comic strips. Therefore, while some comics
are inappropriate for younger readers, and many boys and girls magazines are
stereotypical towards gender, this does not mean teachers should immediately
reject use of them in classroom learning.
In our seminar session, we created our own electronic comic books using a comic creator app. The one myself and my partner created could not be used in the classroom, but what was important was that we were learning how to use it, and understanding its fantastic potential in classroom learning.
Bibliography
DfE (2013) The national curriculum in England. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335133/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_220714.pdf
accessed 20.10.2014.
Millard, E. and Marsh, J. (2001) Sending Minnie and the Minx Home: comics and reading choices. Cambridge Journal of Education. 31, (1), 25- 38.
Stafford, T. (2009) Teaching Comics. Teaching children’s literature: Making stories work in the classroom. Abingdon: Routledge. (pp 116-130)
Walsh, M (2010) Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice? Australian journal of language and literacy. 33, (3), 211- 239.
Wertham, F (1955) Seduction
of the Innocent. London, Museum Press.
Yang, G (2008) Graphic novels in the classroom. Language arts. 85, (3), 185-192.
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I like the comic you made, but would agree that it is not a material to bring into a classroom. - How would you use the app in your classroom then?
ReplyDeleteYes, I was not sure if the comic book had to be child friendly or not! I actually read about a very interesting teaching idea which could be done using the app in the Stafford (2009) reading; the author discussed a lesson where he took a page from a comic book and removed all of the text, leaving the children to use their imagination and creativity to fill in the gaps. Using this idea with the app, I would be able to choose exactly which pictures I wanted the focus of the comic to be, and then invite the children to fill in the text.
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