Lesson Title: Expanding Literacy through Graphic Novels

 

By: Mat Wenzel

 

Burning Question:

How can I expand students’ literacy in a way that is relevant to the student as well as applicable to literacies of the future?

 

Objective:

Students will write to analyze and discuss a visual text using key vocabulary.

 

Introduction:

Graphic novels are just one example of our expanding idea of literacy. With the evolution of technology,  such as, Web 2.0 tools, the availability of digital media and ease of manipulation of these medias, and the shift from traditional print media to a more visual media to communicate important ideas (such as documentary films, v-logs, and video/audio mash-ups), students need to know how to analyze texts other than traditional (word only) media, including the digital media of today, and the yet-to-be-invented media of tomorrow.

 

Comics and graphic novels are often seen as a lower class genre, and watered down, “easier,” versions of “real” texts. While this may have been true in the past (though I would argue that it has not), or true of certain texts, graphic novels actually offer a deeper text and examine real and deep issues. Unlike traditional literature (words only), graphic novels offer a second text--the art. The text becomes more complex, not simpler. (See chapter 6 of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud for more in-depth analysis of this issue.) Also graphic novels have evolved beyond the typical “superhero” comic books. There are graphic novels that explore such topics as the Holocaust, cancer, the bombing of Hiroshima, the Iranian revolution, and cultural identity. Quality graphic novel interpretations of classic works of literature are emerging as well. One such example is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the All-Action Classics, Tom Sawyer  by Tim Mucci. (For other quality interpretations of classic works, see the bibliographies for the previous Weber Reads books, Beowulf, and Frankenstein.) This graphic novel is not simply an illustrated edition of the book, or a straightforward retelling. The author uses artistic techniques to add depth and to interpret the text, making it more than simply reading the book, not less. He makes the case that a graphic novel need not be a watered down, or “dumbed down” version.

 

Context:

These lessons focus mostly on just two pages of a graphic novel edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the All-Action Classics, Tom Sawyer  by Tim Mucci. I have included some vocabulary and structures that could be used to study the book as a whole, or another graphic novel. It could also be used in a media literacy class.

Materials

·         Mucci, Tim (author), Rad Sechrist (illustrator), and Mark Twain. All-Action Classics: Tom Sawyer. New York: Sterling, 2007,  or copies of the text or one copy of pages 16 and 17 that can be displayed on a big screen.

 

Time Span:

The time span for this lesson is one class period, though if you are studying the whole book, it could be expanded for the duration of the book.

 

Procedures:

A.  Using Vocabulary to Establish a Classroom Language for Analysis and Discussion

A vocabulary/structure for talking about graphic novels must first be established.

·     For a larger structure of art itself, I suggest using the six steps created by graphic novelist and expert on graphic novels, Scott McCloud in his graphic novel Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. These steps illuminate the depth of all works of art, and for teachers who want to go deep into a graphic novel, is an authentic scaffold to use. The steps are presented as layers, with step 1 being the innermost layer, the heart of work. You can find a more in depth look by reading chapter seven of the book, but I give you a brief version here. (adapted from McCloud 170-171)

                                            i.            Idea/Purpose - The work’s context - emotions, philosophies, purposes

                                          ii.            Form - In this case it is a graphic novel, but in a more general sense it could be a book, drawing, song, sculpture, etc.

                                        iii.            Idiom - The genre of the work - styles, gestures, subject matter

                                        iv.            Structure - The composition - how it is arranged, what is included or excluded

                                          v.            Craft - The work’s construction - the skills, inventions, conventions that were applied in creating the work

                                        vi.            Surface - The production - values, finishing, aspects that are most readily apparent

·     This lesson plan will focus on tools for analyzing the last three layers: surface, craft, and structure. In order to do this, teacher and students should be familiar with the following terms.

                                         i.            Gutter - the space between the panels of a comic. This is a very important aspect of comics. As we read comics our brains automatically fill in details, making a series of still images more like a movement. For a literature teacher, this is “reading between the lines” or making inferences. McCloud uses the Gestalt Psychology term closure for this phenomenon.
(McCloud, 66,69)

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a whole chapter dedicated to this concept in Understanding Comics: chapter 3

                  ii.            Line - the type of lines the author employs in a panel - Lines can portray emotion, sensory details, tone, etc. Weight, direction, sharpness, density can all effect these. For instance, rounder lines may create a warm or gentle feeling, while scratchy sharp lines may create a more violent impression. For more detail on

                iii.            Background - the images that are behind the main subject. The background (or lack thereof) often give the reader deeper insight into character, plot, setting, etc.

                iv.            Balloon - an enclosure for text in a panel. The most common example of this is the speech balloon (or speech bubble). But there are as many balloons as there are uses for text: explanatory, thought, sound, etc. For more detail, see pages 134-135 of Understanding Comics.

                  v.            Value - the degree of lightness or darkness - Many comics are in black and white, so value can be very important because shades must be used instead of colors. Even colors have values, though, and the darkness and lightness can effect the text in many ways. An obvious example is that a darker value may portray a darker (or sadder, more evil) character, event, thought, etc.

                vi.            Color - the choice of shades the author uses in a panel. This may not apply to all comics, but is used extensively in the Tom Sawyer graphic novel.

              vii.            Perspective - the angle from which the panel is viewed. This can be compared to a camera angle in a film. Sometimes a panel may be a close up, or wide angle, or even through the eyes of one of the characters.

·     You may want to use your own terms depending on your students’ knowledge of art and literature. Or you may want to focus on just one of these terms.

B.       Using Writing to Learn to Apply Classroom Vocabulary to The Text

These terms will now be applied to the graphic novel in order to answer the question, “What is the author trying to say through art?”

·            The following example uses many of these terms and is graphic heavy, with only a few words. I suggest even blocking out (or whiting out) the words in the balloons to help students focus more on what the author is saying through the images. The example is on pages 16 and 17 if you start counting the pages after the dedication. (There are no printed page numbers.) The pages (the first pages of the painting the fence scene) look like this:

 

·            Start a classroom discussion (unless your students have previous media literacy/art knowledge) to model the discussion. You may want to write the answers on the board, or a graphic organizer on an overhead. I also suggest creating very specific questions when you are modeling analyzing the art. I have included some examples in the next section, in the order that I presented the terms. At some point, you will want to release responsibility to the student. There are many writing to learn strategies (chalk talk, instant message, gallery walk, etc.) that would help them, and many great graphic organizers. Whatever you use, each student should be given time and opportunity to think and use writing to process his/her thoughts.

                 i.            Gutter - How much time do you think goes by in each gutter? What event do you think may have occurred in the gutter. gutter #1 - I imagine time enough to have a conversation with Aunt Polly. #2 a long, slow walk out to the fence because Tom does not want to paint it. #3,4,5,6,7 I imagine go by quickly as he checked out the fence. #8,9 seem almost slow motion. Not much changes from panel to panel, so while the real time might be short, it seems like it is taking forever. #10,11 How long does it take for you to become really distressed about a difficult problem? maybe 1 minute. #12 How long do you think Tom sat and sulked? I don’t think Tom is the kind of kid who sulks for very long. Tom might have been using the time to come up with a plan, not necessarily sulking. I imagine Jim comes rather quickly singing and carrying the bucket.

               ii.             Line - What words would you use to describe the lines used in this graphic novel? What feeling do these lines portray? The author uses a lot of round lines. The house has almost no straight lines, and the characters have exaggerated round features. The lines are also very dark or bold. These types of lines give me a feeling of youth, fun, innocence. There are some straight lines, as well, though. The fence is made up entirely of long straight lines. Also, Aunt Polly’s arms are very straight lines with her elbows becoming very exaggerated points. These points make me think of harsh, sharp, painful things.

             iii.             Background - What do you see in the background? What do you think the author is trying to say by including those details? What do you not see in the background? What do you think the author is trying to say by not including those details? In the first panel I can’t help but think the house looks like a mean face, with the dormers as the glaring eyes. This might be stretching it though. You can see that the sky is very clear in the first panel, and the fence is very big. These details tell me that it is a nice day, and the task at hand is large. In the second panel you can see Aunt Polly, and she looks pretty mad. In the rest of the panels all you can really see is the fence. The author doesn’t include any detail besides the fence. This tells me that the author wants us to think about how big the fence seems to Tom and what a huge task it is to paint it. (Although in every fence panel we get a glimpse of the blue sky like a tiny hope in Tom’s mind.)

              iv.            Balloons - (I am going to exclude this section because in this case we are focusing on just the art. I actually don’t think the text adds anything to the scene here, except for the last balloon which is Jim’s singing. Everything else can be inferred from the art. You may want to discuss the text in the balloon if it suits your purposes better.)

                v.            Value - Are the panels dark or light? Why did the author choose to give them that value? Every panel is very light and bright, with the exception of the second panel where Aunt Polly is yelling at Tom. I think this panel is darker to show that Aunt Polly is mad and that Tom is not happy. The other panels might be bright to show that it is a very nice day, or maybe to expose Tom--he’s been caught in the act and there is no darkness to hide in. The shadows in these panels also stand out to me. The author does not use a lot of shadows in the book. I get the feeling of the sun beating on my neck as it casts a shadow on the fence.

              vi.             Color - What colors does the author use? What shades of meaning or feeling do these colors evoke? Throughout the book the author uses simple, almost primary colors. This evokes a sense of simplicity, innocence. The bright colors evoke a sense of vitality and youth. Most of these panels are covered in the dingy grey of the fence (even Tom’s shirt is whiter.) This evokes feelings of weariness, age, dinginess.

            vii.            Perspective - From who’s perspective is each panel? Why do you think the author chose that perspective? Most of the panels are either a close up of Tom’s face (with his mouth agape in every one.) The others are from Tom’s perspective looking at the height and length of the fence. Again, these seem to work toward the goal of demonstrating to the audience that this is an overwhelming task.

C.  Using writing to assess student understanding.

 

Extensions:

Students love to create their own comics or short graphic novels. There are several resources listed below to help teacher and student create their own comics. Some students who don’t consider themselves artists may be hesitant at first, but there are many tools that can be used, and drawing can be simple. Students should be encouraged to make conscious decisions about the types of elements that they use (gutter, line, etc.) and the purpose they have for choosing them.

 

Rationale:

Students need to be literate in more than just traditional words only reading. Graphic novels and comics are a way to bridge the gap between traditional and emerging texts/literacies.

 

Resources:

Print Sources

 Digital Sources