Graphic Novels in the Classroom

I think graphic novels should be used in the classroom because they are very useful for students who have a hard time focusing on reading short stories or novels that may be dry or hard to understand. By using graphic novels, students are able to see images and connect it to what they are reading. Graphic novels can be relevant, engaging, and positive. I read an article on the opinions of different teachers and professors on the use of graphic novels in the classroom, and one professor said graphic novels “are relevant, engaging, and positive. It is easier for students to relate to a text when they can see it. It captures student interest in this increasingly visual world, which then also increases student motivation and desire to keep reading because they can be successful at it, therefore promoting a positive association to reading.” Students, especially visual learners, are able to understand, relate, and be entertained by graphic novels, and with that being said, students are more likely to stay engaged in their reading. Graphic novels help give students the confidence to tackle a piece of difficult literature, such as Shakespeare or “The Odyssey”. Students may not be able to understand the foreign like words they read, but with the images along with the story they are able to come to and understanding of what they read. Graphic novels are also really beneficial to ELL readers. ELL readers can read words they are unfamiliar with and connect them to the text. These students are then able to define new words with their own definition based on what they see in the images and increase English proficiency. Graphic novels are a useful tool that combines the written elements of a novel with the visual images that give the impression of movement like a film.