Graphic Novels

Week One: Key terms & Vocabulary; Various types of comics; Introduction of our common read*.  Origins of Graphic Novels; Original Stories Titles (Amulet, Click, Comics Squad, Lunch Lady, Secret Coders)

Week Two: Discussion of Common Read; Lettering & Story boarding (including some fun prompts); Retelling Titles (A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver, I Survived Series, Baby Sitters Club); Webcomics 

Week Three: Continued discussion of common read; Mixed Genre Titles (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Stick Dog, The Real McCoys, Big Nate); Drawing Prompts; Newspaper Comics

Week Four: Continued discussion of common read; Let's Learn from Graphic Novels (Nathan Hale Series, Drowned City, Primates, Radioactive); Awards for Graphic Novels and Comics

Week Five: Continued discussion of common read; Graphic Memoirs (Guts, Smile, Sisters, New Kid, They Called Us Enemy, American Born Chinese, Noise, Friends), Begin Writing Our Own Panels 

Week Six: Continued Discussion of Common Read; Graphic Memoir shares, Graphic Poetry (Poems to See By)

You are free to email katie@rowereads.com with any questions you might have! 

Course Meets: 10/20-11/24 (Tuesdays) from 4:00-5:00 p.m. Tuition: $45

FAQ's About the Six Week Graphic Novel Course

Why Graphic Novels?  Aren't those just "comics" and not as good as traditional print texts?
Graphic novels are an amazing genre of literature and they take a specific skills set to be able to read them correctly.  Students often do not come to texts with the knowledge of how to read an image.  In addition, graphic novels allow us a space to critically examine idea, print, visuals, texts, and concepts in a relevant and accessible genre.  There has been much research in recent years about the validity, relevancy, and importance of graphic novels in academic settings (let me know if you'd like to read it and I can get it for you!).  Finally, graphic novels are extremely accessible.  Students who are often hesitant to read are more than willing to pick up a graphic novel.  Because the page is not flooded with texts, the genre is much more approachable.  Believe me--there is just as much going on the page as traditional print texts (which is what we'll learn about in this course!).   

Can this course "count" as language arts?
You bet!  We'll be reading, writing, and discussing, which are all the requirements for language arts classes.  We won't specifically focus on grammar (although it might come up), but we will focus on the specific genre of graphic novels and how reading those are different from other texts.

Will the Graphic Novels be "appropriate" for my child?
Sometimes graphic novels cover racy content.  Rest assured--those graphics and comics are written with an adult audience in mind.  All of the graphic novels for this course will be age appropriate and geared toward upper elementary, middle, or high school. 

Does my child have to read ALL the graphic novels you discuss?
Nope!  We'll be reading one graphic novel as a group.  This is the one we will discuss each week and use as our model.  This is the one your child will need to read.  It is up to you how you procure that text (library, used book store, friend, Amazon, etc.).  In addition, I will be sharing many, many titles organized around a specific trait.  Your child does not have to read all of those text.  The idea is to illustrate the concept so that the students can recognize the features and to provide readers with an enormous list of great graphic novels! 

Don't see your question answered here?  Email katie@rowereads.com to ask your questions!

Possible Course Titles:
We will read approximately 20-30 Graphic Novels over the course of the semester
Articles:
To Kill A Mockingbird How Graphic Novels & Comics Can Move a Story
Handmaid's Tale Discovering the Depth in Graphic Novels (Can Jason speak)
Romeo & Juliet
Macbeth
Merchant of Venice
Animal Farm
The Jungle
Illiad
Odyssey
Farenheit 451
Poe
1984
The Great Gatsby

Maus I
Speak*
American Born Chinese

Each week we will discuss the reading and write about the text.  We will use traditional (papers) and nontraditional (poetry, graphic/artistic) response genres.  This will be a rigorous course and students must read all required titles to earn full credit.  Titles may be purchased, read electronically, checked out from libraries, or any other method of procurement.  Due to the visual nature of graphic novels, it is not possible to listen to audio books for this course.  It is essential to see the visual representation of the text and the graphic panels. 

Course Meets: once a week from January to April
(More specific info coming soon!) Tuition: $200