Pairing Graphic Novels With Young Adult Texts to Increase Visual Literacy and Teach A More

Complex Understanding of Historical Events in a Multicultural World

North Dakota State University

Maddie McClellan

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The contemporary view of literacy is changing; today’s students are growing up in an era

of vast literacy expansion that requires a more complex understanding of what literacy really

means. The shift in the meaning of literacy will now require students to understand how to inter-

pret images and other visuals in addition to traditional text (Monnin). Graphic novel specialist

and educator, James Bucky Carter, asserts that “texts are no longer just words on a page, but any-

thing in the surrounding world of the literate person” (Building Literacy Connections 12).

As a future educator, I agree with Carter and want to prepare my students to be able to navigate

and succeed in the world around them. In order to prepare myself to teach graphic novels in the

Secondary English classroom, I conducted research on the effectiveness of teaching graphic nov-

els, using Young Adult texts to build connections with students, and pairing Young Adult litera-

ture with graphic novels to teach history in a way that engages students and allows them to build

meaningful and complex connections with their learning.

Before delving into the world of graphic novels, it is crucial to understand the importance

of visual literacy. Visual literacy is the ability to read an image as you would a traditional text.

Students should be able to analyze, interpret, and evaluate images in order to succeed in an in-

creasingly image-driven world. Example: Students are bombarded with advertisements every

day. In order to be successful in navigating today’s world, consumers must be able to sort

through the thousands of images thrown at them every day. Determining what images mean, in-

cluding connotative and denotative messages, the overall message, purpose of the message, and

effectiveness of the medium are all necessary facets of thoughtfully and purposefully analyzing a

visual.

Today’s communication is being revolutionized, which leads teaching methods of liter-

acy to change more now than they ever have. Literacy no longer refers to text alone--today’s stu-

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dents must be literate in both text and graphic representations. The focus has shifted from tradi-

tional literacies to New Literacies, which include graphics, film, and other multimedia. In order

to teach our students new literacies, teachers must include image-based literacies such as graphic

novels (Monnin). While some wonder how the graphic novel fits into the Common Core, Katie

Monnin points out that just because we have standards does not mean that teachers can not ex-

tend past the standards. The Common Core is focused not just on literacy, but text complexity.

Students need to be reading texts that challenge them and are content-rich. Although graphic

novels may not have a high vocabulary complexity, many historical graphic novels such as

Maus, Perspepolis, and Barefoot Gen, contain complex images and ideas that challenge

students to think about history, war, human rights, prejudice, and human experiences in new

ways.

The Common Core State Standards, now accepted by 43 states, attempt to converge all

state’s individual standards to are a set of aligned standards. Creators of the Common Core ex-

plain that the goal of these standards are to prepare students not only for success in the class-

room, but beyond the classroom. Critical thinking skills derived from engaging in complex texts

effectively prepare students for “college, career, and life” (The Common Core State Standards).

The Common Core explains that the standards are laid out as a “vision of what it means to be a

literate person who is prepared for success in the 21st century” (The Common Core State Stan-

dards). The Common Core is not restricting educators from using a variety of texts--the vision of

Common Core seems quite accepting of using new forms of text, such as graphic novels, to in-

crease visual literacy, a crucial trait of a wholly literate person in the 21st century.

There are several ways that teachers can help their students develop their visual literacy,

including deep viewing techniques that may be applied to a variety of visuals, including com-

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mercials, print advertisements, and graphic novels. Deep viewing is an activity in which students

break down the visual into categories and analyze each category. As students are analyzing and

using deep viewing techniques, they are exercising the three levels of deep viewing, including

observation, interpretation, and evaluation. These skills are similar to techniques used in reading

and analyzing literature and informational texts, both of which are part of the Common Core

State Standards that students are required to meet.

Students do not necessarily have to read comics to reap the benefits of visual literacy. In-

cluding infographics in education is a similar idea to utilizing graphic novels, as both require stu-

dents to create or interpret visuals to convey a message. Having students create infographics is

very similar to having them create comics in that it has students use visuals to convey a message.

While reading graphic novels may help students comprehend complex ideas that they may not

have without visuals, having students create their own infographics may help them comprehend a

traditional text in a similar way. Educator Meryl Jaffe posted an interesting example on his edu-

cational blog, Departing the Text, of how infographics can help students understand Shake-

speare.

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http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2014/03/shakespeare-through-infographics.html

While infographics could be especially beneficial in Shakespeare units due to the confus-

ing character relationships and unfamiliar language, time period, and setting, the idea of using in-

fographics to track plot and character relationships could be transferred to any literature unit. The

teacher could create an infographic as a class while they read a text, and then have students cre-

ate their own infographic that includes setting, plot line, character relationships, important

themes or symbols. This is just one way that visuals could enhance an otherwise traditionally

textual unit and help students build their understanding of the themes while also getting to be

creative. Having students develop the skill of designing and interpreting infographics helps build

critical thinking skills that students will use outside of the classroom as they encounter these

types of visuals in their daily lives on television, advertisements, and the news.

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While Infographics are a great way to enhance a literature unit, using comics in the class-

room can either enhance a traditional text or stand alone as its own unit of study. Because some

teachers, administrators and parents are a little wary of teaching graphic novels in the classroom,

using sections of a graphic novel to enhance another text could be a great way to introduce the

genre and still benefit students by providing opportunities to increase visual literacy. Teachers

need not have the class read a whole novel--they could use a section of a graphic novel to en-

hance other texts or class topics (Carter). Because some teachers are nervous about implementing

an entire graphic novel into their classrooms, using one as a supplement might be a good place to

start.

Another way to introduce comics into the classroom is to use Scott McCloud’s Under-

standing Comics to learn about the genre, and then have students practice those conventions

by having them create their own comic strips. McCloud is an comics expert who writes about the

history, benefits, and intricacies of comics. McCloud’s approach of defining and explaining

comics will help students become familiar with the genre as they read. Students could focus in

on whatever they are reading to create comic strip summaries, or teachers could have students

tell their own stories in graphic novel format, which would easily align with narrative writing

standards. Either way, comics let students express creativity and experiment with new genres

while also learning how effective visuals can be in conveying a message.

Although using comics as supplementary material adds to a traditional unit, graphic nov-

els on their own should not be feared, as they certainly reach the same curriculum standards that

any traditional text might reach. In fact, Maureen Bakis, an experienced english educator, has ex-

panded her graphic novel expertise to teach a whole class on graphic novels (“Welcome to the

Graphic Novel Classroom”). She argues that “because images are open for interpretation” stu-

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dents become involved in “rich discussion” and “problem solving” (Bakis 3). This kind of demo-

cratic classroom helps students realize that there is no one right answer (Bakis 3). Ryan J. No-

vak, another graphic novel educator similar to Carter and Bakis, has written a book, Teaching

Graphic Novels in the Classroom, detailing lesson examples for different graphic novels

in the classroom and demonstrates how each reaches a lengthy list of Common Core State Stan-

dards. If students are truly engaged in graphic novel reading, they get to exercise creativity, and

the unit allows them to meet required standards, why would we not include graphic novels in the

curriculum?

Not all educators have as much faith in graphic novels as Carter, Bakis, and Novak--

Marla Harris states that graphic novels serve as great supplementary material, but should not be

taught alone. While I disagree with Harris, I do see the benefits of pairing two different kinds of

texts. Including a variety of genres and mediums allows students to explore different genre con-

ventions and gain a variety of viewpoints. Young Adult Literature advocate Joan Kaywell ex-

plains the benefits of pairing Young Adult literature with classic texts. I vote for a similar idea:

pairing graphic novels with traditional (non-graphic) texts. While graphic novels can certainly be

beneficial on their own, pairing them with another text to teach a certain theme or time period al-

lows for deeper understanding and engagement.

Although comics have been popular since the 1940s, graphic novels have only grown as

an educational tool in more recent years. For a long time, comics were not considered a form of

art or worthy of serious reading--because some underground comics included graphic content

such as sex and drugs, “alternative comics were unfairly associated with subversive or taboo top-

ics” for many years (Novak 21). Novels such as Maus by Art Spiegelman, which won the

Pulitzer Prize in 1992, helped readers realize that comics could be an effective way to convey

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history and important messages. Spiegelman went on to stretch readers’ ideas of comics by writ-

ing Raw, a comic book anthology focused on art, with his wife, Francoise Mouly. Maus is not

the only historical graphic novel hit--the Barefoot Gen series by Keiji Nakazawa, which de-

tailed the Japanese experience of WWII, was published with great success in 1980s, and Perse-

polis by Marjane Satrapi shared a girl’s experience in revolutionary Iran in 2000. Since Spiegel-

man’s Pulitzer prize, graphic novels have grown in popularity and are available for all ages of

readers. In a poll of sixth-grade classroom, Carter discovered, not surprisingly, that seventy-five

percent of his students had recently read a graphic novel (“Carving a Niche”).

While graphic novels and comics are considered by many to mean the same thing, there

is an important difference. Critics think that the only difference is “in the binding,” but Novak

explains that graphic novels differ from comics in the “intended scope of the story” and have a

“definite beginning, middle, and end” (22). Although many of these graphic novels are easy

enough for a fifth-grader to read, they are still complex and engaging for even graduate-level stu-

dents. Comics specialist, Scott McCloud, defines comics as, “Juxtaposed pictorial and other im-

ages in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic re-

sponse in the viewer” (9). Some assume that graphic novels are easy because the graphics reiter-

ate what the text already says, but McCloud explains that this is not the case. Graphics and text

are separate entities that allow for complex interpretations. At times, a graphic with little to no

text says more than words ever could. These kind of frames allow for students to practice their

analytical skills and critical thinking as they try to interpret complex graphics.

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In this frame from Persepolis, students could write about the juxtaposition of Marjane’s “punk

party” with the image of the dying young soldiers in the minefield.

http://www.d.umn.edu/~cstroupe/ideas/assets/satrapi_suicide_bombers_punk_dance.jpg

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This image from Barefoot Gen shows the aftermath of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

http://animemiz.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/img058.jpg

Educators may wonder why they should bother implementing graphic novels into their

classrooms. Why should today’s teachers, who are often feel pressured to conform to standards

and prepare students for high-stakes testing, bother implementing a new form of literature into

their classrooms? Simply put--because they work! Maureen Bakis explains that in her graphic

novel classroom, students are actively engaged and they care. Bakis explains that because

graphic novels are often quicker reads, students get to experience more novels than in a tradi-

tional english classroom (“Welcome”). Even though these novels may not be as time-consuming,

they still challenge all reading levels, cater to teaching twenty-first century skills, and meet Com-

mon Core Standards. Even big-name publishers are embracing the effectiveness of the graphic

novel. For example, Bedford/St. Martin’s have recently published Understanding Rhetoric,

a college textbook written entirely in graphic novel format (Losh, Alexander, Cannon and Can-

non). In order to quell any nervousness and address parental or administrative concern, Carter

suggests writing strong rationales about why the novel would be beneficial for the students and

discuss any controversial material upfront (“Going Graphic”). Teachers have no need to fear

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graphic novels, and should embrace this medium to help students develop as well-rounded criti-

cal thinkers.

Clearly, graphic novels are an effective way to reach standards and allow for textual di-

versity, but why are comics so effective in conveying information? Scott McCloud of Under-

standing Comics explains that while realistic drawings fit only a select few people in our

world, doodles could be any number of millions of readers. McCloud argues that comic book

characters are able to connect with readers emotionally because more readers are apt to see them-

selves in the characters.

http://digitalantipodes.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/weblog_usability.gif

History teacher J. Spencer Clark asserts that nonfiction graphic novels can promote historical

thinking by providing different viewpoints and complex narratives through the combination of

text and images. While textbooks can oversimplify and dehumanize historical events, including

non-fiction narratives such as Maus, Persepolis, and Barefoot Gen, helps students under-

stand historical agency and engage with history (Clark). Just like Young Adult literature, this

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kind of text gives readers opportunities to see themselves in the text and create meaningful con-

nections as they read.

Aside from the connections that graphic novels provide all readers, graphic novels help

provide scaffolding for struggling readers and ELL students who might otherwise not be able to

engage in a traditional classroom text. One example of scaffolding and differentiation is provided

by Classical Comics: Bringing Comics to Life. This site gives examples of graphic nov-

els with the traditional text, quick-text, and no-text versions. This would allow for students to all

read the same novels, but read at their level. Educational researchers, Ching and Fook, studied

students who were given opportunities to read no-text novels, no-text novels with audio narration

provided, or graphics, text, and narration. Surprisingly, they discovered that students performed

best when they were able to focus on the graphics and listen to the narration. This demonstrates

the power of images and would be a great opportunity for ELL learners to increase their literacy.

http://www.classicalcomics.com/titles/romeo-and-juliet.html

Graphic novels clearly have their place in historical story-telling and education, but they

can be even more effective in building a unit plan when paired with Young Adult texts. While

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traditional English education taught students to read and interpret texts from “the canon” or “the

classics,” students today often find these texts disengaging and inaccessible. While the classics

still have a place in today’s education, teachers must strive to choose texts that allow students to

make connections with characters that inhibit positive reading experiences. Young Adult texts do

just that. Educator Linda Rice explains how historically-based Young Adult literature helps stu-

dents connect with characters on a personal level to actually experience the emotions of war, dis-

crimination, or persecution as the characters experience them. Rice argues that learning about

these historical events through Young Adult literature will encourage students to change the

world for the better.

Young Adult texts allow for students to make connections with characters by either see-

ing themselves in the characters like a reflection in a mirror or experiencing new cultures, ideas,

and feeling by looking through a window into another young adult’s life. Joan F. Kaywell argues

that Young Adult texts can be used as a great way to pair with classic texts in order to have stu-

dents study the same theme through two different means. Students first read the Young Adult lit-

erature to get them used to the complex ideas and themes before they read the classic text. This

shows how Young Adult text can prepare students for a more complex text and increase under-

standing and engagement. While I agree that Young Adult texts are a great introduction to a clas-

sic text, I also think that Young Adult texts make a great pairing with graphic novels for similar

reasons--students are able to experience similar themes through different means and are pre-

sented with multiple points of view that allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the

culture or time period they are studying.

Graphic novels can certainly be taught solo in the english classroom, but pairing them

with Young Adult texts allows for a more diverse learning experience. Douglas Fisher and

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Nancy Frey define the english teacher’s primary role in the classroom as developing students’

“thinking skills” by focusing not so much on a certain text, but on the purpose of the text (26).

Using multiple forms of text allows for students to explore the same topic through different gen-

res and experience multiple points-of-view. Teachers could certainly have students all read the

same pairing, but allowing students to choose between pairings that all have the same theme

would create an even more diverse classroom in which students could teach and learn from each

other. By focusing on an idea rather than insisting on one text for all students, educators may

choose many different texts for students to read in order to reach the same goals. In order to ad-

dress a variety of reading, writing, and thinking strategies, Fisher and Frey assert that teachers

should avoid using a whole class text and allow for differentiation. In order to accomplish this

type of classroom, Fisher and Frey explain how to structure the classroom through focus lessons,

guided instruction, collaborative learning, and independent learning.

Another way to assign pairings would be to have all students read the same graphic

novel, and then have students choose from a variety of traditional texts that have similar themes.

I personally like the idea of having students select a pair so they could work in small groups and

book circles throughout the unit. Differentiation specialist Laura Robb provides framework for

having small group instruction as a way to differentiate in her book, Differentiating Read-

ing Instruction. Many students do not feel comfortable speaking up in a whole-class setting,

so structuring the class into mostly small-group instruction will encourage all students to partici-

pate. Having mixed-level grouping also helps both lower-level learners and advanced learners.

Lower-level learners receive scaffolding by working with advanced learners, and advanced

learners gain understanding by getting the opportunity to teach.

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Although having one class reading three or more different pairings sounds complicated, it

is not as scary as it sounds. The key is to split class time into individual, small-group, and whole-

class instruction and designate assessments for each. Having a variety of groupings and activities

caters to a wider variety of learners and meets students’ diverse needs. You could assign students

to a pair based on their reading levels, but I would let them choose their own, which would likely

create mixed-level groupings. Having mixed-level groups allows students to bridge the gap be-

tween them. If advanced students are always separate from the under-grade-level students, they

will actually be held back. Having mixed groups lets advanced students teach, which will in turn

enhance their learning experiences, while struggling students will be provided scaffolding by

having higher-level learners push them in their group activities. As students work, the teacher

could sit in on group discussions to ensure groups are staying on task, have mini-conferences to

see how groups are progressing on their projects, or conduct mini-lessons with small-groups or

individuals who need extra support.

In order to fully understand how pairing two texts would work in a unit, I read three dif-

ferent Young Adult text and graphic novel pairings. To begin the unit, I picked a common theme

that I wanted all students to learn. This theme would then be taught in whole class instruction

and would be explored in class discussions and lectures. As a whole class, I also recommend us-

ing Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics at the beginning of the unit in order to build

knowledge about graphic novel conventions. Bakis has used McCloud’s book to help students

understand the the complexity of graphic novels and give them practice implementing each skill

as McCloud introduces it (“Looking at the Comics Medium”). This would be relevant for all stu-

dents regardless of what book they chose afterwards, and would set students up for success in fu-

ture graphic novel assignments. Students would be split into groups depending on what pair they

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chose, which would lend itself well to small-group instruction in which students work together in

groups to complete Webquests to gain background information about the culture they are study-

ing, do book circles together, panel-shares, in which students pick a panel that they thought was

important and worth sharing with the group, and snapshot writing, in which students pair up to

write about the same frame or image, compare their interpretations, and discuss why it is impor-

tant to the plot line or theme in the novel.

On an individual level, students should complete an assessment in which the previously

learned skills converge. Jacqueline N. Glasgow, an educator who created a framework for pair-

ing Elie Wiesel’s Night and Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars to teach the Holocaust, sug-

gests having students create a memorial scrapbook and write creative responses to music, film, or

photos related to the novels. Similarly, I would have students complete their final projects

through creating their own graphic novel using McCloud’s comic book conventions to tell a his-

torical story that they got from either an older family member or respected adult. This task in-

creases students’ creativity while also requiring them to use their understanding of memoir and

graphic novel conventions. Other tasks that students might complete during this unit could be

panel summaries, in which students summarize what they have read in a chapter into a three-

frame panel summary. This has them practicing the skills of summarizing and also requires them

to know how comics function. Another option might be a compare/contrast essay where students

draw connections between the two texts that they read or they could compare the same text in

two different mediums, whether it be graphic text to traditional text or graphic text to movie.

As examples, I suggest several different pairings that could be used to teach historical

events. The first is Maus by Art Spiegelman and Night by Elie Wiesel or A Diary of a

Young Girl by Anne Frank, either of which would be a meaningful way to teach the Holocaust.

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The next is autobiographical graphic novel Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa or Fallout by

Jim Ottaviani and the non-fiction text Bomb by Steve Sheinkin, ideal for a diverse learning ex-

perience about the bombing of Hiroshima. The last is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Jour-

ney From the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran by Ruya

Hakkakiyan, both great educational tools to learn about Iran in a time of revolution. The strong-

est tie between these pairings is war, the main characters’ persistence through immense times of

struggle, and human rights issues. All novels also deal with racism and prejudice during times of

conflict. Although each pairing deals with a different cultural conflict, the connections will lead

to fruitful discussion during whole-class instruction about the common themes.

As a small group based on the students’ book circles for the semester, students could cre-

ate a cultural presentation based on the the culture of their book pairing. Since each book circle is

reading a pairing from a different culture, students could benefit by learning about the same

themes in other cultures. Many students learn best by teaching, and teaching the class about the

culture they experienced will help solidify what they’ve learned. Groups could be assessed

through options of writing, performing, or creating. The key is to assess the same themes, so the

product does not really matter. This allows for differentiation based on students strengths and in-

terests.

Although group work would be crucial in this unit, students would also get the opportu-

nity to work on their own. Novak suggests reading Maus to have students first learn about biog-

raphy and memoir and then write their own through an interview and essay. Bakis suggested a

similar assessment in her Persepolis unit, in which students would draw from techniques they

learned about in Satrapi’s novel to write their own memoir. Students would use the theme of

memoir in the pairings to have students conduct interviews with an older family member or re-

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spected adult to write a story about family history. Carter suggests that having students create

helps them express creativity and practice graphic novel conventions, and Novak supports this

kind of unit in chapter nine of Teaching Graphic Novels in the Classroom. He shows

how students must use plot devices and organization, just as they would in narrative writing. I

suggest the idea of Novak’s and Bakis’ focus on biography and memoir and Carter’s focus on

creating comics to have students create a graphic novel memoir. Students would use their

graphic novel as a reference to create their own graphic novels using imagery, symbolism or alle-

gory. Students would use their understanding of comics from McCloud’s text to either illustrate

or create their comics online using tools such as Mozilla Webmaker, which allows users to create

comics using text boxes and photos. Allowing students to choose between drawing or creating

online gives them opportunity to exercise artistic or technological skills.

Including comics in the curriculum allows students to explore new genres, enjoy their

reading, supports lower level and ELL learners, and encourages creativity and critical thinking

skills. Although introducing graphic novels into the classroom might be demanding, it will help

provide today’s students with an education that meets standards and is exciting, creative, and rel-

evant. Helping students grow more than they ever have sometimes requires teachers to do what

they have never done. Taking risks in teaching is part of staying relevant. If teachers want to help

students connect with their learning, build literacy and comprehension, keep up with today’s ex-

panding literate world, and get excited about reading, graphic novels in the classroom are a fan-

tastic start to that solution.

Because today’s idea of literacy has changed to incorporate 21st-century skills and visual

literacy, students who experience complex visual texts in secondary education will be more pre-

pared for success in their future outside the classroom. Incorporating infographics, comics, and

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graphic novels will help students become more familiar with interpreting visuals, which builds

critical thinking skills that they will use in everyday life as they encounter different forms of

complex visuals, such as advertisements, graphs, charts, and infographics on television or in the

newspaper. Avoiding introducing visual texts and graphic novels into the classroom is a disser-

vice to our students--helping students build visual literacy alongside their critical thinking skills

is crucial to helping students become well-rounded, prepared, educated individuals. Teachers

who are apprehensive about introducing graphic novels to their classrooms need only be pre-

pared by writing detailed rationales that explain the benefits of the text. Even college textbook

companies have started using the graphic novel format--proof that our world is becoming in-

creasingly visual. Pairing graphic novels with traditional text allows for differentiation, collabo-

ration, and small-group instruction that prompts all students to participate. The implementation

of graphic novels paired with relatable Young Adult texts help students create meaningful con-

nections with their learning as they build deeper understandings of history and the world around

them, as well as build skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

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Works Cited

Bakis, Maureen. “Welcome to the Graphic Novel Classroom.” The Graphic Novel Classroom.

Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2012. 1-11. Print.

Bakis, Maureen. “Looking at the Comics Medium.” The Graphic Novel Classroom. Thou-

sand Oaks: Corwin, 2012. 14-30. Print.

Bakis, Maureen. “Looking at Memoir in the Graphic Novel Classroom.” The Graphic Novel

Classroom. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2012. 72-102. Print.

Carter, James B. “Carving a Niche.” Building Literacy Connections with

Graphic Novels. Ed. James Bucky Carter. Urbana: National Council of

Teachers of English, 2007. 1-25. Print.

Carter, James Bucky. "Going Graphic." Educational Leadership 66.6 (2009):

68-72. Education Source. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

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Ching, Hii Sii, and Fong Soon Fook. “Effects of Multimedia-based Graphic Novel Presentation

on Critical Thinking Among Students of Different Learning Approaches.” The Turkish

Online Journal of Education Technology 12.4 (2013): 56-67. Web. 31 Mar.

2014.

Clark, J. Spencer. “Encounters with Historical Agency: The Value of Nonfiction Graphic Novels

in the Classroom. The History Teacher 46.4 (2013): 489-509. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. “Altering English: Re-examining the Whole Class Novel and

Making Room for Graphic Novels and More.” Building Literacy Connections

with Graphic Novels. Ed. James Bucky Carter. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of

English, 2007. 26-37. Print.

Glasgow, Jacqueline N. “Bearing Witness to the Horror of the Holocaust (1939-1945): Children

Who Suffered and Survived.” What Was it Like? Ed. Linda J. Rice. New York:

Teachers College Press, 2006. 77-98. Print.

Harris, Marla. “Showing and Telling History through Family Stories in Persepolis and Young

Adult Literature.” Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels. Ed.

James Bucky Carter. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 2007. 38-53. Print.

Kaywell, Joan F. Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics. Nor-

wood: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1993. Print.

Losh, Elizabeth, Jonathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon. Understanding

Rhetoric. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Print.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. Print.

Monnin, Katie. “Aligning Graphic Novels to the Common Core Standards.” Knowledge

Quest 41.3 (2013): 50-57. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

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Novak, Ryan J. Teaching Graphic Novels in the Classroom: Building Literacy and

Comprehension. Austin: Prufrock Press, 2013. Print.

Rice, Linda J. “Active Learning in Theory and Practice” What Was it Like? Ed. Linda J.

Rice. New York: Teachers College Press, 2006. 5-23. Print.

Robb, Laura. Differentiating Reading Instruction. New York: Scholastic Teaching Re-

sources, 2008. Print.

Images Cited

Animemiz. “MMF: Barefoot Gen, Grisly read of Atomic Bomb survival.” Wordpress. 14 Feb.

2011. Web. 26 Jun. 2014.

Classical Comics. Classical Comics Ltd., 2013. Web. 26 Jun. 2014.

Digital Antipodes. “I Loved My Ipod... Her Name Was Clea.” Wordpress, 2010. Web. 26 Jun.

2014.

Jaffe, Meryl. “Shakespeare Through Infographics.” Departing the Text. Blogger, 2014.

Web. 26 Jun. 2014.

Stroupe, Craig. “Ideas.” Craig Stroupe. University of Minnesota, n.d. Web. 26 Jun. 2014.