Does the use of comics and
graphic novels within the primary literacy curriculum undermine the values of
the classroom or do they offer opportunities for learning?
Millard and Marsh (2001) claimed that comics rarely
appear on the classroom shelves. Some
teachers choose to exclude comics, due to believing that children deserve
better quality reading matters and the concerns of the suitability of the
content (Millard and Marsh, 2001 and Stafford, 2009). Comics have been viewed
to undermine reading skills (Educational Scotland). This could be due to people
believing illustrations are only used for children who are unable to read (Millard
and Marsh, 2001). However, teachers reported in Millard and Marsh’s (2001)
research that, some children’s reading development improved due to the comic
project. Graphic novels and comics have encouraged and motivated children to
want to read (Educational Scotland and Milliard & Marsh, 2001). This view
was shared with a teacher who believed that using comics/ graphic novels in
Literacy would motivate a child who sometimes needed encouragement to complete
the work. As comics play an important part of the child’s daily life.
Comic books and graphic novels have been used to
support children’s Literacy development (QCA/UKLA, 2005). The QCA/ UKLA’s (2005) research shows how
comics and graphic novels can be used to develop children’s: comprehension,
understanding of developing a narrative for the reader and punctuation. I had
not thought about using comics and graphic novels to develop children’s
comprehension. However, the QCA/UKLA has influenced me to use comics/ graphic
novels for children who need to develop their inference skills within my
planning. This could be achieved by using speech and thought bubbles. A teacher
who had taken part in Millard and Marsh’s (2001) research stated that, comics
were beneficial as it encouraged the children to read both visual and print
elements. This is supported by Rakes (1999, cited in Frey and Fisher, 2008) who
claimed that, combining visuals and text can improve children’s comprehension
development. This could be due to
children drawing on their experiences when looking at the illustrations
(QCA/UKLA, 2005).
Guzzetti,
B. (2007) Literacy for the new Millennium
Westport: Praeger Publishers
Learning
and Teaching Scotland: Graphic Novels in the Curriculum http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/g/graphicnovels/intro.asp
Millard
and Marsh (2001) ‘Sending Minnie the Minx Home: comics and reading choices’ Cambridge Journal of Education, 31:1, 25
– 38
Stafford,
T. (2009) ‘Teaching Comics’ in Duncan, D. (2009) Teaching Children’s Literature: Making stories work in the classroom Abingdon:
Routledge
QCA/UKLA (2005) More than words 2: Creating
Stories on page and screen. London: QCA.
It is interesting to read that comics had sometimes previously been banned from being used in the classroom. As from reading your research and my own it is clear they are really beneficial in Literacy, I found making our own comic made this clear to me, through the use of speech and the design of the comic to create meaning.
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