According to their
website, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund--or CBLDF (what a mouthful!)--is a "
non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers." Comic books and graphic novels are becoming more and more common in school libraries across the states and the CBLDF is just one player dedicated to fighting censorship and keeping them there. The many benefits of graphic novels are well-documented and can help teachers or librarians reach a variety of students including:
- Reluctant readers (especially boys)
- Gifted and talented students
- A wide range of readers/learners
- ELL (English Language Learners) or foreign language learners
- Students who have little access to books
National organizations such as the American Library Association and publications like School Library Journal regularly post recommended reading lists for schools. Whether content-specific and curriculum-based or a student's choice for free voluntary reading, comic books/graphic novels/manga/etc. can support student literacy and learning and are a great addition to any library.
Read more here:
http://www.ala.org/alsc/graphicnovels2014
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/great-graphic-novels
http://www.slj.com/category/books-media/graphic-novels/
http://www.ipl.org/div/graphicnovels/
I love comics in my classroom and it seems more and more of my boys AND girls are checking out graphic novels from the library! They read them so fast and my "reluctant" readers are going to the library 2-3 times a week for new books. I think that pretty much sells me on the comics are good idea.
ReplyDeleteDuring the summer I always visit comic book stores and ask for free/discounted comics. The men who work there are never happy with me, but after I explain that they will be read many times by 15-30 kids and will therefore be destroyed by November they begin to understand. Many stores will give me comics for free of make me "packages" of their favorites from their childhood and give me a discount. :) I only put out 1/2 to 1/3 of the comics at the beginning of each year and then replace them once they're no longer holding together. It's always fun to get "new" comics in November or April. :) In my library there is a shelf of comics/graphic novels that is always 2/3 empty. Yay!
that's so awesome that they give/do this for you! I'd def take the time to put shipping tape (As a poorman's laminate) on each page of each comic so it has a last-quality!
Deletei totally love g.novs and comic-formats in my classroom---my kids love doing the battle with grendel's mom (From beowulf) activity because they can be silly and creative with how they visualize that scene--and no written summary would ever do that for the kids. And the Spanish teacher at school swears by comicstrip summaries for showing quick mastery of the content.
ReplyDeletei always have a graphic on my shelves in the classroom (usually a few), and they're the first to get nabbed during reading time. Dracula, Simbad, Huck Finn, even the illustrated version of Dante's Inferno! I love that the kids are reading the subtext within body language/facial expression (a skill they def need for thriving in any relationship).
but can I confess, I breeze through series/pages so quickly, I hardly remember what I actually 'read.' Ex: Walking Dead series-read from volume 1 to current (20something) and I just don't remember the details-just a couple of strong images and generals about differences from the show. I hope the kids get a little more out of it; and you know what, if they don't, at least they spent 1hr away from a screen and that's worth it!