Bringing the Graphic novel into school seems like no easy task, but yet according to the selections of articles for this weeks readings appears very beneficial. The first task at hand is learning exactly what a graphic novel is. One of the articles defined a graphic novel to be a comic book that bind and consisting of more than 50 something pages where as another article defined it as comic consisting of a more complex plot. Before one can bring a graphic novel into the classroom I think that it would be wise to learn a bit of what separates a graphic novel from the all to familiar comic book. I thought to do a little research of my own to see how other sources and one definition that I found I felt fit best to describe a graphic novel and what separates it from the comic book is simply the novel that is put into comic book strip format and can stand alone rather than as series like the comic book.
I would love to introduce this into the high school level but I would introduce the graphic novel through the history which correlates greatly with pop-culture, especially with lots of graphic novels and comics being produced into high budget films. McTaggart brings about not only the benefits of the graphic novel in the classroom but also lists and gives some examples of graphic novels that have been used in the classroom as well as some sources to use when considering integrating the graphic novel into the classroom for beginners. One of the key points that he makes is how the graphic novel benefits students of all levels from those who do not like to read to those who read on a daily basis. He explains that the graphic novel can help struggling readers connect words and pictures, help students who can read to want to read, and challenge the readers at a different level.
The other readings as well as McTaggart explore the benefits of bringing the graphic novel into schools and offer sources and lists of graphic novels that can be used to explore different content areas. I especially love the suggestions as to how to bring about teaching the graphic novel into the classroom and how to have it approved by the principle, fellow teachers, and parents since the graphic novel is still fairly new and may not be easy to convince others of its benefits. I realize that if i plan on trying to incorporate the graphic novel somehow next semester while student teaching I have a lot of research and reading ahead of me. I'm familiar with the comic book and have read a few myself by the graphic novel is an entire new playing field.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Teen Ink...
Teen Ink is one of the sites mentioned in one of the readings for our class. I've decided to explore the site in more depth to find out what all it has to offer and to see if it could work in an English classroom. The basics of the site are students publish to the site and can review other students' writing.
On benefit that I discovered just from browsing the home screen of the website http://teenink.com/ is that the site is not just a site, rather it is a magazine. This is especially good to know for the schools that do not have computers to for students to use. If a teacher decided to have students analyze other students' work that are not in the class the teacher can subscribe to the magazine. In addition, teen ink also has books of published works that can be purchased and used in the classroom as a way for teens to read for enjoyment or analyzed. Work written by teens and read by teens is more likely going to draw students into because they can relate to one another.
Written work by students are put into genres and when published on the site are reviewed for a chance to be published into their weekly magazine. Other contests include magazine art as well as numerous other contests.
The only downfall to using this site is that teachers or adults do not have full access to the site unlike students who join. But it is still a good source to keep in mind when trying to inspire teens to write and I would still recommend the site to any student who enjoys to write. Knowing about the possibility of being published in a magazine might help them become more aware of their writing.
On benefit that I discovered just from browsing the home screen of the website http://teenink.com/ is that the site is not just a site, rather it is a magazine. This is especially good to know for the schools that do not have computers to for students to use. If a teacher decided to have students analyze other students' work that are not in the class the teacher can subscribe to the magazine. In addition, teen ink also has books of published works that can be purchased and used in the classroom as a way for teens to read for enjoyment or analyzed. Work written by teens and read by teens is more likely going to draw students into because they can relate to one another.Written work by students are put into genres and when published on the site are reviewed for a chance to be published into their weekly magazine. Other contests include magazine art as well as numerous other contests.
The only downfall to using this site is that teachers or adults do not have full access to the site unlike students who join. But it is still a good source to keep in mind when trying to inspire teens to write and I would still recommend the site to any student who enjoys to write. Knowing about the possibility of being published in a magazine might help them become more aware of their writing.
Video Production in an ELA Classroom?
Video production was not very big in my school because the focus of instruction was on the core subjects. Suzanne Miller and Mary McVee as well as multimodal based journals have discussed a way of incorporating video production into the ELA classroom. It is a brilliant way of bringing in what students are familiar with and exposed to on a daily basis and having them use it to produce new understandings to literature. Literature, or at least popular literature seems to have a way of making it onto the big screen in multiple interpretations so why not have student's do the same? Modernizing literature can help to grasp student's attention and best of all, show that they understand at a higher level.
Of course it is not enough to give students the equipment and tell them to have a go at it. They need a bit of background knowledge on filming techniques, angles, storyboards, mood setting, and so on. Studying film and television shows using the technical terms serves as a form of research that is beyond text and will be somewhat enjoyable to the students. Studying or researching however is not enough, students need to learn the building blocks to video production such as writing out scripts and creating a storyboard. A ton of planning goes into the process and incorporates more requirements from the curriculum than what I could imagine.
Miller and McVee discuss the technical terms used in the process of creating a video production in which students can benefit from. Storyboarding seems to play a big part in the production since students must understand the text enough to come up with ways to portray certain moods through music, lighting, acting, and angles. I definitely love this idea and would love to try to implement this in an ELA classroom. There's more to it than meets the eye.
Of course it is not enough to give students the equipment and tell them to have a go at it. They need a bit of background knowledge on filming techniques, angles, storyboards, mood setting, and so on. Studying film and television shows using the technical terms serves as a form of research that is beyond text and will be somewhat enjoyable to the students. Studying or researching however is not enough, students need to learn the building blocks to video production such as writing out scripts and creating a storyboard. A ton of planning goes into the process and incorporates more requirements from the curriculum than what I could imagine.
Miller and McVee discuss the technical terms used in the process of creating a video production in which students can benefit from. Storyboarding seems to play a big part in the production since students must understand the text enough to come up with ways to portray certain moods through music, lighting, acting, and angles. I definitely love this idea and would love to try to implement this in an ELA classroom. There's more to it than meets the eye.
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