Comics in the Curriculum

In an article titled, More than just funny books: Comics and prose literacy for boys, found on the website Lessons in Learning, the authors share research on boys as reluctant readers and how graphic stories are gaining recognition in education!

Another fantastic thing about this resource is that it is Canadian, so it also discusses other areas of concern for our educators, including the state of eLearning in Canada!

Some years ago, I went to see an exhibit featuring a comic book about the Father of Manitoba, Louis Riel at La Galarie, an art gallery in St. Boniface. It is important to note that this part of the city has strong historical roots in French and Métis culture in Manitoba.

Below is the cover of the intriguing story of a young Métis man, Louis Riel, who advocated for his people's rights and in return was accused of treason.

Image : http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/shopCatalogLong.php?item=a4436b081216cf

Useful Resources

Here are some sites to familiarize yourself with the history of comics and most importantly the layout and structure.

1. Watch this Slideshare presentation by Alison Bailey to understand comic books better. http://www.slideshare.net/thealisonbailey/what-are-comics-building-a-workable-definition
2. Wikipedia provides a definition and lots of examples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_book
3. This site is for the avid comic book lover. http://talkingcomicbooks.com/
4. Follow this blog to learn more about graphic novels for all reading levels. http://www.toon-books.com/blog.html
5. Even Disneyfamily.com discusses the benefits to using comic books as a motivational tool for literacy. http://family.go.com/parenting/pkg-learning/article-62812-pow--using-comic-books-to-get-kids-reading-t/

Now you should be on your way to teach others how to create digital stories using comic book structure!