Introduction to the Graphic Novel as a Pathway to CCSS- Based Close Reading Strategies Presented by Michael Gianfrancesco NEATE Annual Conference Mansfield, MA, October 23, 2014
Graphic Novels in the Classroom: Rationale Young people are more attracted to the interplay between visual and text-based media that graphic novels offer. It s a new and different kind of reading. Graphic novels (nonfiction or teen-tween stories in particular) validate students personal mythologies. Students are already reading graphic novels! It s a medium that belongs to them.
O/I/A: Inspiration Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher two high school teachers at Hoover High School in San Diego, CA Hoover High is one of the poorest and most densely populated schools in San Diego Observed students reading manga (Japanese comics) in school Wanted to tap this resource without co-opting the student s discovery Frey, Nancy and Douglas Fisher. "Using Graphic Novels, Anime, and the Internet in an Urban High School." The English Journal. 19(2004): 19-25.
O/I/A: Obvious, Implied, & Assumed: Understanding Texts Target Audience: Students in a creative writing or English class, students working on personal writing, English language learners, Grades 7-12 Unit of Study: Observational narrative study and writing (assumes narrative writing skills and terminology front loading), building a writing community
O/I/A: Obvious, Implied, & Assumed: Understanding Texts Learning Objectives: 1. Students will make inferences and connections about characters & situations. 2. Students will share and offer thoughtful commentary. 3. Students will complete a formal narrative writing piece. 4. Students will demonstrate their ability to write from a perspective other than their own.
O/I/A: Common Core Connection CCSS (Potential Focus Standards): RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
O/I/A: What is it? OBVIOUS: Details that are spelled out by the author in image or text. Not refutable. IMPLIED: Details that the author does not implicitly state but through other means wants the reader to know. Arguable. ASSUMED: Details that the reader imposes on the text through their own morals and experiences. Not at all the author s direct or indirect intent.
O/I/A: Let s Look We start by modeling short strips before moving on to longer stories Students are to utilize their Writer s Notebooks to respond to an image with initial thoughts. The images chosen should be one of implied meaning, preferably with little or no dialogue/text. Students are to respond to the image, using the O/I/A format
Images Beget Ideas: Let s Look Look at these short strips from Will Eisner s New York: The Big City and consider the following questions with each: Who is/are the person(s) depicted in the strip What can we divine about this/these person/people from the event in the strip? What might the letter contain? Students offer their insight distilled through a direct modeling by the teacher.
Images Beget Ideas: Let s Look II Look at this image from Will Eisner s New York: The Big City and consider the following questions: What does the letter say? To whom is it addressed? Why is the woman struggling with whether or not to mail the letter? Why does the woman decide to destroy the letter rather than send it? Students respond to the image informally in small groups or as a class
Images Beget Ideas: Let s Look III Look at these images, again taken from New York, the Big City. This time, students are encouraged to respond on their O/I/A sheets From their initial O/I/A observations, students move towards writing a full narrative account based on the image and the characters therein.
Student Samples This is Ezekiel Nicolai Smirnoff. He is a Russian immigrant that speaks no English and has never known modern commodities like running water, cooked food, McDonalds, or mailboxes. He has been in America for about a month and a half and does not like it so he wrote a hate letter to the government. He was thinking one day while he was on the way to mail his rent What would happen if I mail that hate letter today? I think I might just do that. ~Joey, Grade 12
Student Samples Mr. Steinbach works a dead-end job working paycheck to paycheck. He pays countless amounts of bills to try to keep his family living the most natural life possible. Being a very unorganized individual, Mr. Steinbach often keeps his bills mixed with his love letters to his girlfriend on the side. One day on his way to the mill, Mr. Steinbach didn t realize he grabbed his entire stack of letters, instead of bills, without sifting through it first. Unknowingly, as he rushed the mail into their envelopes, including a very explicit, cheating love letter into one of the envelopes addressed to his wife s firm. As he glanced in shock at the empty envelope addressed to his side-girlfriend, Mr. Steinbach became enraged. His hand could not fit in the post box s chute, and his kick did not phase the box at all. He slammed his back against the prison that held his sinful letter, and he slid to the pavement. ~Sean, Grade 12
Student Samples Mr. Jones is a mediocre business man, who works for a tax company. One night while Mr. Jones was home lonely and thinking about his sad pathetic life, he decides to go online. While online he goes to a site ohsolonely.com and he puts on an ad for himself. Just a few moments later a woman answers him. As they continue to talk they agree to meet up the next night at a bar down the way from Mr. Jones home. The next night, Mr. Jones is getting ready and he goes to the bar. He waits there for a few hours and leaves in frustration and realizes he has been stood. Furiously he writes a letter to his online girl and plans to send it to her tomorrow. Mr. Jones also wrote a letter to his ex wife who he planned on getting back together with, he also plans to send tomorrow. Waking up to a refreshing start the nest morning, Mr. Jones starts on his way to the mailbox waling with both letters in his jacket pocket. He gets to the mailbox and pulls out the letter to the online girl and drops it in. Suddenly looking at the second letter he realizes he has put his ex-wife s address on both letters and she is going to find out about his lonely distress and going online for another love. As soon as he realizes this he goes back to the mailbox in frantic stressed rage and try s to get the letter out of the box. He doesn t want his ex-wife to know about this girl. Mr. Jones is now mad and depressed and can not figure out what to do! Suddenly down the road Mr. Jones sees the mail man coming to empty
Student Samples Feeling a little relieved. He asked the mail man if he could just give him back the letter so he can switch the two letters. The mailman refuses to switch them sense it is unlawful for him to do so. Mr. Jones is now fighting with man trying to get the letter from him. An officer approaches him and tells him to back off and stop his madness. Now confused and bitter Mr. Jones is standing at the mailbox trying to decide if he should send the second letter, the right letter to his ex-wife. In tired loneliness and exhaustion he finally decides to do so and he walks away, going back home to think about this horrible day. A week goes on and finally he gets a phone call. Mr. Jones answers, scared to hear from the voice on the other end. It was Martha his ex-wife, she called to tell lonely Mr. Jones that she has been feeling the same as he has and she also wants to try their relationship again. They both decide to go out to dinner and forgive one another for their past mistakes. ~Toni Ann, Grade 12
Images Beget Ideas: Other Texts
Where to go from here? It s just as easy now to move in the other direction with students Can move to going from image to text to the opposite: text to image Students now are responsible for the Obvious and Implied and can consider what their audience might assume The concept of episodes
Final Thoughts Lessons on narrative and memoir are conducive to the use of graphica Experimentation with different examples (depending on your audience) is key Considering the ways in which we read literature and artwork (O/I/A) English classroom lends itself to more than just interpreting print text include some graphica!
Open Discussion & Questions Thank You!