All comics by dawnethelibrarian1

 

Introducing comics in the classroom by dawnethelibrarian1 11-22-09
A few hours after a teacher discovers his students are having difficulty developing their inferencing skils... I don't know what to do, my students thinking is so shallow. They cannot make inferences, they are not visualizing. Have you tried using Calvin & Hobbes to help you?Kids are naturally using their inferencing skills without even realizing it as they read comics	No, I would not consider using such childish resources in my classroom I understand your skepticism, however if you think about what your brain needs to do to figure out what is going on in a cartoon, I see real potential in using cartoons in our classrooms.	Using cartoons would likely cause a lot of silliness and the students would just be reading the cartoons. Exactly, they would be reading them as most students like cartoons. They would be engaged with what they are reading. Our job is to come up with ways to help them explain their understanding.

 

Using Comics in the classroom Part 2 by dawnethelibrarian1 11-24-09
To help Mr. M., I need some help from the Multiple Literacy Team, where is Visual Literacy Man when I need him.	Waiting to be summoned from Multiple Literacy Land Do I hear the call of a teacher in need of some visual literacy help...	Oh there you are Visual Literacy Man! Could you take this cartoon and set of questions to Mr. M. and try to convince him to use them with his students, they are having trouble making inferences. Yes, this should certainly help, his students will enjoy this Calvin and Hobbes script and they he will be impressed with how much they are inferencing as they are reading .

 

Using comics in the classroom Part 3 by dawnethelibrarian1 11-24-09
Do not be alarmed! I am Visual Literacy Man and I have been sent to help you by your teacher-librarian, I have something that could help you and your students Oh no, is this about using comics. Don't tell me, some weird idea delivered by some weird person!	Yes, I know this may seem odd, however as teachers we must be willing to give anything a try. Let your mind be open to my Visual Literacy powers, they will help you feel comfortable trying new ideas. I am not so sure...	After a few moments of recieving positive visual literacy energy Here take this cartoon and try it with your students... Yes, sure that sounds like a great idea. Our school is lucky to have such a great librarian with such 'super' friends.

 

Conclusion - Using comics in the classroom by dawnethelibrarian1 11-24-09
The next day after Mr. M. has tried using the comics in his classroom. I cannot thank you enough for sending that comic along to me. Your welcome, it wasn't just me though, you were just open to trying a new way of supporting your students	You were right. As we started to look at the comic, we started to discuss what background knowledge we needed to have and what assumptions or inferences we made in our minds to make the cartoon funny. Exactly, I bet you were surprised how much can come from a seemingly simple medium.	Yes, I was really surprised as I started to think about what my own brain needed to do in order to make this little comic strip page meaningful. I am very happy you had a successful experience. Don't forget, there are many more ways we can work together to create engaging learning opportunities for your students.

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