Graphic Novel Text Sets and Social Justice
Inquiry Projects
ILA:
7.17.2020 by Erik Jacobson
Teachers who are attentive to their students’ reading habits have
picked up on the increasing popularity of graphic novels, and many teachers
have introduced these texts into the classroom. However, those working with
older learners, including adults, sometimes express trepidation about working
with these types of texts because they are concerned that these books might not
be challenging or edifying enough. They are still often dismissed as “just
comics.” Another concern of teachers is knowing what graphic novels to select
for learners to work with. If teachers are not comic book or graphic novel
readers themselves, they can be unsure about where to start.
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1 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in Adult Literacy
Over the last few decades, graphic novels have begun to take their
place in K–12 classrooms alongside more traditional texts. Now there is growing
interest in ways that these texts can be used within the adult literacy
context, too.
2 Graphic Novels as Part of Adults’ Self‐Directed Learning Projects
The very diversity of graphic novels means that teachers and
students should work together to assess when a particular graphic novel might
be a good fit. Graphic novels vary in tone, language, and style of art, so they
may or may not appeal to a given adult literacy learner.
3 Text Sets and Social Justice Inquiry Projects
As an example, the following is a text set of three graphic novels
(one is a three‐book series that is available as a set) that confront white
supremacy in the United States. They vary in terms of time period, but read
together, they raise questions about what the most productive ways to combat
systemic racism are.
Nat
Turner by Kyle Baker begins by portraying the violent enslavement of people
in Africa, moves onto the deadly Middle Passage, and then shifts to the selling
of enslaved people in the United States.
The
March series (books 1–3) by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin focuses on Lewis's
experiences in the Civil Rights movement.
The
Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave's Journey From
Bondage to Freedom by David F. Walker. READ MORE
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Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 13
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 18-19 yrs. old
(college level entry)
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