The Best Graphic Novels For Young Scientists And Thinkers ▬ Big Think

The Best Graphic Novels For Young Scientists And Thinkers
The visual languages of comics and graphic novels are great exercise for developing brains.

Graphic Novels

Big Think: 5.01.2020 by Andrew Lasane

➧ In addition to being fun, studies have shown that the visual language of graphic novels stimulates the brain in ways that complex text can.

➧ For some readers, information is easier to process through images than it is through text alone.

➧ These graphic novels are great for getting young readers into philosophy, technology, and other scientific narratives.

If you're not on the graphic novel train by now, you're missing out. In addition to being a pathway to reading for those who see big groups of text as daunting or inherently boring, studies have shown that the visual language of comics and graphic novels is good for the brain.

In a 2019 paper titled "Visual narratives and the mind: Comprehension, cognition, and learning," assistant professor at Tilburg University and comics theorist Neil Cohn writes that because narrative sequential images are often used in things like children's books and storyboards, it has led to the "general belief that visual narratives are transparent to understand, requiring little learning beyond basic cognition like perceptual and event processing, sequential reasoning, and theory of mind." Cohn says that there is a growing field of psychological research that has shown that this is not true.

Humans are *60,000 times faster at processing images than we are at processing text, and combining the two stimulates the brain in meaningful ways.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas
by Jim Ottaviani

Mysteries of the Quantum Universe
by Thibault Damour and Mathieu Burniat

Hawking
by Jim Ottaviani

Hedy Lamarr and a Secret Communication System
by Trina Robbins

T-Minus: The Race to the Moon
by Jim Ottaviani

Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb
by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

Logicomix: An epic search for truth
by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou

Neurocomic: A Comic About the Brain
by Dr. Hana Roš

Heretics!: The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy
by Steven and Ben Nadler

READ MORE ➤➤

 

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 15

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

 

* Debunked: 10 Common Myths About Our Visual Brains [Infographic]

Visme: 3.17.2017 by Samantha Lile

8.  People process images 60,000 times faster than text.

The “fact” has been used by countless digital marketers and visual storytellers over the past 30 years. It’s so pervasive, in fact, that no one bothers to research its original source. That is, until blogger Alan Levine made it his mission to discover the truth.

What Science Can’t Explain About Reading ▬ Medium.com

What Science Can’t Explain About Reading
It exercises the brain and brings a lot of joy to people, but how are we wired to respond?

Science of Reading

Medium.com: 11.29.2020 by EveryLibrary

It may come as a surprise to many who are naturally used to reading books, labels, road signs, etc. on a daily basis that reading is not a natural occurrence our brains are wired to know. In fact, our brains are designed for talking and not reading, which is why it takes extra effort to learn how. Those who are not exposed to reading techniques at a young age can struggle as they get older which is why schools are so focused on closing the gap and teaching students how to read proficiently early on.

Everyone has the potential to learn how to read regardless of background, especially if their instruction is based on science and prevention of reading failure rather than the experiences of the teacher. This way, students are less likely to fall behind in their reading and learning and will develop the literacy skills that become important for their futures.

What Is the Science of Reading?

The science behind reading has been debated and researched by experts for over two decades. It is based on the knowledge of reading experts and cognitive scientists who have studied how humans learn to read and how this is developed over time. This evidence-based research on reading strategies has made its way into the curriculum and, in some states, are even required to be implemented by law to ensure that schools are doing what they need to ensure students are learning effective reading skills. For example, elementary education license holders may need to show proficiency in scientific reading instruction and school districts may need to provide continuous training in evidence-based reading and curriculum evaluations to prove that the content is effective.

How We Learn to Read

There are multiple aspects that contribute to how we learn to read and multiple approaches that researchers have used to explain the learning process. Reading skills develop from a very young age and building blocks needed to grow these skills affect how children read later on. This is why it is so important that educators have solid foundations in teaching reading abilities.

Factors that play into how we learn to read include developing awareness of phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary skills, and reading comprehension. A major approach that has been used to explain the science behind reading includes the phonics approach.

➤ Reading Through Phonics
➤ Beyond Phonics
➤ Reading Failure
➤ Benefits of Reading
➤ Using Your Public Library to Read

READ MORE ➤➤

 

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

Science Comic Series is Fun Reading via Getting Smart

Science Comic Series is Fun Reading

Getting Smart: 6.26.2019 by Winifred Kehl

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of nonfiction comics and graphic novels, especially ones about science.

In the past few years there’s been a small but steady stream of new titles available, and late last year *First Second press announced a new series for kids called, appropriately, Science Comics.

Each volume covers one topic; the first two titles available are Dinosaurs: Fossils and Feathers (by MK Reed and Joe Flood) and Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean (by Maris Wicks).

Aimed at kids ages eight and up, both Dinosaurs and Coral Reefs are gorgeously illustrated and maintain a light-hearted and approachable voice of narration.

Content ranges from the basic (such as the basics of the water cycle) to the complex (like taxonomy of species and the chemistry of ocean acidification).  READ MORE >>

Science Comics

*Macmillan

Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic – dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you’re a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty year old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

Bats: Learning to Fly - Falynn Koch

Cars: Engines That Move You - Dan Zettwoch

Cats: Nature and Nurture - Andy Hirsch

Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean - Maris Wicks

Crows: Genius Birds - Kyla Vanderklugt

Dinosaurs: Fossils and Feathers - M.K. Reed

Dogs: From Predator to Protector - Andy Hirsch

Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared - Molly Brooks, Alison Wilgus

Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield - Falynn Koch

Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice - Jason Viola

Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future - Mairghread Scott

Rockets: Defying Gravity - Anne Drozd, Jerzy Drozd

Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunter - Joe Flood

Skyscrapers: The Heights of Engineering - John Kerschbaum

Solar System: Our Place in Space - Rosemary Mosco, Jon Chad

The Brain: The Ultimate Thinking Machine - Tory Woollcott

Trees: Kings of the Forest - Andy Hirsch

Volcanoes: Fire and Life - Jon Chad

Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate - Jonathan Hill, M.K. Reed