Introduction
The topic of my unit is Illustrated Insights: Enhancing Comprehension Through Paired Readings. When I first saw the topic of this seminar: Graphic Narratives as Teaching Tools, I was immediately interested in participating in it. Observing my students over the past two years at Rogers Middle School, I have noticed a common trend: the majority of them tend to check out graphic narratives from the library. My own experience with Graphic Novels is limited. My fondest memories involve the Sunday paper when I was little. I would patiently wait until the comics section was handed to me and then get lost in the colored visuals. That was where my own experience ended. I think, in my mind, I grew out of this medium and had progressed into chapter books. After seeing this seminar described in print, I knew it was time for me to revisit this childhood love.
I asked myself what it was about the Sunday comics that drew me to them. I decided that being able to “read” a part of the paper made me feel like a grown-up. I don’t have memories of struggling with reading, feeling overwhelmed, or not understanding what I was looking at. The comics were accessible to me long before my reading ability ever caught up.
Last year, I was teaching in a middle school special education classroom for students with mild disabilities. The majority of my students arrived on the first day of school unable to read and unwilling to consider the fact that reading could be fun. Some were even convinced that the graphic narratives they were checking out didn’t “count” since they weren’t the traditional chapter books that they should now be reading. What a great way to HOOK students’ interest in reading!
In my attempt to create an intrinsic love for reading in my students, I always try and sneak in a few age-appropriate chapter books. It is my observation that in many special education classrooms, the teachers limit their instructional material to a Lexile that the students can interact with. In my current teaching situation, this would mean a classroom full of 12-year-olds reading material created for kindergarteners. For most of my students, the ability to read is the ONLY thing preventing them from having full access to grade-level curriculum. It has always been important to me to address reading challenges while still allowing students to have experiences that only higher-level readings can provide.
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