Today’s Monday Motivator post was written by Jason D. DeHart. Jason taught middle grades English for eight years, worked at the university level from 2015 to 2022, and is currently a high school English teacher. He is a passionate advocate for including a wide range of representations in classroom libraries, including authors and characters, but also including types of texts. In this post, DeHart looks at the possibilities for linking short visual research assignments to nonfiction young adult texts, as well as specific topics within some fiction texts for extension.
One of the go-to strategies that I think about as a first step in literacy for readers, regardless of age, is using visuals along with words to build connections. When I find a new graphic novel text, I think about helping readers see their stories as important – indeed, vital – to the world of ideas. It is my goal to help students realize that their experiences are worthy, and that there are a range of ways to share their ideas.
Additional Note: I am co-authoring the introduction with my first block class of the Spring 2024 year to share some ideas for ways to effectively use texts like graphic novels. (I also recommend this work of co-authoring with classes as a Monday Morning strategy for the brave and those who are willing to write on the spot).
For this post, I am centering the graphic novel The Effects of Pickled Herring by Alex Schumacher. The book focuses on twelve-year-old Micah Gadsky as he prepares for his B’nai Mitzvah with his sister, Alana. The book is a coming-of-age story rendered in colorful cartoon format, and features a glossary of vocabulary words for readers who might not be familiar with the Jewish culture presented in the text.
Annotations and Initial Thinking
I love what interacting with a text opens up for readers, but the comics page can be a bit busy for those who have not encountered it before. Readers might also hesitate to mark up the aesthetic picture-scape of a graphic novel page – and perhaps rightly so.
I recommend a small number of annotations rather than a time-consuming mini-lesson on the many marks students can make on the page, and I recommend sticky notes or reader notebooks for this interaction. As a reader, I often use two to three marks, including underlining and question marks, to respond to the page. This implementation of a small number of possibilities for responses can be quick-on-the-go work. By annotating, students can take close notice of what is on the page and add their inferences and thinking as they go.
A page or panel (narrative box) that features only responses and images can be a ripe place for adding notes and questions, including inferences, as is the case with page 116 – the two main characters in the graphic novel are sharing a meal and burst into laughter as a callback to dialogue on a previous page.
Prediction Points
As with many examples of literature, there are possibilities for thinking about ways to set up thinking about what is ahead in the narrative. Like Jerry Craft’s New Kid, The Effects of Pickled Herring features full page introductions to mark chapters. By discussing the names of chapters, as well as the typography used to introduce them, readers can make educated guess about the unfolding story to come.
Working at a symbolic level, the seasonal nature of the chapters can also help readers tap into the mood that might be part of each chapter or section as seasons are changing. Students can trace the movement of the story and look for these seasonal markers (I am always nervous when I encounter winter as a season in the story). The symbolic can be explored through text and images in cases like this, including the ways colors and character design/illustration can indicate emotions.
Using sticky notes with the text is also a way of marking spots in the text that might indicate a motif or moment that seems significant and potentially impactful.
With Schumacher’s book, questions might include:
Prose Responses and Character Creations
Attending to the creative, students can use examples like this graphic novel to think about how characters are designed visually – linking to concepts like aptronyms and physiognomy. Students can illustrate characters based on what they would expect and descriptions from other characters and the narrator in a text.
Readers of the graphic novel will discover one of my favorite text features in comics – the reveal that aspects of the story are based on the author’s lived experiences. This feature is a natural lead-in to exploring the kinds of storytelling that are possible in comics, from the realistic and grounded to the otherworldly.
As with all strategies and ideas, these approaches can (and should) be changed in any way, including trying them out with different types of texts. Annotations for video and musical/sonic texts could lead to interesting and creative possibilities, especially when using tools that allow for students to pause and comment.
I conclude with some additional recommended graphic novel texts.
More Recommended Texts
Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado | Published by First Second
Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by James W. Loewen and Nate | Published by The New Press
Youth Group by Jordan Morris and Bowen McCurdy | Published by First Second
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham | Published by First Second
Additional Note: I am co-authoring the introduction with my first block class of the Spring 2024 year to share some ideas for ways to effectively use texts like graphic novels. (I also recommend this work of co-authoring with classes as a Monday Morning strategy for the brave and those who are willing to write on the spot).
For this post, I am centering the graphic novel The Effects of Pickled Herring by Alex Schumacher. The book focuses on twelve-year-old Micah Gadsky as he prepares for his B’nai Mitzvah with his sister, Alana. The book is a coming-of-age story rendered in colorful cartoon format, and features a glossary of vocabulary words for readers who might not be familiar with the Jewish culture presented in the text.
Annotations and Initial Thinking
I love what interacting with a text opens up for readers, but the comics page can be a bit busy for those who have not encountered it before. Readers might also hesitate to mark up the aesthetic picture-scape of a graphic novel page – and perhaps rightly so.
I recommend a small number of annotations rather than a time-consuming mini-lesson on the many marks students can make on the page, and I recommend sticky notes or reader notebooks for this interaction. As a reader, I often use two to three marks, including underlining and question marks, to respond to the page. This implementation of a small number of possibilities for responses can be quick-on-the-go work. By annotating, students can take close notice of what is on the page and add their inferences and thinking as they go.
A page or panel (narrative box) that features only responses and images can be a ripe place for adding notes and questions, including inferences, as is the case with page 116 – the two main characters in the graphic novel are sharing a meal and burst into laughter as a callback to dialogue on a previous page.
Prediction Points
As with many examples of literature, there are possibilities for thinking about ways to set up thinking about what is ahead in the narrative. Like Jerry Craft’s New Kid, The Effects of Pickled Herring features full page introductions to mark chapters. By discussing the names of chapters, as well as the typography used to introduce them, readers can make educated guess about the unfolding story to come.
Working at a symbolic level, the seasonal nature of the chapters can also help readers tap into the mood that might be part of each chapter or section as seasons are changing. Students can trace the movement of the story and look for these seasonal markers (I am always nervous when I encounter winter as a season in the story). The symbolic can be explored through text and images in cases like this, including the ways colors and character design/illustration can indicate emotions.
Using sticky notes with the text is also a way of marking spots in the text that might indicate a motif or moment that seems significant and potentially impactful.
With Schumacher’s book, questions might include:
- Why did the author choose to use two floating word bubbles above a half-page image on page 19?
- What do you notice about the use of language and words at the top of page 21 and what effect does this create for the story?
- What might the character be feeling who is split into three panels on page 23?
- Why are the pages in black and white and why is the art so different on pages 45-49?
Prose Responses and Character Creations
Attending to the creative, students can use examples like this graphic novel to think about how characters are designed visually – linking to concepts like aptronyms and physiognomy. Students can illustrate characters based on what they would expect and descriptions from other characters and the narrator in a text.
Readers of the graphic novel will discover one of my favorite text features in comics – the reveal that aspects of the story are based on the author’s lived experiences. This feature is a natural lead-in to exploring the kinds of storytelling that are possible in comics, from the realistic and grounded to the otherworldly.
As with all strategies and ideas, these approaches can (and should) be changed in any way, including trying them out with different types of texts. Annotations for video and musical/sonic texts could lead to interesting and creative possibilities, especially when using tools that allow for students to pause and comment.
I conclude with some additional recommended graphic novel texts.
More Recommended Texts
Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado | Published by First Second
- An exploration of identity focused on a young Colombian American teen who is grappling with love along with issues of citizenship. The book includes some mystical and fantasy elements. (You can hear an interview I did with the author here).
Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by James W. Loewen and Nate | Published by The New Press
- A visual adaptation of the 1990s text that has served as a learning point for many students interested in investigating the nuances and injustices of history.
Youth Group by Jordan Morris and Bowen McCurdy | Published by First Second
- A comedic and satirical look at what happens when a church youth group turns out to be a secret army of demon hunters.
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham | Published by First Second
- A visual depiction in graphic novel memoir form of a young Vietnamese boy traveling from place to place and making memories through foods.
RSS Feed