Great review from Graphic Novel Reporter

John Hogan recently reviewed Teaching Graphic Novels for Graphic Novel Reporter. Here's a snippet:

"It’s a pretty thorough book that covers all the bases...the real star here is the content, which is exceptional. Dr. Monnin is a trusted authority who has put together an essential book on the use of comics in the classroom."

The Comic Book Project

The Comic Book Project is a program of the Center for Educational Pathways. According to their website, "The Comic Book Project engages children in a creative process leading to literacy reinforcement, social awareness, and character development, then publishes and distributes their work for other children in the community to use as learning and motivational tools."

 

Sounds great! Well, here's some more great news from the center's e-newsletter: 

The results are in! According to an independent study conducted for the US Department of Education, students across Imperial County, California participated in the Comic Book Project and, as a result, demonstrated significant gains in their English language arts performance. After extensive professional development, classroom teachers engaged students in creating and publishing comics in content area subjects ranging from the Civil War to the water cycle. See excerpts from the students' comics and watch a video about the Imperial County project (bottom right of page in videos section--scroll to USA Project-Comic Books). For more about the Comic Book Project, visit the project website.

ING Unsung Heroes

Are you an educator with a class project that is short on funding but long on potential? Do you know a teacher looking for grant dollars? ING Unsung Heroes® could help you turn great ideas into reality for students. Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000. Deadline: April 30, 2010. Imagine being the writer a teacher needs to make a creative project come to life? You could even suggest the
project to a teacher, and offer to write the grant.

Apply for a literacy microgrant from WeAreTeachers

From the WeAreTeachers e-newsletter:

Literacy is the key that unlocks the gates to the kingdom of knowledge. Take 10 minutes to apply and tell us how you can make reading your students' favorite thing. You could win $200 and the choice between a Flip video camera or  iPod nano with video.

Apply by: January 28th

Click here to learn more and apply.

ALA (American Library Association) Awards!!!

Some of our very favorite Toon Books receive American Library Association (ALA) Awards!!!  Congrats Toon Books!!!

MAKE YOUR OWN COMIX!!!

HI EVERYONE!

If you are interested in making your own comix, or having your students make their own comics, please go to this awesome website!, created by Bill Zimmerman, art by Tom Bloom. 

Have fun!!! 

Teach English language learners about the Holocaust and reading strategies with Maus

ReadWriteThink.org has posted a fantastic, free, and complete unit on using Maus by Art Spiegelman to help secondary English language learners develop reading autonomy, comprehension, and an understanding of the Holocaust. The unit is intended to be broken down into fourteen 15-minute lessons for high school students and utilizes the film The Pianist and various Holocaust websites in addition to Maus I and Maus II. Students will make personal connections with the text as they research the Holocaust, World War II, and human rights issues. Much like the lessons in Teaching Graphic Novels, this unit includes all necessary handouts and lists applicable NCTE/IRA standards.

New documentary: Comic Book Literacy

Read this great interview from Diamond Bookshelf with filmmaker Todd Kent about his new documentary, Comic Book Literacy. Creators, fans, publishers, and other industry professionals are interviewed in the film, which discusses the benefits of using comics in education. The comics community is another focus of the film, which aims to showcase the genre in a new light. For more on the documentary, including a trailer, photos, blog, and resources, visit www.ComicBookLiteracy.com.