School starts in one week. Time to get cracking on the ol' syllabus. Here's what I've got so far.
Requirements: Over the course of the semester, you will be required to:
*Listen and take notes during lectures
*Participate in group discussions
*Demonstrate an understanding of material covered by taking quizzes and tests
*Write multiple analyses of shorter comics works
*Read multiple graphic novels, such as Persepolis
*Write a literary analysis of a major graphic novel
*Research a significant American comic book writer, comic book artist, or cartoonist, evaluate his/her strengths and weaknesses, and present your findings to the class
Structure: This course is divided into four units:
What is Comics? (weeks 1 – 3)
*Comics vocabulary
*Understanding Comics chapters 1-4
*The early history of American comics (newspaper comic strips, early comic books)
*Analyzing short comics
Reading Pictures (weeks 4 – 6)
*Understanding Comics chapters 5-9
*The continuing history of American comics (comic books to graphic novels)
*Comparing and contrasting different art styles
*Analyzing & evaluating longer comics
Mastering Graphic Novels (weeks 7 – 15)
*Read significant graphic novels, discuss, analyze
*Write a literary analysis of a major graphic novel
*Begin research project on a significant American comic book writer, artist, or cartoonist
Evaluating Graphic Narratives (weeks 16 – 18)
*Finish research project
*Use findings from research project to give a presentation to the class
*Semester exam
So, what did I miss?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Books & Books & Books!
Yesterday when I mentioned a step we were taking toward getting Creative Reading class approved, I wrote, "I have no idea if this is just a tiny formality, or the End of the Dream, but hopefully I'll find out soon." A few hours after that I got an email reassuring me that it was just a formality. So that's good, though I'll be happier once we get officially approved.
Anyway! As part of the approval process, I put together a list of texts for the class. Check it out and let me know what you think--what did I leave out? What should I have left out? What frightens and confuses you? Let me know in the comments!
Textbook
We will read, discuss, and frequently refer back to:
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
Graphic Novels
We will read at least two of the following in their entirety:
Maus, by Art Spiegelman
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
American Born Chinese, by Gene Yang
Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Batman Year One, by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli
Supplemental Reading
We will read excerpts from the following:
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, edited by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams
The Smithsonian Collection of Comic Book Comics, edited by Michael Barrier and Martin Williams
Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier
The Great Women Cartoonists, by Trina Robbins
I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! The Comics of Fletcher Hanks, edited by Paul Karasik
A Contract With God, by Will Eisner
The Portable Frank, by Jim Woodring
Paul Auster’s City of Class, adapted by Paul Karasik and David Mazzuchelli
Little Nemo in Slumberland, by Winsor McCay
Krazy Kat, by George Herriman
Peanuts, by Charles Schulz
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats”, by Neil Gaiman and Kelley Jones
“This Man, This Monster!”, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
“The Girl in Superman’s Past!”, by Bill Finger and Wayne Boring
Anyway! As part of the approval process, I put together a list of texts for the class. Check it out and let me know what you think--what did I leave out? What should I have left out? What frightens and confuses you? Let me know in the comments!
Textbook
We will read, discuss, and frequently refer back to:
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
Graphic Novels
We will read at least two of the following in their entirety:
Maus, by Art Spiegelman
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
American Born Chinese, by Gene Yang
Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Batman Year One, by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli
Supplemental Reading
We will read excerpts from the following:
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, edited by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams
The Smithsonian Collection of Comic Book Comics, edited by Michael Barrier and Martin Williams
Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier
The Great Women Cartoonists, by Trina Robbins
I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! The Comics of Fletcher Hanks, edited by Paul Karasik
A Contract With God, by Will Eisner
The Portable Frank, by Jim Woodring
Paul Auster’s City of Class, adapted by Paul Karasik and David Mazzuchelli
Little Nemo in Slumberland, by Winsor McCay
Krazy Kat, by George Herriman
Peanuts, by Charles Schulz
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats”, by Neil Gaiman and Kelley Jones
“This Man, This Monster!”, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
“The Girl in Superman’s Past!”, by Bill Finger and Wayne Boring
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Mission Statement
For today's blog post I was planning on writing some kind of manifesto on what I want to achieve with this class. The good news is, I got an opportunity to write that manifesto.
The bad news is, I got an email this morning telling me I needed to fill out a form so that we could get the Creative Reading class approved. The bad thing about this is, I thought the class already was approved. If I'd known there was still a question as to whether it was going to happen, I wouldn't have put as much time into planning it, and I certainly wouldn't have created a blog about it. But here were are.
For the record, I'm not criticizing any of the people I work with--when that colleague of mine originally told me this class was happening, she genuinely thought everything had been approved and we were good to go. And it looked like we were, until we rammed into another layer of bureaucracy. I have no idea if this is just a tiny formality, or the End of the Dream, but hopefully I'll find out soon. In the meantime, here's what I spent this morning working on: a justification for why this class should exist.
Creative Reading is a one-semester course that focuses on reading, analyzing, and researching graphic novels.
According to Reading Process benchmark 2, English students need to “Answer literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.” It is important for students to “read” a variety of media. In a traditional Language Arts class we study print texts, and sometimes movies, but there is seldom time for students to read and analyze other visual media, such as comics and graphic novels.
Comics—which Scott McCloud defines as “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer”— is just as valid a medium of expression as print, film, painting, or drama. But because of the accidents of history, comics have not been given the same respect as other art forms in this country. Since Art Spiegelman’s Maus won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, however, comics—or “graphic novels,” as longer form comics are known—have won considerable literary and social credibility. For example, in 2005, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s graphic novel Watchmen was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best English Language Novels, alongside such classics as The Great Gatsby and The Sound and the Fury.
Reading comprehension and analysis skills can be practiced with any text. It is up to the teacher to choose quality texts that can simultaneously engage the students’ attention and challenge them. Graphic novels work well for both. In recent years there has been a string of blockbuster movies based on comic books. I have found that discussing comic book-related topics is a way to engage the students. Many students who dismiss reading as “boring” nonetheless find comics interesting. Graphic novels often interest reluctant readers. A rich and intelligent graphic novel, then, is a powerful tool for engaging students and then pushing them to develop deeper analytical abilities.
Last year I loaned a fellow teacher my copy of Gene Yang’s award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese. A few days later she told me that she found herself reading the words and skipping over the pictures. Even though she was a highly-trained, experienced, intelligent teacher, she did not know how to read comics. Creative Reading class will train students in comics literacy, teaching them to read not just the words but the pictures. Reading comics requires a different way of reading, a different way of thinking, that forces students to expand their minds as they interpret visual stimuli. Armed with these skills, students will be able to view and interpret the world around them in new ways.
Our students are constantly barraged with information. Advertisers, politicians, and TV networks try to manipulate them with words and pictures. We need to prepare our students to make sense of the texts, both written and visual, that surround them. Learning to interpret visual texts is a valuable step in developing critical thinking skills and becoming an informed, engaged citizen of the 21st century.
This course, then, offers students an engaging curriculum; exposure to literary works they probably would not have read otherwise; an appreciation of a culturally-relevant American art form; a new set of reading skills; a deepening of students’ existing reading comprehension, analysis, and research skills; and increased critical thinking abilities, which can be applied to any other discipline. Creative Reading is a one-semester course that focuses on reading, analyzing, and researching graphic novels.
The bad news is, I got an email this morning telling me I needed to fill out a form so that we could get the Creative Reading class approved. The bad thing about this is, I thought the class already was approved. If I'd known there was still a question as to whether it was going to happen, I wouldn't have put as much time into planning it, and I certainly wouldn't have created a blog about it. But here were are.
For the record, I'm not criticizing any of the people I work with--when that colleague of mine originally told me this class was happening, she genuinely thought everything had been approved and we were good to go. And it looked like we were, until we rammed into another layer of bureaucracy. I have no idea if this is just a tiny formality, or the End of the Dream, but hopefully I'll find out soon. In the meantime, here's what I spent this morning working on: a justification for why this class should exist.
Creative Reading is a one-semester course that focuses on reading, analyzing, and researching graphic novels.
According to Reading Process benchmark 2, English students need to “Answer literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media.” It is important for students to “read” a variety of media. In a traditional Language Arts class we study print texts, and sometimes movies, but there is seldom time for students to read and analyze other visual media, such as comics and graphic novels.
Comics—which Scott McCloud defines as “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer”— is just as valid a medium of expression as print, film, painting, or drama. But because of the accidents of history, comics have not been given the same respect as other art forms in this country. Since Art Spiegelman’s Maus won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, however, comics—or “graphic novels,” as longer form comics are known—have won considerable literary and social credibility. For example, in 2005, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s graphic novel Watchmen was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best English Language Novels, alongside such classics as The Great Gatsby and The Sound and the Fury.
Reading comprehension and analysis skills can be practiced with any text. It is up to the teacher to choose quality texts that can simultaneously engage the students’ attention and challenge them. Graphic novels work well for both. In recent years there has been a string of blockbuster movies based on comic books. I have found that discussing comic book-related topics is a way to engage the students. Many students who dismiss reading as “boring” nonetheless find comics interesting. Graphic novels often interest reluctant readers. A rich and intelligent graphic novel, then, is a powerful tool for engaging students and then pushing them to develop deeper analytical abilities.
Last year I loaned a fellow teacher my copy of Gene Yang’s award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese. A few days later she told me that she found herself reading the words and skipping over the pictures. Even though she was a highly-trained, experienced, intelligent teacher, she did not know how to read comics. Creative Reading class will train students in comics literacy, teaching them to read not just the words but the pictures. Reading comics requires a different way of reading, a different way of thinking, that forces students to expand their minds as they interpret visual stimuli. Armed with these skills, students will be able to view and interpret the world around them in new ways.
Our students are constantly barraged with information. Advertisers, politicians, and TV networks try to manipulate them with words and pictures. We need to prepare our students to make sense of the texts, both written and visual, that surround them. Learning to interpret visual texts is a valuable step in developing critical thinking skills and becoming an informed, engaged citizen of the 21st century.
This course, then, offers students an engaging curriculum; exposure to literary works they probably would not have read otherwise; an appreciation of a culturally-relevant American art form; a new set of reading skills; a deepening of students’ existing reading comprehension, analysis, and research skills; and increased critical thinking abilities, which can be applied to any other discipline. Creative Reading is a one-semester course that focuses on reading, analyzing, and researching graphic novels.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
My Secret Origin
When I was in first grade I got my first comic book, an Archie Christian comic, which I enjoyed at the time even though it was completely terrible. This tells me that I was predisposed to like comics no matter what. Soon after I got my first super-hero comic, Batman #340. There’s nothing special about this comic, but, you know, it’s Batman. What impressionable child doesn’t love Batman?
Later that year my family went to Philadelphia so my father could attend a library convention. Every night we would go to the 7-11, and my parents would buy me one comic book (they were only 60 cents each). I can remember which ones I got--an Archie, an issue of The Defenders, and an issue of Marvel Team-Up that featured Spider-Man and the Human Torch fighting Speed Demon. Those comics are vivid in my memory, much clearer to me than any other part of my first grade year.
I tagged along with my parents or my grandmother on every trip to Food Fair, or Begley's Drugs, or the gas station, then begged whoever I was with to buy me a comic book. I built up quite a collection, for someone with no disposable income. My great aunt thought the comic books were silly, a waste of time. Fortunately for me, my mother did not share this opinion. She believed that comics promoted literacy. And they do. Comic books teach you that reading is fun. They feed your imagination. They even provide SAT prep, by teaching you vocabulary words like "omnipotent" and "inexorable."
In retrospect, I am amazed by how much my parents encouraged me to read whatever I wanted. I mentioned earlier that in Philadelphia I got an issue of The Defenders. That issue focused on a character called Hellcat, who had learned that she was the daughter of Satan. The story consisted of her traveling through Hell, talking to her father. I remember lying on the hotel floor, trying to puzzle this out—I was only six, remember. I asked, "What does S-A-T-A-N spell?" Without pausing my mother said, "Satan." Growing up in the Bible Belt, I would come to know plenty of kids whose parents forbade them to read certain books, or play certain games, or watch certain movies, because of imagined demonic overtones. This was the 80’s, when televangelists could find pagan symbolism in My Little Pony cartoons. But I, at age six, could read a story that actually featured Satan as a character, and my parents didn't freak out. I will always be grateful for that.
Later that year my family went to Philadelphia so my father could attend a library convention. Every night we would go to the 7-11, and my parents would buy me one comic book (they were only 60 cents each). I can remember which ones I got--an Archie, an issue of The Defenders, and an issue of Marvel Team-Up that featured Spider-Man and the Human Torch fighting Speed Demon. Those comics are vivid in my memory, much clearer to me than any other part of my first grade year.
I tagged along with my parents or my grandmother on every trip to Food Fair, or Begley's Drugs, or the gas station, then begged whoever I was with to buy me a comic book. I built up quite a collection, for someone with no disposable income. My great aunt thought the comic books were silly, a waste of time. Fortunately for me, my mother did not share this opinion. She believed that comics promoted literacy. And they do. Comic books teach you that reading is fun. They feed your imagination. They even provide SAT prep, by teaching you vocabulary words like "omnipotent" and "inexorable."
In retrospect, I am amazed by how much my parents encouraged me to read whatever I wanted. I mentioned earlier that in Philadelphia I got an issue of The Defenders. That issue focused on a character called Hellcat, who had learned that she was the daughter of Satan. The story consisted of her traveling through Hell, talking to her father. I remember lying on the hotel floor, trying to puzzle this out—I was only six, remember. I asked, "What does S-A-T-A-N spell?" Without pausing my mother said, "Satan." Growing up in the Bible Belt, I would come to know plenty of kids whose parents forbade them to read certain books, or play certain games, or watch certain movies, because of imagined demonic overtones. This was the 80’s, when televangelists could find pagan symbolism in My Little Pony cartoons. But I, at age six, could read a story that actually featured Satan as a character, and my parents didn't freak out. I will always be grateful for that.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Step Three: Profit!
Nothing new to report about textbooks, so let's look at my first few steps in planning this class.
Step One! After I got the email confirming that I would be teaching a class about comics I got excited and started pulling books off the shelf. “They need to read Jim Woodring!” I said. “And I’ll need some examples of early comic strip art. And it wouldn't be a comics class without Jack Kirby. And Will Eisner. And . . ." And in a few minutes I had a huge pile of books sitting on my floor.
More books than I could realistically work with. Also, I had a tower that would make an extremely tempting target, and a toddler who would be home any minute. So after I took a picture, to document my progress, I put the books back on the shelf. Step One: Not a huge success.
Step Two! Choose a textbook. Step Two was easy--if you need a textbook for a comics class, you turn to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. I got a copy of Understanding Comics back when it first came out in 1993, and it opened my young mind to the infinite potential of the comics medium. Until last week I hadn’t read it in years. When I cracked it open again, I was pleased to learn that it actually is as good as I remember. McCloud takes full advantage of the comics medium to explain his ideas visually--the sequence with the pitcher, for instance, explains the relationship between form and content in a clear and intuitive way.
Now we're getting to some actual lesson planning. Assuming I can get the students copies of Understanding Comics, we can start at the beginning. Chapter 1 is all about finding a definition of comics. McCloud arrives at “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.” McCloud explains some of those words, but he never defines "aesthetic." I don’t think many of my students will know that one, so I'll need to create a list of vocabulary words. From Chapter 1 I'm thinking aesthetic, form, content, medium, genre, juxtaposed, static, and deliberate.
Chapter 1 also goes into the history of comics. McCloud goes very big picture, focusing on ancient stuff like Egyptian art and the Bayeaux Tapestry. I get what he’s doing—he’s reclaiming comics’ forgotten history, showing that the artform has been around for a long time. But when he gets to the beginning of conventional comics history, the dawn of the newspaper comic strip, he glosses over it. I want to show students some classic newspaper comics, though, so I’ll need to supplement McCloud with other resources. It's time to pull the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics off the shelf. And some Little Nemo, and Krazy Kat, and, what do you know, we're back at Step One.
Step One! After I got the email confirming that I would be teaching a class about comics I got excited and started pulling books off the shelf. “They need to read Jim Woodring!” I said. “And I’ll need some examples of early comic strip art. And it wouldn't be a comics class without Jack Kirby. And Will Eisner. And . . ." And in a few minutes I had a huge pile of books sitting on my floor.
Step Two! Choose a textbook. Step Two was easy--if you need a textbook for a comics class, you turn to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. I got a copy of Understanding Comics back when it first came out in 1993, and it opened my young mind to the infinite potential of the comics medium. Until last week I hadn’t read it in years. When I cracked it open again, I was pleased to learn that it actually is as good as I remember. McCloud takes full advantage of the comics medium to explain his ideas visually--the sequence with the pitcher, for instance, explains the relationship between form and content in a clear and intuitive way.
Now we're getting to some actual lesson planning. Assuming I can get the students copies of Understanding Comics, we can start at the beginning. Chapter 1 is all about finding a definition of comics. McCloud arrives at “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.” McCloud explains some of those words, but he never defines "aesthetic." I don’t think many of my students will know that one, so I'll need to create a list of vocabulary words. From Chapter 1 I'm thinking aesthetic, form, content, medium, genre, juxtaposed, static, and deliberate.
Chapter 1 also goes into the history of comics. McCloud goes very big picture, focusing on ancient stuff like Egyptian art and the Bayeaux Tapestry. I get what he’s doing—he’s reclaiming comics’ forgotten history, showing that the artform has been around for a long time. But when he gets to the beginning of conventional comics history, the dawn of the newspaper comic strip, he glosses over it. I want to show students some classic newspaper comics, though, so I’ll need to supplement McCloud with other resources. It's time to pull the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics off the shelf. And some Little Nemo, and Krazy Kat, and, what do you know, we're back at Step One.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Textbooks!
Bad news: I was under the impression that the school had ordered 20-ish copies of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud to use as my main textbook. It turns out that the order was never placed, and now it is very unclear whether I'll be getting those books (I don't know if you've heard, but public schools are not currently rolling in the money.) I still plan on using Understanding Comics, even if I can't get the 20-ish copies, but it's an annoying setback.
I currently have one copy:
Good news: I emailed eight major comics publishers (Pop Quiz! Can YOU name eight American comic book publishers?) asking if they ever donated comics for educational purposes. So far I've gotten two replies, one of which said no, but said it very politely, and the other of which said maybe. I'm optimistic about that second one, and there are still six more publishers to hear from.
I currently have one copy:
Good news: I emailed eight major comics publishers (Pop Quiz! Can YOU name eight American comic book publishers?) asking if they ever donated comics for educational purposes. So far I've gotten two replies, one of which said no, but said it very politely, and the other of which said maybe. I'm optimistic about that second one, and there are still six more publishers to hear from.
GO Comics Class GO!
I’ve been a high school English teacher for 3 years and a comics fan for three decades. Now, at long last, these two worlds have collided.
At the end of last school year they asked me what elective I wanted to teach. I had been teaching Journalism, but it’s a small school, and after a certain point pretty much everyone’s already taken Journalism. I said, “How about History of the American Comic Book?” That was clearly a joke, because that’s a name for a college course, not a high school elective. But instead of laughing they said, “Hmmmm, we’ll see.”
I waited through the summer to hear what my schedule would be for the new year. I tried not to get my hopes up—the minute I assumed I was going to teach comics, I knew I would end up with a class on proper punctuation. But then, on a fateful day in July, I got an email confirming that my fellow English teacher would be teaching Creative Writing, and I would be teaching Creative Reading. Creative Reading, AKA Graphic Novels.
I was immediately thrilled and terrified. Thrilled because, again, dream class, but terrified because I’ve never taught this before, because I don’t want to screw it up, and because I have no idea how to get piles and piles of graphic novels for the students to read.
I’ve still got a couple of weeks to figure out how to score some books, but in the meantime I can get started planning the class. That’s where this blog comes in. I will be recording my thinking process, and hopefully people out there will chime in with suggestions.
In two weeks—two weeks!—class will start, and then I’ll keep a record of how it’s going. My comics class will be your comics class. So let’s get brainstorming.
At the end of last school year they asked me what elective I wanted to teach. I had been teaching Journalism, but it’s a small school, and after a certain point pretty much everyone’s already taken Journalism. I said, “How about History of the American Comic Book?” That was clearly a joke, because that’s a name for a college course, not a high school elective. But instead of laughing they said, “Hmmmm, we’ll see.”
I waited through the summer to hear what my schedule would be for the new year. I tried not to get my hopes up—the minute I assumed I was going to teach comics, I knew I would end up with a class on proper punctuation. But then, on a fateful day in July, I got an email confirming that my fellow English teacher would be teaching Creative Writing, and I would be teaching Creative Reading. Creative Reading, AKA Graphic Novels.
I was immediately thrilled and terrified. Thrilled because, again, dream class, but terrified because I’ve never taught this before, because I don’t want to screw it up, and because I have no idea how to get piles and piles of graphic novels for the students to read.
I’ve still got a couple of weeks to figure out how to score some books, but in the meantime I can get started planning the class. That’s where this blog comes in. I will be recording my thinking process, and hopefully people out there will chime in with suggestions.
In two weeks—two weeks!—class will start, and then I’ll keep a record of how it’s going. My comics class will be your comics class. So let’s get brainstorming.
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