Carrigan, T. and Viscardi, A. Pictures (and Words) Speak Louder: Using Graphic Novels in the ELL Classroom. TESOL: 26 March 2010.

1. Pictures (and Words) Speak
Louder: Graphic Novels
in the ELL Classroom
TESOL 2010
Tom Carrigan, Library/Media Specialist
Adrienne Viscardi, Coordinator of ESL
Bedford Central School District
Bedford, New York

2. The graphic novel:
Why and how
Curricular value
Classroom application

3. Bedford Central School District,
grades 6-12
8% Identified English Language Learners
21% Hispanic
6% African-American

4. Collaborative Process
ESL Coordinator and Library/Media Specialist
Summer reading and research
Conferences and workshops
Classroom instruction
Faculty book study

5. Comics
Juvenile delinquency
McCarthy hearings
Comics code
“Ghettoization”

6. Comics
Adolescents who read comics
are more likely to become
serious readers
(Krashen, 2004)
Comics appeal to different
cultures
(Cary, 2004)

8. Key Factors in Literacy Development
for Adolescents
Identity
Engagement
Motivation
(Short and Fitzsimmons, 2007)

9. Dilemma in
Adolescent Literacy
Prototypical human practices and conditions
Varied, specialized text structures and
complex literary elements
Inter-textual links to prior knowledge
(Lee and Spratley, 2010)

10. Elements of effective
adolescent literacy programs
Diverse texts
Motivation and self-directed learning
Text-based collaborative learning
Effective instructional principles
embedded in content
Direct, explicit comprehension instruction
(Biancarosa and Snow, 2006)

11. What we know about ELLs
ELLs have limited and varied
background knowledge
Cognitive ability differs from
linguistic proficiency
Advanced ELLs understand
85-90% of the words in text
(O’Keefe et al., 2007)

12. What is a graphic novel?
“A book-length sequential art narrative
featuring an anthology-style collection of
comic art, a collection of reprinted comic
book issues comprising a single story line,
or an original, stand-alone narrative”
(Carter, 2007)

13. Art Spiegelman’s Maus
Published in 1986
Won Pulitzer Prize in
1992
Guggenheim Fellowship
Nominated for National
Book Critics Circle Award

14. Excerpts from Maus
by Art Spiegelman

15. How do you read a graphic novel?
Text features of a
novel
Storyline entirely
illustrated in
panels

16. Variety within the form
Manga
Classics: Adapted and
unabridged
Comics journalism
Original narrative

17. Instructional benefits
Appeals to multiple learning styles
Encourages struggling readers
– Visual scaffold
– Sense of accomplishment
Promotes wide reading
(Krashen, 2004)

18. Instructional benefits
Provides vehicle for discussion of other
texts and issues
Increases accessibility of unfamiliar settings
and themes
Promotes heterogeneous grouping
Facilitates differentiated instruction

19. Promising applications
English courses
ESL courses
Social Studies courses
Building-wide text

20. Promising applications
Pairing graphic novel
and other genre
Models for integration of
art and writing

21. American Born Chinese
National Book Award Finalist
The Monkey King, Jin Wang
and Chin-kee
Universal themes that appeal
to ELLs and adolescents

22. Themes
Cultural conflict
Enlightenment
Identity
Love and friendship
Loyalty
Reconciliation
Transformation

23. Literary language
Allusion Narrator
Characterization Parable
Climax Plot
Conflict Prologue
Dialogue Resolution
Flashback Setting
Foreshadowing Symbol
Motif Theme

24. Turn and talk
What instructional opportunities do you
see in these pages from American Born
Chinese?
How would the graphic novel enhance
instruction for ELLs?

25. (Yang, 2006)

26. (Yang, 2006)

27. (Yang, 2006)

28. (Yang, 2006)

29. Building background
“The All-American Slurp” by Lensey Namioka
The Monkey King: A Superhero’s Tale of
China by Aaron Shepard
YouTube clip and
newspaper article
on Gene Yang

30. Iconic Images of Superheroes

32. Caricature
and stereotypes
Provocative images
Sensitive discussions
Background knowledge

33. Caricatures and
Stereotypes

34. During- and
after-reading activities
Shared reading Literary elements
and devices
Small group reading
Recursive
Image grammar vocabulary
(Noden, 1999) instruction (Allen,
2007)

35. During- and
after-reading activities
Journal writing
PowerWriting (Fisher, Rothenberg, and Frey,
2007)
Writing between the panels (Carter, 2007)
Teachbacks (Kirshbaum, 2009)

36. Publishing Trends
• Decrease in trade book
sales by 5.2%
• 5% increase in sales of
graphic novels
(Publishers Weekly, 2006)

37. The Fox Lane High School Library
Website
http://www.bcsdny.org/flhs.cfm?subpage=3881
Recommended titles and reviews
Bibliography
Links to instructional resources

38. Thank You
tcarrigan0173@bcsdny.org
aviscardi1133@bcsdny.org