Wordless Picture Book and Graphic Novels
Wordless Picture Books
Wordless picture books are excellent sources to use for writing. Since the plot of the story is laid out in pictures instead of words, they leave a lot of freedom for students to add text. They are great teacher resources t use for model ing writing and help students tell a story in their own words. The students use their imagination and story sense to create text to go along with the story. Wordless picture books are something I don’t use as often as I should. I think they can be very beneficial for my group this year that really struggle with what to write.
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels help students who are struggling readers. However, graphic novels require a sustained mental effort to comprehend. The graphics help students sequence and events in order. They also require students to use context clues in order figure out the events, and characters’ emotions.
Personally, I like most graphic novels. However, I find them almost exhausting to read. I never read them as a child in fact I had a very negative view of them. I guess because most of them are dark and have superheros. Not exactly girl stuff. But, recently I’ve been required to explore this genre and my views have changed. My favorite graphic novel character is Babymouse. I just love her spunk. She is so funny. One of my students actually told me about the Babymouse books. I can definitely see the benefits of graphic novels, not only for reluctant readers, but for all readers.
