Visual Literacy

      Visual Literacy in the ELA classroom can be demonstrated by the use of graphic novels. My introduction to graphic novels came in primary school with the Lunch Lady book series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. A lot of young kids enjoy reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney. 

    The reason graphic novels pose as a challenge is that their is a reliance on words and pictures to comprehend what is happening. For example, entire panels can show what is happening without using any words or barely any words at all, and it's an important and contributing factor to the overall story, as shown here:

     In the example I found here, the Lunch Lady (who, for context, is like a superhero) gets a new gadget and suggests they head to the boiler room. The dialogue in those two panels is the only dialogue across those seven panels. The next five panels show the process of them going to the boiler room. The sneaky expression on the lunch ladies' faces and the fact that it shows the passageway to the boiler room hidden behind the refrigerator show that the boiler room is maybe somewhere that they shouldn't be without the author telling the reader that outright. Also, the use of simple onomatopoeias (the click and rumble) can replace entire sentences. "The refrigerator rumbled as it moved to reveal the secret passage to the boiler room" is a sentence that can be inferred by a picture and one word. So, it is a combination of text and visuals in which we comprehend graphic novels. 

    Teaching graphic novels in school is somewhat uncharted waters. Teachers do not necessarily have experience with graphic novels to teach them. Some show concern that graphic novels are too simple, when in fact, graphic novels aid reader comprehension and can benefit readers of all ages. 

   

    

    

Comments

  1. T.O.September 16, 2023 at 3:24 PM

    This is a great analysis of a section of a graphic novel...and I really think it's important how you showed that there was little dialogue in the 7 panels, thus demonstrating the power of the visuals, colors, frames, etc. I would like you to try to reference more of the readings in the future, though. Otherwise, great start!

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