Graphic novels enliven literature for Dane County students

Gena Kittner:

Move over Melville — comic-style books are popping up in classrooms throughout Dane County, giving educators a new tool to teach literature.

Graphic novels, a literary form that marries bold art and often edgy text, have persuaded reluctant students to open books and are providing a new way to teach visual learning, area educators and librarians say.

Libraries have long been aware of the value of such "sequential art" in helping students become better readers, said Hollis Rudiger, a former librarian at UW-Madison's School of Education. "It's the classroom teachers that are finally starting to see the value," she said.

This fall, students at Monona Grove and DeForest high schools studied graphic novels in English classes. Next year, if there's enough interest, Monona Grove plans to offer an art class focusing on the novels and cartooning.

"I'm very, very excited about teaching this class because it's a step in a different direction," said Judith Durley, a Monona Grove High School art teacher who proposed the class.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 11, 2008 8:40 PM
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