Graphica is a medium of literature that integrates pictures and words and arranges them to tell a story or convey information, usually presented in a comic strip, periodical, or book form AKA comics. It's no surprise comics have long been popular with kids and adults; some of our greatest heroes were introduced to us in comic form. Drawing on his own success using graphica with elementary students, literacy coach Terry Thompson introduces reading teachers to this popular medium in Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension, Grades 2-6. In his book, Thompson explains how graphica can be an engaging and motivating tool for reluctant readers who often shun traditional texts. He suggests sources of appropriate graphica for the classroom and demonstrates how to fit this medium into the literacy framework and correlates with best practices in comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction.Adventures in Graphica contains numerous, easy-to-replicate, instructional strategies, including examples of how graphic texts can be used to create a bridge and students transfer abstract comprehension strategies learned through comics and graphic novels to traditional texts. It is an excellent roadmap for teachers looking to add graphica to their classrooms.

Comic books and graphic novels, known collectively as "graphica," have long been popular with teenagers and adults. Recently graphica has grown in popularity with younger readers as well, motivating and engaging some of our most reluctant readers who often shun traditional texts. While some teachers have become curious about graphica's potential, many are confused by the overwhelming number of new titles and series, in both fiction and nonfiction, and are unsure of its suitability and function in their classrooms. Drawing on his own success using graphica with elementary students, literacy coach Terry Thompson introduces reading teachers to this popular medium and suggests sources of appropriate graphica for the classroom and for particular students. Taking cues from research that supports the use of graphica with students, Terry shows how this exciting medium fits into the literacy framework and correlates with best practices in comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction. Adventures in Graphica contains numerous, easy-to-replicate, instructional strategies, including examples of how graphic texts can be used to create a bridge as students transfer abstract comprehension strategies learned through comics and graphic novels to traditional texts. Adventures in Graphica provides a roadmap for teachers to the medium that the New York Times recently hailed as possibly "the next new literary form."

Masterful, hopeful stories about ordinary people taking small, bold steps into the unknown These ten compelling and delightful stories highlight ordinary people, introverts, mostly living quiet lives -- until they take the chance to leap toward small, meaningful adventure. A young woman is given a painting by Picasso by her stepfather, and she must acquire a wall to hang it on. A hippie family picks up a cello-playing hitchhiker who convinces them to get a television. And a man winds up taking his girlfriend?s son on a road trip -- an unexpected expedition for them both. Filled with a sense of hope, these stories explore the tangled bonds of family and the complex web that holds them together. Cary Fagan is an undisputed master of the short story, and Great Adventures for the Faint of Heart is a brilliant and warm collection that expands our acceptance of human frailty and our unpredictable capacity for change.

An offbeat detective-adventure story - a comic trip into a weird wonderful Cape Town underworld populated by hippy slackers. While trying to handle usual daily stress levels and concentrate on his work, Dave gets disturbed by mysterious noises coming through the ceiling from the apartment above.

In order for students to reap the benefits of graphic novels, teachers need to first incorporate them into their classrooms. Graphic novels are not only a viable option to improve student retention of literature, but also the cornerstone of several potential lesson plans. The multimodal nature of graphic novels allows teachers to shape their lessons in new directions. When the validity of graphic novels is no longer a question, students and teachers alike will discover the countless benefits of multimodal learning.

This study of the graphic novel and its growth in the library helps librarians utilize and develop this extraordinarily popular format in their library collections. What does the surge of popularity in graphic novels mean for libraries? Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries goes deeper into this subject than any other volume previously published, bringing together a distinguished panel of experts to examine questions librarians may encounter as they work to enhance their graphic novel holdings. Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics begins by introducing librarians to the world of the graphic novel: popular and critically acclaimed fiction and nonfiction titles; a wide range of genres including Japanese manga and other international favorites; recurring story and character archetypes; and titles created for specific cultural audiences and female readers. The book then offers a series of chapters on key issues librarians will face with graphic novels on the shelves, including processing and retention questions, preservation and retention, collecting related media such as Japanese anime films and video games, potential grounds for patron or parental complaints, the future of graphic novels, and more.

Graphic novels are an excellent medium to motivate today’s youth to become independent learners and thinkers. This practical guide shows secondary school teachers how to incorporate graphic novels into content area instruction as a tool for meeting the needs of diverse learners and achieving the goals of the Common Core State Standards. The authors provide instructional guidelines with classroom examples that demonstrate how graphic novels can be used to expand content knowledge and literacy in science, social studies, math, and English/language arts. Teachers will appreciate the book’s specific suggestions for selecting graphic novels and for employing responsive practices that will build students’ reading, writing, speaking, listening, and media competencies. “The range and complexity of graphic novels being published right now is simply amazing to me. . . . They are part of what should be a balanced array of texts that all can read, enjoy, and learn from. In this volume, the authors point to this proliferation, as well as the educative potential of graphic novels. After reading its pages, I feel others will agree with me that they have done an excellent job pointing out how graphic novel creators such as Jim Ottaviani and Larry Gonick communicate much about history, science, and mathematics while also making connections to comprehension and thinking skills that accompany both literacy and content-specific learning.” —From the Foreword by Stergios Botzakis, assistant professor of adolescent literacy in the Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Department at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville “The authors have set forth on a task I feel long is overdu—connecting the literacy potential of graphic novels to the content areas. This book is a wonderful contribution to the field of content area literacy studies.” —Michael D. Boatright, assistant professor, Department of English, Western Carolina University Book Features: Advice for selecting and evaluating graphic novels. Teaching strategies for each of the four major content domains. Guidance for aligning instruction with the Common Core State Standards. A list of educational graphic novels organized by content area. Study group questions.And more! William G. Brozo is a professor of literacy in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and author of RTI and the Adolescent Reader. Gary Moorman is professor emeritus at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Carla K. Meyer is an assistant professor in the Reading Education and Special Education Department at Appalachian State University.

Sequential art combines the visual and the narrative in a way that readers have to interpret the images with the writing. Comics make a good fit with education because students are using a format that provides active engagement. This collection of essays is a wide-ranging look at current practices using comics and graphic novels in educational settings, from elementary schools through college. The contributors cover history, gender, the use of specific graphic novels, practical application and educational theory. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

To say that graphic novels, comics, and other forms of sequential art have become a major part of popular culture and academia would be a vast understatement. Now an established component of library and archive collections across the globe, graphic novels are proving to be one of the last kinds of print publications actually gaining in popularity. Full of practical advice and innovative ideas for librarians, educators, and archivists, this book provides a wide-reaching look at how graphic novels and comics can be used to their full advantage in educational settings. Topics include the historically tenuous relationship between comics and librarians; the aesthetic value of sequential art; the use of graphic novels in library outreach services; collection evaluations for both American and Canadian libraries; cataloging tips and tricks; and the swiftly growing realm of webcomics.

Aurora West investigate the death of her mother and discovers some shocking truths.