Tag: middle school reading

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Graphic Novels: Is It Really Reading?

The other day I spent some time in Barnes & Noble just browsing, picking up books, and flipping through pages aimlessly. It was so nice! 

One section caught me a little off guard in the children’s section, a whole wall of graphic novels! My first thought was that to my knowledge, there weren’t really enough graphic novels out there for a whole wall of these books, so I explored more. There were the classics, Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants. And then there were more. 

The Secret Garden as a graphic novel. The Babysitter’s Club. A modern telling of Little Women as a graphic novel. 

There may be some out there who have a “bah humbug” attitude about graphic novels in the hands of children, “It’s just all pictures! It’s not real reading!” they claim. But flipping through the books on the shelf, I was so excited about this new phenomenon! 

First, it’s showing the world that graphic novels aren’t just for boys. When I was growing up, only boys read comic books/ graphic novels. It was such a boy thing. But now the options of books for both boys and girls are endless! Books are gender-neutral by default, but with the vast options available now, there’s certainly a book for everyone to connect with. 

Graphic novels are an incredible resource for reluctant readers. The pictures do a great job of helping tell the story, leaving fewer words on the page. For struggling readers or readers with anxiety, fewer words on the page is extremely helpful. They are also smaller, bite-sized wording on a page instead of paragraph after paragraph like a chapter book. It’s so much less overwhelming and feels doable to read one speech bubble and move on to the next. 

from The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat

Are graphic novels still reading though? 

Oh, absolutely! Reading is reading, my friends! There are words on the page that brains are working hard to piece together and figure out. Their brains are working hard to take in the input of information between the pictures and the words on the page and create a story in their minds. It is absolutely reading! 

Is there an age limit for reading graphic novels? No. Absolutely not. Reading is reading!! So if you see a high school-aged kid reading a graphic novel, celebrate the reading happening!

Graphic novels are a great resource in the reading world and I am so excited that they are gaining more and more traction as time goes on. Yay for graphic novels! 

Be honest, what are your thoughts on graphic novels? 

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FREE Fall Reading Bingo Printable

This morning the temperature dipped into the low 60s during our walk to school. Of course, I threw on my best fall sweater and some boots! I am a lover of fall, through, and though. By the time I walked home after dropping my daughter off, I was sweating like crazy in my fall clothes. This cooler weather is nice, but it’s not quite the fall season yet. We’re counting down the days to Autumn Equinox though!

While we all wait for arguably the best season of the year, we can prep ourselves by printing a fall reading bingo chart to work on. I’ve attached below a FREE download for you to use in your classrooms, libraries, and homes.

Our Summer Reading Bingo ended up being so popular that I’ve worked a little harder on our fall bingo page to be more… ahem… aesthetically pleasing. The Summer Bingo was fine and worked well, but it was something I made quickly on a platform not necessarily made for complex work. I’ve also made our fall bingo both in color and black and white format for printing.

Enjoy this free printable and let us know how it goes for you!

FallReadingBingoBWDownload
FallReadingBingoColorDownload

Cover Photo by Oleksandr P: https://www.pexels.com/photo/forest-345522/

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Alternatives to Assigned Reading in High School

This post is specifically for upper grades- middle school and high school- but can be applied to younger grades with some adaptations if needed. 

Assigned reading is a very popular practice in Language Arts/ English classrooms across the nation, but what if there’s a better way? Here are a few alternatives to getting your students reading, but without the dreaded assigned books. 

For individual reading: 

Offer a large list of books for them to choose from. If there are certain guidelines or books you have to stay within the parameters of, this is a great option. It keeps you within the guidelines but gives the students their own choice in the literature they are reading. 

Do a one-on-one book report discussion. If the goal is for the student to read and comprehend a book, this works beautifully. Let them choose a book that interests them and schedule a day or two where you take students aside during independent work time to discuss the book with them and verify that they read it. Ask provoking questions about the characters and the plot. Even if you haven’t read every single book, teachers are typically pretty good at spotting those telling the truth and those wanting to fib a bit. 

For classroom reading involving the whole class: 

Have a class discussion and vote. If you’re choosing a book for the whole class to read, why not allow the students to bring suggestions to the table, discuss together, and vote? Keep in mind, books are books! Every suggestion is valid and worth bringing to the table. Yes, even comic books! 

Similarly, allow students to choose a book and defend it. Let the student or group of students choose the book for the next classroom read (again, all books are valid!). Give them a chance to build their case on their specific book and take turns defending their choice to the rest of the class on why their book should be chosen. This activity can be done in a day or it can be drug out over several days depending on how in-depth you want to go! 

What do you do in your classroom to find ways to bring out students’ voices in choosing books to read? 

Photo by Pixabay via Pexels