Blog Buddy Response #14

How did your peers inform your practice of new literacies and adolescent literature?

Blog Buddy Response #13

What have you learned about using new literacies by building your project, and how might you integrate some of these activities into your own classroom?

Blog Buddy Response #12

How are 8th grades students at Meyer Middle School in River Falls using new literacies to inform, express, entertain and persuade?

Blog Buddy Response #11

What are some strategies for keeping up new technologies?  
How can you find support?

Blog Buddy Response #10

How do digital literacy activities build community?

To Help Find Graphic Novels for Your Students

The following websites have been recommended to me by various personal and Internet sources:

• www.firstsecondbooks.com lists graphic novels that are good for discussion

• www.noflyingnotights.com  lists age-appropriate fun stuff 11-13 year olds will  like to read

• www.comicsintheclassroom.net  has some great comic recommendations and lesson plans  

Why Comics Make Reading Fun

Searching around the Internet, I found a great online article titled "Why Comics Make Reading Fun" by Martha Cornig (http://graphicnovelreporter.com/content/why-comics-make-reading-fun-feature-stories). In her article, she discusses anecdotal stories of friends, colleagues, and former students who expressed a love of reading that was inspired by comic books and/or graphic novels. She discusses how comics teach new words, how literacy statistics have increased in areas where comics are noted to be students "reading for fun" genre of choice, and how librarians, educators and parents have relayed stories of an increased interest in reading when comics become a choice for free reading time. She then goes on to give tips on how to bring reluctant readers and comic text together. I have to say that I have an increased appreciation for the comic/graphic genre after reading this article.