Literary learning is not incidental
While I’ve always been an advocate of literature in the classroom, my views and knowledge have undoubtedly been extended by the content in ETL402. I have come to understand that literary learning is not incidental. As a classroom teacher, I have always believed in integrating literature to support learning across the curriculum; for example, Tom Appleby: Convict Boy in Year 4, integrating with our learning on the First Fleet, and Boy Overboard for migration and refugees. One year, I used The Iron Man by Ted Hughes to teach measurement (we measured out his full body).
What ETL402 has highlighted, however, is that literary learning is not just incidentals, integration, or simply reading a book with a related theme. It’s not incidentally connected; it is wholly, intrinsically, inseparably part of the learning. More than that — it deepens the learning and allows students to collaborate, discuss, critically examine, ask questions, pull apart and reassemble (a bit like The Iron Man!). Literary learning is a high-impact teaching strategy that has the power to deepen understanding, contextualise learning, promote critical thinking skills, and enthrall our students (Barone, 2010; Bland, 2018; Callow, 2017; Waugh et al., 2013).
This shift in thinking has excited me as a future TL. This coming year, I plan to examine the texts teachers are currently using in classrooms to determine whether further additions can be made across the year levels. I aim to collaborate with admin and teachers to develop a ‘reading spine’ for our school with high-quality texts of diverse formats and genres including digital stories (Sloan, December 28). This collection will be supported with resource kits and a plethora of literary response ideas (Sloan, January 2).
The rise of the graphic novel
Another revelation I’ve had is toward graphic novels. The extent of additional reading I’ve done on graphic novels is eye-watering. Christmas and New Years was largely me reading about the power of graphic novels in literary learning; you can read some of my findings on this blog post (Sloan, 2024, December 28). Prior to ETL402, I must admit I felt graphic novels were the culprit for the demise in students’ narrative writing skills; the endless, unnarrated dialogue with strange asterisked notes: *sighs* *facepalms*.
As a TL, how can I confidently recommend a graphic novel in place of a novel for the purposes of literary learning? Throughout ETL402, I embarked on my own additional research to find evidence that graphic novels were not something to be afraid of. Here are a few snippets of what I’ve learned:
- graphic novels are evolving to resemble more closely to the traditional novel (Dunst, 2023);
- they are using graphic novels to build empathy in medical students in Canada (Sutherland et al., 2021); and
- Graphic novels are considered to be leading the way in representing diversity (Heggen, 2022).
With the readings provided in ETL402, and the additional readings it inspired me to seek out, I now have an abundance of academic and industry literature to support my reasoning for including graphic novels for literary learning (Boerman-Connell, 2015; DeHart, 2023; Garrison & Gavigan, 2019; Gavigan, 2021; Johnson et al, 2017; Kim & Jiménez, 2023; Laycock, 2019). Therefore, another of my TL goals for 2025 is to advocate for quality graphic novels with diverse representations, and to highlight their value across the school.
References
Barone, D. M. (2010). Children’s literature in the classroom: engaging lifelong readers (1st ed.). Guilford Press.
Bland, J. (2018). Learning through literature. In S. Garton & F. Copland (Eds), Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners (pp.269-287). Oxford: Routledge.
Boerman-Connell, B. (2015). Using historical graphic novels in high school history classes: Potential for contextualizing, sourcing, and corroborating. The History Teacher, 48(2). 209-224.
Callow, J. (2017). “Nobody spoke like I did”: Picture books, critical literacy, and global contexts. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 231-237.
DeHart, J. (2023). Exploring comics and graphic novels in the classroom. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4313-2
Dunst, A. (2023). The rise of the graphic novel: Computational criticism and the evolution of literary value. Cambridge University Press.
Fenty, N., & Brydon, M. (2019). Using graphic novels to engage students with learning disabilities during fluency instruction. Intervention in School and Clinic, 55(5). https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1177/1053451219881749
French, J. (2004). Tom Appleby, convict boy. Harper Collins.
Garrison, K.L., & Gavigan, K. (2019). Picture this: Using graphic novels to explore social justice issues with young adults. Teacher Librarian, 46(3), 8–12.
Gavigan, K. (2021). Journey for justice: Helping teens visualize the civil rights movement through primary sources and graphic novels. Knowledge Quest, 49(3), 40–45.
Gleitzman, M. (2002). Boy overboard. Puffin.
Heggen, B. (2022, August 14). We’re entering a golden age of diversity in storytelling — with genre fiction and graphic novels leading the way. ABC.
Hughes, T. (1968). The iron man. Faber & Faber.
Johnson, N. J., Koss, M. D., & Martinez, M. (2017). Through the sliding glass door: #Empowerthereader. The Reading Teacher, 71(5). 569-577. Doi: 10.1002/trtr.1659
Kim, J. & Jiménez, L. (2023). Editor’s introduction: Diversity in graphic novels: Forging a path of understanding. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, 5(1). https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/rdyl
Laycock, D. (2019). Pilgrims in a foreign land: Teachers using graphic novels as classroom texts. Scan: The journal for educators, 38(2), 2–13.
https://search-informit-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/10.3316/informit.904766889735342
Sutherland, T., Choi, D. & Yu, C. (2021, January 21). “Brought to life through imagery” – animated graphic novels to promote empathic, patient-centred care in postgraduate medical learners. BMC Med Educ, 21(66). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02491-4
Waugh, D. (David G. ), Neaum, S., & Waugh, R. (2016). Children’s literature in primary schools (2nd ed.). Learning Matters.
Image: Book cover of Tom Appleby, convict boy by Jackie French. Harper Collins (2005).
