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A small action research study comparing the achievement of students who read a novel in traditional format to the achievement of those who read the same work in graphic novel format is described. The results indicated little difference in achievement but inspired interesting reflections about motivation and the appropriateness of different formats for different readers.
The author describes a small action research study comparing the achievement of students who read a novel in traditional format to the achievement of those who read the same work in graphic novel format. The results indicated little difference in achievement but inspired interesting reflections about motivation and the appropriateness of different formats for different readers.
Many parents and teachers complain about how difficult it is to get children to read. When I taught reading at the elementary and high school levels, my classroom libraries had plenty of graphic novels, comic books, and laminated funny pages for students to read in all genres. During Drop Everything and Read time, several students would ask if reading a comic book still "counted," and my reaction was, "Of course, it counts; you're still reading, right?" Nevertheless, I have not found any studies that have compared the comprehension levels required for a graphic novel to those required for a traditional text. With Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teacher evaluations, and research-based instruction at the forefront of instruction, how does the graphic novel compare to a traditional text when discussing required comprehension and reading ability? First and foremost, students need to read to improve their reading. The dilemma of a struggling reader is finding books he or she enjoys reading, and, similarly, the dilemma of a teacher of a struggling reader is to get the young person to read so he or she improves. As a reading teacher, I know that graphic novels help motivate struggling readers to read.
Graphic Novels in the Classroom
Contemporary graphic novels are designed for a new generation of young, emerging readers who are growing up in a very automated and visual environment (Rapp, 2011). Graphic novels are more than just stories with pictures; they have engaging illustrations that help readers infer the emotions and motivations of characters as well as more fully understand the twists and turns within the plot. Comics and graphic novels help introduce the reader to important features of fiction, such as narrative structure, tone, and character development (Schwarz, 2002). Nonfiction graphic novels and comics provide the reader with robust vocabulary, and the graphics help provide context clues to help readers with the more difficult words (Clark, 2013).
Although many people still consider the graphic novel unfit for school reading (Schwarz, 2006), the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in 2006 teamed up with Diamond Comic Distributors and implemented a program making graphic-novelbased lesson plans available to K-12 teachers throughout the state. The MSDE's goal was to develop instructional strategies that encouraged reluctant readers to read more and gifted and talented students to gain in knowledge and creativity by conceiving and writing manuscripts for their comic books (Bitz, 2004). In this vein, Stouse (2003) noted that the educational community has come to recognize that comic books and graphic novels are excellent instructional tools for the classroom. Similarly, Cullinan (2000) found that avid comic book readers read overall more than traditional book readers and had more positive attitudes toward reading.
In 2001, Columbia University professor Michael Bitz founded The Comic Book Project, the goal of which is to engage children in the process of creating comic books. Bitz believed that struggling readers are especially engaged while reading comic books and the experience helps them reconnect with learning and embrace the power of communication through words, art, storytelling, and publishing (Bitz, 2004).
Another creative educator, Gene Yang (2008), drew comic math lessons for his students to follow when he needed to be away and had a substitute teacher. The students overwhelmingly loved the lessons because they constituted visual notes that helped really explain the mathematical process Yang was teaching. In fact, Yang was one of the first to write an article in graphic-novel format that was published in Language Arts journal, solidifying his point by taking the reader visually through the process (Yang, 2008).
Choice is Motivation
Motivation to read is key in helping students overcome their resistance to reading and increase their reading skills (Gambrell, 2011). The Catch 22 is that students who struggle with reading will have little motivation to read (Strommen & Mates, 2004). Sometimes the required readings in class fail to motivate students suffciently to read (Rapp, 2011). Graphic novels, however, tend to provide unmotivated students a reason at least to pick up a book and attempt to read. Providing students with choices not only helps to improve their reading ability but, according to authors of several studies, also helps increase student engagement. For example, Edwards (2009), in a study that made graphic novels available during free-choice reading time at the middle school level, found that students were freely choosing to read graphic novels even after the study was finished.
Schmidt (2011), a college professor who teaches developmental English courses, used traditional texts along with graphic novel adaptations of the same story and let the students choose which format they wanted to read. She found students overwhelming chose to read the graphic novel version but then gravitated towards reading the traditional text to write compare and contrast essays. She stated that her goal was not for the students just to pass her class but for them to become "lifelong readers and writers who are literate in every sense of that word...they first have to be interested in reading, and graphic novels can be the hook to draw them in" (Schmidt, 2011, p. 107).
Graphic novels provide new learning opportunities for readers because the reading of these books requires different skills than traditional text. In fact, those students who prefer reading traditional text sometimes complain when they are required to read a graphic novel because they have difficulty with sequencing, which is why these books may not be for all readers but instead for those students who know and prefer this format (Griffith, 2010).
The Study
The purpose of this study was to determine if any difference existed in students' comprehension depending on text formats: graphic novels versus traditional text. Accordingly, one research question guided my action research: Will students who are reading graphic novels comprehend the story as well as those students who are reading the traditional text? Reading comprehension is defined as the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning. Comprehension skills have customarily been taught using traditional texts. This study was conducted to see if students reading graphic novels could understand the story as well as those who were reading a traditional text.
Using a small research grant provided by Cameron University, I purchased 40 copies of Coraline (Gaiman, 2008, 2015), specifically selecting 20 in graphic novel format and 20 in traditional text format. Coraline was selected because the story appealed to both boys and girls of this late-elementary or middle-school age group. The research involved 20 Grade 5 students and 20 Grade 6 students (N = 40) who voluntarily participated in the 2-week study. The study, open to all students in Grades 5 and 6 at a rural elementary school in northeast Oklahoma, was explained in a group setting, and parental permission slips were given to those students who were interested in participating. The first 40 students to return the permission slips were randomly given a copy of the book Coraline in either graphic novel or traditional text format to read within a 2-week period. The students did not have a choice of the type of text they received.
Upon completion of the 2-week period, the students were given a 15-question review of Coraline (see Appendix) that also included questions regarding their personal opinions of the book and whether or not they had read the type of book they had wanted to read, a graphic novel or traditional text. As students finished reading, they were instructed to go to the library, turn in their copy of the book, and complete the questionnaire. The researcher collected the questionnaires each day from the librarian, who assisted the researcher with the collection of the books. All students completed the same questionnaire. Upon review of the data, two students' questionnaires were not included in the results because not all questions were completed. The two students were in Grade 5; one read the traditional text and the other read a graphic novel. The questionnaires that were completed (N = 38) were scored individually, and results were then compared between those students selecting the graphic novel and those selecting the traditional text.
Results
The data showed that students in Grade 5 on average scored the same after reading the book; there was no difference in comprehension scores between those who read the traditional text and those who read the graphic novel. The results of Grade 6 data on average showed the graphic novel readers scoring higher than the traditional text readers (see Figure).
Qualitative data collected were based on responses to two items on the questionnaire: "Did you like the book?" and "Did you read the type of book you originally wanted, graphic novel or the traditional text?" The results showed 14 out of 18 Grade 5 students and 14 out of 20 Grade 6 students had wanted to read the graphic novel version of the text (See Table). Those who read the type of book that they had wanted (choice) scored consistently high. Two Grade 6 students did not score well on the comprehension of the text. One read the graphic novel, which was not the choice of text he or she wanted, and the other read the traditional text, also not his or her choice (See Table). Only a few students did not do well on the assessment; those who did perform well generally had received the type of text they wanted to read.
During the distribution of the text, it was surprising how much excitement was generated when students received the graphic novel version of the book, and several students moaned as they were handed the traditional text. However, as a student who had read the traditional version of the text handed in the completed questionnaire, the researcher asked if he had enjoyed the book. His response was that he had really enjoyed the story and was glad he had read the traditional text because he loved the detailed descriptions. He told me that he could imagine the story taking place in his head, whereas the graphics would distract him. Accordingly, graphic novels are not a choice for every reader because part of the pleasure of reading fiction is the ability to create the story in one's mind while reading the author's descriptions (Frey & Fisher, 2013). Another student, who read the graphic novel format, told the researcher, "I loved the book, so thanks for doing this study." He said he really enjoyed the story, and this was the first time he had read a graphic novel. He also explained that he read through to almost the middle of the book when he realized he was not really looking at the clues in the pictures, so he "started over and looked at the pictures more." Reading a graphic novel can be challenging if a person has never read one before because the pictures can tell most of the story, so the reader must pay close attention to every detail and focus on visual literacy (Watts, 2015). The reader must infer the action taking place from one panel to the next. The images may tell a large part of the story (Yang, 2008). Overall, hearing positive reactions to both types of text from this age group was a most welcome outcome.
Conclusions
This comparative study was conducted to investigate whether comprehension of text was stronger for readers of traditional text or those reading in graphic novel format. The results showed no difference in comprehension scores of Grade 5 students but a slight difference in the scores for students in Grade 6. One finding from this study was that students who received the type of book they wanted to read scored better than those who did not receive their preferred format. This outcome reinforced previous research on the importance of choice and motivation. Having the ability to choose what type of book to read helped motivate children toward reading. Future studies could give students a choice of text format. Although the results of this small comparative study indicated that the comprehension of text was the same, for some students choice might be a greater motivation to read. This research suggested pursuing the question: Would those students who did poorly on the questionnaire have done better if they had read their choice of text?
Limitations of this research included the small size of the sample population, which makes generalization difficult. Also, no attempt was made to measure students' growth across time. The simple comparison of results ignored the issue of students' initial achievement levels; however, the completely random assignment of traditional text versus graphic novel format mitigated some of this limitation.
Graphic novels can introduce readers to literature they might never otherwise encounter (Schwarz, 2002). Nevertheless, I recently heard from a colleague who was volunteering at her child's school book fair regarding a conversation she overheard between a male student and his mother. The Grade 3 student wanted to purchase a book that was in a graphicnovel format, but the mother loudly protested that he had to buy a "real book." When I heard this story, I was saddened by the fact that this parent and many others are stifling their child's ability to choose what to read and thus perhaps having the child choose not to read at all. Graphic novels are "real" books and can be the gateway to the love of reading. Moreover, they may help a student to look forward to reading-clearly a teacher's and parent's ultimate goal!
References
Bitz, M. (2004). The comic book project: The lives of urban youth. Art Education, 57(2), 33-39.
Clark, J. (2013). Encounters with historical agency: The value of nonfiction graphic novels in the classroom. The History Teacher, 46(4), 489-508.
Cullinan, B. E. (2000). Independent reading and school achievement. School Library Media Research, 3, 1-24.
Frey, N. E., & Fisher, D. B. (2013). Rigorous reading: Five access points for comprehending complex texts. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Literacy.
Gaiman, N. (2008). Coraline [Graphic novel]. New York City, NY: Harper Collins.
Gaiman, N. (2015). Coraline. New York City, NY: HarperCollins.
Gambrell, L. B., Palmer, B. M., Codling, R. M., & Mazzoni, S. A. (1996). Assessing motivation to read. Reading Teacher, 49(7), 518.
Griffith, P E. (2010). Graphic novels in the secondary classroom and school libraries. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(3), 181-189.
Maryland Department of Education. (2003). Comic book project proves to be effective learning tool: University evaluation lauds the potential of the unique education program [News release]. Retrieved from http://archives.marylandpublicschools.org /MSDE/pressrelease_details/2007_05_03a.html
Rapp, D. N. (2011). Comic books' latest plot twist: Enhancing literacy instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 64-67.
Schmidt, J. (2011). Graphic novels in the classroom: Curriculum design, implementation, and reflection. English Journal, 100(5), 104-107.
Schwarz, G. (2002). Graphic novels for multiple literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46(3), 262-265. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40017133
Schwarz, G. (2006). Expanding literacies through graphic novels. English Journal, 95(6), 58-64.
Watts, P (2015). Graphic novels offer diverse perspectives, narratives. Education Digest, 81(2), 38-41.
Yang, G. (2008). Graphic novels in the classroom. Language Arts, 85(3), 185-192.
Appendix
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
Book Questionnaire.
Circle your grade level. 5th Grade 6th Grade
Circle the type of text you read. Graphic Novel or Traditional Book
Circle the correct answer below.
1. What is Coraline's last name?
a) Jones
b) Johnson
c) Jenkins
d) Jewel
2. What would make Coraline stay on the other mother's side forever and always?
a) She had to give her other mother the black cat.
b) She needed to eat a black apple.
c) She had to repeat the words of an oath.
d) Her eyes had to be sewn with black buttons.
3. What was Coraline's protection on the other side?
a) Snow globe
b) Stone with a hole in it
c) Slingshot
d) Her teddy bear
4. What animals sang to Caroline?
a) Rats
b) Dogs
c) Cats
d) Bats
5. What was amiss after Coraline returned from the other side for the first time?
a) Her clothes were missing.
b) The animals were missing.
c) Her parents were missing.
d) Her neighbors were missing.
6. What became Coraline's companion throughout the book?
a) Brown rat
b) Black cat
c) Blue dog
d) Black owl
7. Who else did Coraline need to help besides finding her parents on the other side?
a) The neighbors
b) Three children
c) The dogs
d) The mice
8. Where did Coraline find her parents?
a) In a snow globe
b) In the toy box
c) She never found them.
d) In a jar
9. Near the end of the book what did the hand of the other mother want?
a) Black key
b) Snow globe
c) Car toy
d) Black cat
10. What is the crazy old man's name?
a) Mr. Jones
b) Mr. Baba
c) Mr. Bobo
d) Mr. Bebo
Write a short response to the questions below:
11. Before entering the other world, Coraline receives ominous warnings about her future What are the warnings and from whom does she receive them? What do the messages mean?
12. How does Coraline define bravery? In what ways does Coraline demonstrate bravery?
13. How does Coraline's life change when she returns to the real world with her parents? What does Coraline learn from the experience of being in the other world?
14. When you heard you had a choice to read a traditional text or a graphic novel, which type did you really want to read? Why?
15.Did you enjoy this story? Why or why not?
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