One of the most difficult things about being a teacher is to get your students to read. Some students hate to read because they think books are boring or too long. What can teachers assign to their students that they know that the students would enjoy, or at least be more willing to read? I think the answer to this question is comic books.
Some schools have used comic books in the classroom and this has worked to the teacher’s advantage. Students that use to hate reading actually start to love it.
Elementary school teachers can give their students comics like Tiny Titans or Young Justice. These comic series are kid friendly and have great humor that kids could enjoy. I have seen kids walk into a comic book store very excited to pick up the next issue of Tiny Titans. They talk about the series once they get into the store and don’t stop talking about it until they walk out. If elementary school students have fun reading comics they will actually forget that they are doing work. The more these kids read the better their reading skills are going to be, which is a very important element with elementary school English classes.
Elementary school kids are not the only students that can benefit from comic books, but also high school students could benefit from this way of learning. High school students could read graphic novels like Watchmen or V for Vendetta in the classroom. These two graphic novels could bring a lot of engaging classroom discussions that students may be interested in. It is important to engage more discussions in the classroom because high school students already know how to read. They just need to be able to discuss the works of literature with their peers. They need to have the initiative to do the readings for class and to be entertained.
I think comic books would be a great to bring into the classrooms. It would allow students to see that reading could be fun. Sometimes words intimidate students. So, having literature and art together in one medium can seem less intimidating to them.
