ECI 306 Middle Years Reading: Getting Graphic

Lindsey and Sarah

Lindsey Guffey

Sarah Hoyle

Graphic Nonfiction Title: Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow is a graphic novel that describes the life of a sharecropper under the control of landowners, that lives in a small town with his son where the Jim Crow laws are in full force. He had once played in the African American baseball league and actually played against Satchel Paige. The story shows segregation among the people in the sharecropper?s town and the tragic events that were occurring there, like lynching. As the story progresses, the landowners and other whites in the town schedule a baseball game against Satchel Paige and his team. During the game, the African Americans are ridiculed against and it really shows how awful these times were. In the end, Satchel Paige does a remarkable thing and shows not only the town, but the whole world, that eras like the Jim Crow period should have never existed. The graphics in this novel are very simple and are done in black/white/gray shades. The pages almost look like they have been painted with water colors.

The story in and of itself is a strength. We thought it was fabulous that the realness of Jim Crow laws could be portrayed through a story that deals with baseball. It was truly an inspirational story, even though it did discuss some of the tragedies that were occurring during this time. The artwork was also great. The drawings were done so simply, yet effectively. It was not too much that it took away from the story. Another strength was that the novel is only around 85 pages. It is short enough that kids will be able to finish it very quickly, all while proving the point about Jim Crow.

The only real aspect that might make the book hard to teach is the use of African American Vernacular English. Some students might find it difficult to read and follow along with some of the phrases that are used, but it can definitely be done. We will just have to work hard to make sure they can follow along easily. It was really a great graphic novel and this is the only thing that we could note.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow could be used in conjunction with teaching eighth grade Social Studies. In eighth grade students learn about North Carolina history, which includes slavery and the Jim Crow laws. Reading this graphic novel allows students to better understand the conditions of the segregated South from 1929 ? 1944. The novel reveals the injustices that African Americans faced during this time and uses the All-American sport of baseball to add interest for the elimination of the Jim Crow laws and segregation in the South.

The novel addresses North Carolina history content in such a way that students can truly enjoy learning about it, and they actually may not even realize they are learning at all! Using the famous professional baseball player, Satchel Paige, in a story about life for African Americans, particularly the sharecropper, during the Jim Crow era in the South is a fantastic way to captivate the students? interests. The novel addresses historical content such as sharecropping, racial segregation and the Jim Crow laws. It also allows students to see how African Americans felt when faced such cruelty and mistreatment during this time period.

We truly think middle school students will enjoy reading Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow. Since the book has a focus on baseball and includes the famous baseball player, Satchel Paige, we think middle school boys especially will enjoy reading the book; it brings in an element of something they can relate to. I think that even middle school girls will enjoy reading the book, as well.

I would definitely recommend using Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow in eighth grade Social Studies. The novel offers an interesting way to look at an important piece of history.

Posted at 02:28PM Apr 24, 2008 by Lindsey Michelle Guffey in Graphic Nonfiction Reviews  |  Comments[0]

Graphic Nonfiction Review

I chose to read The Wright Brothers and the Airplane by Xavier Niz.  This book tells the story of how Orville and Wilbur Wright came to be the first people in history to pilot a powered aircraft.  The story begins when the brothers are young boys, and it describes the events in their lives and specific details about the types of aircraft they built.  All of the graphics are in color and are large enough to allow the reader to see the details.  The story is told in boxes that explain the important details and dialogue boxes that show conversations between the characters of the story.  This book has many strengths, especially for middle school students.  For example, the book is short enough that it will not take most students very long to read (an important detail, not to be overlooked).  Also, the book's artwork boxes are large enough to ensure that the reader will not get lost on the page.  Other strengths of this book are an Interesting Facts section and a glossary of flight terms that were used in the story.  The only weakness that I see with this book is that there are a lot of dates, which might get confusing.  If the book were reprinted, I would like to see a timeline of events added to the back of the book.

This book could be used very effectively in any middle grades classroom.  The book specifically addresses the social studies content area because 8^th grade students study North Carolina history and several of the Wright brothers test flights were performed at Kitty Hawk.  However, other content area connections are not quite as obvious. In science, students could discuss scientific theory while reading the book because the Wright brothers often developed hypotheses and tested them throughout the story.  In math, students could practice calculating the speed that the aircraft was going when it went a certain number of feet in a certain number of seconds (given in the book).  An English language arts connection could be made fairly easily because students could easily practice comprehension skills while reading.  Students could also practice restating and summarizing portions of the book, make predictions about what they will reading in future chapters, make connections between themselves and the Wright brothers, and monitor for their own comprehension.  Because of its versatility, this book would be an excellent supplement to a language arts text.

I believe that most middle school students would respond very positively to this book, but I think it would appeal more to males than females.  When I asked an 8^th grade female to look the book over, she said that she didn't care for it and probably wouldn't choose to read it.  She found "comics" to be too confusing because there is a lot of reading up and down the page rather than the usual left to right.  She also told me that she only knew one person that read "comics," and he read Garfield. 

While there will be students who dislike graphic novels, I think this title could go over well if it were used as supplementary reading to a social studies textbook.  The fact that it appears to be a very short book would be the biggest draw for most students.  However, once they began to read it, they would find it pretty interesting and the graphics would help keep their attention. 

I would definitely recommend this book to pre-service and in-service middle school teachers; however, I would make sure that it was supplemented with another text.  The book's ability to connect many content areas and subjects makes it worthwhile to have in all core classes.  It would also make a great addition to a bookshelf that students could access when they had free time--at least for the students who like graphic novels!                            --Melissa Zerbs

Posted at 11:21AM Apr 24, 2008 by Melissa Zerbs in Graphic Nonfiction Reviews  |  Comments[0]

Review of my graphic nonfiction title: Fallout

My graphic novel is "Fallout" and deals with the creation of the atomic bomb, as well as the political and social issues that arose after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I don't know what kind of graphics and artwork were used. One weakness I perceived was that there is no color used throughout the book. After reading, I do think now that this book is more suited for a social science class since the scientific aspects of the bomb are only mentioned briefly. I was disappointed by this book and would not use it in my science class. It seemed boring even for my age; I would not want to know how boring it would be for the kids. This book goes too much into the political aspects and really does not explore the main characters in depth.

Posted at 10:43AM Apr 24, 2008 by Kerstin Bevill in Graphic Nonfiction Reviews  |  Comments[0]

ECI306 Graphic Novel Review!

Nevermore: A Graphic Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories by Various Artists/Authors

This graphic novel is a compilation of several of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poems and short stories. The selection of graphic novels that would be educationally appealing and not necessarily Manga was surprisedly slim when I began my search for the ultimate graphic novel. As I scanned the shelves, the eye-catching title of this graphic novel immediately jumped out at me. I immediately recognized the title from one of the most memorable Edgar Allan Poe poems, The Raven. As I picked it up to scan through the pictures, I was impressed! The graphics reminded me of an early Marvel comic and before each section, the artist consideratly provides a brief summary of the selected poem or short story so that readers will have a better understanding of the plot and graphics. Robert Corman's foreward provides readers with what to expect from the various artists, just in case avid Poe readers are surprised by the modern twist that has been given to his short stories and poems.

Although it is a wonderful and educational graphic novel, I would have liked to see more color images. I feel that it would have made it more visually appealing to young readers. Not to be sexist/ feminist but I felt that most of the graphic novel was very masculine so it may be more challenging to sell this to a middle school girl (but who knows, I may be wrong). There is a section that provides information about Edgar Allan Poe and his style of writing, but it isn't quite as detailed and that will be important when trying to introduce this author in a Language Arts class. In 6th grade, I remember reading "The Raven" and I feel that this book would have been a good way to reemphasize Poe's work, famous and not-so famous. Teachers can use this book to teach about audience, themes, types of literary genres, setting, imagery, etc. The modern twist that has been given to the short stories and poems will make it much easier for middle school students to read, follow and understand. I would definitely recommend this book for any English/Language Arts teacher to teach literature from different time periods, style and other literary terms. Personally, I didn't like every piece in this graphic novel, but I definitely chose a favorite and thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

Posted at 04:01AM Apr 24, 2008 by Iwinosa Idahor in Graphic Novel Reviews  |  Comments[1]