Blog Post 2: Lead Out Loud Activity and Reflection

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The Gateway Drug to Literacy: How to use Comic Books and Graphic Novels to teach literacy skills across the curriculum

Reflection:

One challenge at my school is the decline in literacy skills. Student are not engaged in the curriculum and they are not motivated or interested in learning how to improve their reading, listening or writing abilities. Most students do not understand how important literacy skills are and how they can impact their futures.

We have had several faculty meetings and professional development sessions on literacy and how important it is. Especially when it comes to student confidence in school, standardized test scores and how successful they can be in the real world.

meme-you-get-a-meeting

Despite all the talk about how important it is there has been very little on exactly what we can do as educators to improve it. Not one PD session I have sat in mentioned using technology or how to increase student engagement and motivation when it comes to reading and other literacy skills.

When I first read the lead out loud assignment I was very nervous because I had never heard of any of the technology tools listed! I wasn’t sure what they were or how they could be used in the classroom. I started to explore the links and I found all of the tools extremely engaging. They were easy to use I could see them being beneficial all across the curriculum in many different ways. Most importantly I could see students being excited for the first time and wanting the opportunity to use these programs.

One of the tech tools that really stood out to me was Pixton. It is a click and drag comic development site. It has pre-loaded lesson plans ranging on all topic areas. Teachers can also upload new lessons and assign them to the classes that they create. The site itself is extremely user friendly and exciting to use.

pixton

I took a risk on the title of my presentation, because I was tired of sitting through boring P4605642D’s that don’t grab your attention. I wanted something that would pull my audience in. I came across a quote by Art Spieglman a comic book writer that stated “Comic books are the gateway drug to literacy”. I adapted that quote for the title of my presentation. In the presentation I explore how comic books and the web 2.0 tool Pixton could make a difference in the classroom.

Part 1:

part1

Part 2:

Lead Out Loud Activity: Planning Guide

Title of Presentation:

  • The Gateway Drug to Literacy[1]: How to use Comic Books and Graphic Novels to teach literacy skills across the curriculum.

Name(s) of Presenters: (4 maximum)

  • Terri Miller
  • Technology Coach
  • History/ English – representative
  • Math/ Science – representative

 Program description:

  • Discover how students can use technology tools such as Pixton to increase their content area knowledge and literacy skills across the curriculum.

 Objectives of the Session

  • Participants will learn about the benefits of using Pixton a free online application that allows students and teachers to create their own comic books, graphic novels, story boards, timelines and mind maps.
  • Participants will learn about the various options and lesson plans available on Pixton.
  • Participants will be able to get a hands on approach on using Pixton by creating accounts and experimenting with the website.
  • Participants will learn how to teach students to construct a Pixton comic book in order to present to a diverse audience of peers and school personnel
  • Participants will hear about the presenters’ experiences with using Pixton across the curriculum and how they believe it will be beneficial to their students.

Highlights of Content

  • Research has shown that using comic books or graphic novels in the classroom has helped to create a positive attitude and increased motivation toward learning. Using Web 2.0 applications such as, Pixton participants will learn how to incorporate comic books in to their lessons, and how they can use comic books as formative assessments for their students.

Presentation Method

    • Participants will be guided through strategically organized slides that include information, rationales, visuals, and videos. Participants will see a brief demonstration of Pixton. Participants will have the opportunity to explore Pixton.  All resources will be shared with participants via email and will also be available on the schools V drive.

Organization of Time for Presentation

part2

Audience Participation

    • The audience will be invited to ask questions and share ideas throughout the session. They will have the opportunity to experience the process of creating a Pixton comic strip. This will be a hands-on session in which the participants can contribute their ideas, collaborate with each other, and practice using the resources that they will take away for use with their students. All resources will be available digitally for modification and use.

Sources:

[1] Quotation adapted by Art Spieglman “Comics are a gateway drug to literacy” (Spieglman, 2011)

Presentation:

the-gateway-drug-to-literacy

Published by youreducationmattersblog

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