Literary Circles
Students will present their graphic novels, working collaboratively as a class to synthesize skills and knowledge gained throughout the unit. This is a modified lit circles activity that has two parts: 1) reading and 2) discussion and reflection. This activity could run over multiple classes to facilitate deeper discussion.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- elaborate on their work in a group setting.
- listen attentively and respectfully to group members.
Preparation
Students will bring copies of their completed graphic narratives.
The teacher will put students into groups with people they have not yet worked with (ie groups should be different than the graphic novel creation groups). When making groups, be sure to consider the groups’ roles outlines in the activities below. Review how to conduct yourself during a lit circle.
Introduction
Begin the lesson with an overview of the process for sharing the graphic narratives and the expectations of presenters and audience members.
Roles for group members:
- Leader/Reader: Keeps group members on topic and task. Ensures all members are given an opportunity to share their thoughts. Assists in reading the comics.
- Reader (two per group): Takes turns reading aloud, possibly filling different roles.
- Excavator: Facilitates deep attention; responsible for getting their peers to “dig deeper” into material. The excavator asks questions, asks for clarification, and makes connections to other materials or topics. Teachers may choose to suggest this role to stronger students. The excavator will be responsible for asking two questions at the end of the comic.
Lesson Activities
Reading
Groups will read the comics they have created together. Students can take turns reading aloud—the teacher could suggest that students read different elements of the narrative (different character or types of text etc.).
As students progress through the comics, the individual(s) in the group who authored the comic will introduce the work and a one-minute conclusion. Group members need to ask the author two questions before moving to the next graphic narrative.
As groups share, the teacher should circulate, observe, and perhaps even contribute to discussion. Students should be given time prompts to ensure they are able to finish reading the comics within the given amount of time.
Discussion and Reflection
Students should remain in their groups from the previous session and will be provided with a set of discussion questions to work through – the teacher may want to project or distribute the questions.
Groups will have an allotted amount of time for each question; this is up to teacher’s discretion, though we suggest six minutes.
Roles for group members:
- Leader/Reader: Keeps group members on topic and task. Reads out questions and instructions to the group. Ensures all members are given an opportunity to share their thoughts.
- Literary analyzer: Points out and analyzes textual evidence, or clarifies aspects of the text.
- Graphics analyzer: Points out and analyzes visual evidence, or clarifies aspects of the text.
- Summarizer: Summarizes discussion into full-sentence answers on recording sheet.
- Excavator: Facilitates deep attention; responsible for getting their peers to “dig deeper” into material. The excavator asks questions, asks for clarification, and makes connections to other materials or topics. Teachers may choose to suggest this role to stronger students. The excavator will be responsible for asking questions, connecting discussion to other texts or examples, and keeping discussion going.
Discussion Questions
Comprehension
- How do graphic novels change the way we experience testimony? Provide examples from our unit.
- What illustrations have the most impact on the reader? Provide examples from our unit.
- What artistic strategies, including angle, perspective, colour, or use of light, impact the reader most strongly? How did these strategies change your relationship to the story?
Creation
- What was the most difficult part of creating illustrations to pair with historical testimony? How did you overcome these difficulties?
- Reflect on seeing history through a survivor’s perspective. How did you decide what parts of the story to include or to focus on?
- What part of this unit had the most impact on you or your learning? Why?
Conclusion
200-word paragraph on one of the following prompts:
- Are graphic novels a helpful tool to understand the past? Why or why not?
- Should graphic novels be used to teach history? Why or why not?
- In what ways are graphic novels like a textbook? How are they different? Which is better for teaching history?
Extension
Students write short reflections, roughly a paragraph in length, to be collected as exit slips or as a submitted assignment.
Handout: Historical Graphic Narratives Project Reflection
