Comic Life Article

Author of several graphic novels and the instructional book Comics in Your Curriculum, Richard Jenkins describes how he worked closely with a classroom teacher to write his book that includes standards, rubrics, and practical lesson plans for a variety of disciplines. Jenkins promotes the use of comics in the classroom saying that comics are a "medium" rather than a genre, and as such, they adapt to a variety of situations. The strong appeal of comics' format makes them an appealing way to engage students in their learning. Comics are a "dual discipline" art form, combining "visual and verbal," "image and text" because the images are presented in sequence and are adjacent to the text. Jenkins explains that the versatility of the medium makes possible a huge variety of applications.
Because Comic Life is easy to use and is relatively inexpensive, it puts the appealing medium of comics in the hands of teachers and students who can use it to enhance learning and creativity. Elementary, middle, and high school students are enjoying graphic novels, so adapting a popular medium to present content material in a fresh way seems like a wise idea.

Tingley, S. (2005). Comics in your curriculum: An interview with Richard Jenkins. Comics in the Classroom.Retrieved from http://www.comicsintheclassroom.net/oolessonplans.htm