Graphic Novel Resources for Educators
As an educator you can utilize the Get Graphic! website to learn more about graphic novels, investigate booklists, explore graphic novel news and information, and learn about graphic novel related events around Western New York. Our Get Graphic! blog offers a place to exchange ideas and see what others are reading, and our Contact list allows you to communicate with someone from the Get Graphic project for assistance in how to best utilize our website and materials.
- As many as 6.3 million secondary school students are reading below grade level.
- As reading scores for 12th graders continue to drop, the most significant declines are among low-level readers.
- The average 15-24 year old American spends almost 2 hours each day watching TV, but only 7 minutes of their leisure time reading.
- The WNY drop out rate increased 47.8% from 1998-2003.
- Locally, 30% of adults operate at minimal literacy. Countywide, 20% of adults operate at minimal literacy.
Graphic Novels can be an important part of both educational and leisure reading for students of all ages. Graphic novels are astoundingly popular with kids and young adults, and can be as simple or complex as any other literature.
Reading graphic novels:
- Engages reluctant readers & ESL students.
- Increases reading comprehension and vocabulary.
- Can serve as a bridge between low and high levels of reading.
- Provides an approach to reading that embraces the multimedia nature of today's culture, as 2/3 of a story is conveyed visually.
- Provides scaffolding for struggling readers.
- Can serve as an intermediary step to more difficult disciplines and concepts.
- Presents complex material in readable text.
- Helps students understand global affairs.
- Helps to develop analytical and critical thinking skills.
- Offers another avenue through which students can experience art.
Graphic Novel Workshop Resources
- Powerpoint Presentation
- Graphic Novels in Middle & High School Classrooms - What & Why
- Teaching Strategies for Graphic Novels
- Articles, Books and Authors
- Reliable Sources for J GN Collection Development
- What a Real Teen Says -- High School Student Martin Kilroy on Graphic Novels
Additional Resources
Upcoming Events 
- May 22: Art Spiegelman ! — Author Presentation at 4:00 PM
- July 9: Author Visit - Gene Yang at 4:00 PM
Graphic Novel of the Month
Dogs and Water
By Anders Nilsen
A young man wanders through desolate tundra with only a stuffed bear for companionship. It is unclear where he’s coming from or where he’s going. In his wanderings he crosses paths with animals and armed men. Each interaction is tense, for in a land where resources are so sparse every living being is a competitor. Eventually he is accepted into a pack of dogs whose tenuous friendship is as comforting as it is unsettling.
