Graphic Novels - Beyond the Basics

School:: Emerald Coast Middle School
Subject:: Literacy
Teacher:: Lisa Burns
Students Impacted:: 200
Grade:: 6-8
Date:: October 8, 2021

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

The Alys Foundation - $972.23

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 200

The middle school students loved the new additions to our graphic novel section of the library media center! Many of our struggling readers in 6^th and 7^th grade enjoyed the variety of characters, settings and storylines. By reading these novels, students were able to analyze text structure, better understand tone of a character’s words, and examine images that revealed subtle changes in a character’s mood. Each week we displayed the most popular titles on the bulletin board in the hallway. In addition, the students designed a bookmark with a star rating system. Bookmarks were placed in the novel upon completion and provided a star rating and features of the book. This guided students to find titles quickly and focus on desired topics of interest. Often a group of students would come to the library together and I would hear one student recommend a specific title to another student by saying, “You have got to read this one!” Creating a love of reading can be hard to do in our digital world and especially for middle school students. These new novels provided them with opportunities for literary success. Thank you for your generous donation.

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal is to promote the reading of challenging graphic novels by 6th and 7th grade struggling readers through the purchase of new titles specifically written for students ages 10 - 12. These titles cover challenging topics like family dynamics, world leaders, scientific concepts and historical events in a safe, child friendly tone. The storylines presented are contemporary, relevant, and enticing.

What will be done with my students

Middle school students will be challenged to read graphic novels. Each time a student reads a graphic novel, they will fill out a commentary form on Destiny Discover analyzing a specific text feature of the book. Text features may include fonts, color selection, backgrounds, captions, text bubbles and depiction of characters or setting. The most popular titles each week will be displayed on a bulletin board in the main hallway. Last, if available, students can take Accelerated Reader (AR) tests on the book to help them achieve their AR reading book goals for ELA classes.

Benefits to my students

Many elementary school students begin reading graphic novels such as Dog Man or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Once they enter middle school, they continue to look for these treasured lower level classics. But, as a middle school reader, they need to be challenged to the next level. From the voracious reader who find the books compelling to the non-reader who find the comic book style hard to resist, all readers have the chance to grow. Graphic novels challenge students to think deeply about the elements of storytelling. In a regular book, a student decides the meaning based on sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. In comparison, graphic novels encourage students to analyze the images, looking for signs of character development, shifts in tone and mood, or changes to font color or size all which provides clues to help narrate the plot. Mastering the skill of reading visual cues and details will guide our students to understand the world around them and help them tell their own story.

Budget Narrative

Follett/Titlewave.com will provide high interest middle school level graphic novels for struggling readers – a total of 60 books will be purchased (total of $942.14 + $30.09 for processing). Total grant request is $972.23.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	American Born Chinese	$20.53
2	Big Apple Diaries	$20.53
3	Champions - 5 book series	$62.20
4	Chiggers	$19.17
5	Cici's Journal - 2 book set	$43.67
6	Coraline	$16.06
7	El Deafo	$16.45
8	Diana	$8.72
9	Flash - 3 book set	$27.28
10	Four Points - 2 book set	$37.56
11	The Giver	$11.28
12	Green Lantern	$8.72
13	Invisible Emmie	$17.62
14	Just Pretend	$16.45
15	Last Kids on Earth	$85.77
16	Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy	$16.45
17	Miles Moreles	$18.27
18	Mythics - 4 book set	$20.53
19	Patsy Walker - 3 book set	$13.84
20	Monster Hunters - 16 book set	$286.56
21	Shuri - 4 book set	$73.72
22	Ragnorok	$6.16
23	Wings of Fire - 5 book set	$73.08
24	A Wrinkle in Time	$21.52
25	Proceessing Fee	$30.09
	Total:	$972.23

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