Comics with KAPOW!

Graphic novels are perfect for tempting pupils into a wider world of reading, and can stimulate creativity in literacy.

Graphic novels are perfect for tempting pupils into a wider world of reading, and can stimulate creativity in literacy. With the help of Dr Who, Steve Bowkett shows you how…

Quite recently I met a teacher who disapproved of comics because she felt they led to ‘lazy reading’ and insisted that ‘proper books’ were a superior form of literature. While I take her point, I think that appropriate material which cultivates any kind of reading in children who might not otherwise bother is to be encouraged (and of course in children who read books anyway). The canny classroom practitioner can also exploit children’s interest in comics and graphic novels as a bridge to fully text-based stories and, beyond that, to the development of literacy and of creative thinking skills in general. This article offers some ideas along those lines.

The example story I’ll use is the photonovel Victory of the Daleks, one of the Bug Club titles published by Pearson (get your free copy at http://www.pearsonprimary.co.uk/doctorwho). I was delighted when this was suggested as, many years ago, it was the very first Dr Who novel ever to be published (Dr Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker) that kick-started my own interest in reading for pleasure and, a little later, writing for pleasure too.

InVictory of the Daleks the Doctor has been asked for help by Winston Churchill. But his bitter enemies the Daleks are waiting there too in the Cabinet War Rooms below the streets of wartorn London. Does Churchill really think they are on his side…?

The photonovel offers a quick and easy read with plenty of action and excitement. Here are some ways of taking the children’s interest further.

1 The narrative line

Draw a line on a large sheet of paper. This represents the basic beginning-middle-end linear structure of the story. Ask the groups to mark out the chapters (in the photonovel there are five plus an opening scene and an epilogue) and then make notes along the line of key events from the plot. Children might also use drawings and clip art etc to make their narrative lines more colourful and detailed.

TIP

A larger wall display using this technique makes for a good class project and one that will help children to remember the story for a long time.

Take it further

• Extend the narrative line at both ends and talk through ideas for prequels and sequels to the story.
• Draw a second line parallel to the main narrative line. Use this to think about possible subplots. For example, Professor Bracewell kidnaps Amy Pond and either she has to escape or be rescued. The subplot could either remain separate from the main story, or be linked in at various points. Encourage discussion of how this would alter the structure of the main story.
• Recreate the story in another period of history – the Roman invasion of Britain, for example. Children can research to add detail and (some!) historical accuracy.

2 Using a story grid

A story grid is a 6x6 table filled with words and pictures pertinent to a particular story or a genre, such as the Science Fiction grid shown in figure 1. My previous article ‘No Wrong Answers’ (which you can read at teachprimary.com/resource_uploads) goes into more detail about how story grids can be used in various ways. Basically, in constructing a grid:

A) Make sure that some words and/or pictures are specific to the kind of story to be written. This helps to familiarise children with the motifs and conventions of the genre – e.g. that you can have spaceships in an SF story but not fairies or winged horses.

B) Include a few ambiguous images and some words that can carry different meanings, depending on their context of use. Play the game by rolling two six sided dice to choose boxes at random – there’s a good opportunity here to introduce or revisit co-ordinates. Start at the bottom left and go ‘along the corridor and up the stairs’. Choose two boxes initially and ask ‘Using these pictures, what could the story be about?’ Many children are likely to have ideas but if you are demonstrating the game to the whole class just pick one to work on.

So for example – 2/5 a scientist and 4/5 asteroids in space. One storyline might be that clusters of asteroids are heading to Earth and scientists are trying to find a way of stopping them. Maybe the scientist in the picture is devising a chemical that dissolves rock super-fast.

Once you have a basic scenario, ask a question that moves the story on. This can be simply ‘what happens next?’. Or you can remind the class of some basic elements found in most stories – ‘How does the villain get involved?’ or ‘What problem does the scientist face in perfecting his formula?’

Taking that last question, roll the dice to choose a box at random that will supply an answer or clue; 4/6 – the computer that the scientist is using breaks down, and time is short!

Ask a further question, based either on the previous idea or on the story more generally. ‘How can the scientist fix the computer?’ 5/5 – the computer runs on light and a new laser needs to be installed. Then ‘follow the question trail’. As the story begins to emerge, it’s not necessary to roll the dice each time. Children can simply choose items from the story grid that fit in with the developing plot.

Take it further

• Make a story grid based on Victory of the Daleks.
• Create further Doctor Who stories by featuring several of his enemies, past companions or incarnations of the Doctor.
• Use a 6x6 grid to make a new enemy or alien ally for the Doctor. You can use features from his known enemies or friends but also ideas from the world of mythology.