Craft Lesson 3

Craft Lesson 3: Using Pictures to Understand Text
Resources and other materials: Persepolis The Story of a Childhood By: Marhane Satrapi
Grade Level: 8th Reading Comprehension Unit


Discussion:

As teachers it is important to introduce many different genres of text to our students so they learn and grow in their understanding of books and reading. However, sometimes introducing different genres can help students become better readers and by becoming more interested in reading. For ELLs or struggling readers a graphic novel can be a great way to get them interested and not scare them off to an overload of text. It also helps when reading books that are about a topic one is not very knowledgeable on; for instance Persepolis is about Iran and the Islamic Revolution, which one might not know much about, but the illustration help tell the story and explain things one might otherwise not understand at all. So reading illustrations in graphic novels is an important part of reading and can help all types of readers understand a text better.

How to Teach it:

Today we are going to talk about graphic novels and how reading the illustrations is just as important to understanding a story, as reading the words. (Prior to this lesson, the class has been reading Persepolis) We have been reading Persepolis has a class for the past week or so and have had many discussions about the book and what we are learning from it, but we haven’t talked much about the illustrations. We know this is a graphic memoir and that it uses many pictures, along with words to tell the story. Let’s think about how the pictures have been helping us learn about the story, culture, and people in it. In the chapter “The Trip,” page 75+, we learn about the types of people and clothing in Iran. The images help us a lot by showing us what these people look like. I know when I read this part it was a little confusing and hard to picture in my own head, but by looking at the illustrations I was able to understand what the young girl meant by these people and their attire. Can anyone else find a place in the story that the images help us to understand the book and its text better? (Some examples are: pp. 51, 78, and 109-110. Get the students talking about how without these illustrations they might have a harder time understanding what is happening in the story.) All of the points you all had were great and help us to better understand the characters and the history to this story. If we didn’t get the images with the words we would struggle to compare our lives to that of the people in the book; this helps us to know them and their culture better.

Extension

To further this process and help the students better understand have them make a comic or short graphic book. Let them share it with people in the class without illustration and then with illustrations; this is a great way to have them practice the importance of understanding an illustration to better understand the text. Another possible extension would be to gather a selection of age appropriate graphic novels for the class; have students read a chapter or so and find examples of using the illustrations to better understand the text. Then log the results on notebook paper and have the students share with the class; this can be done in groups as well.

Bibliography:

Satrapi, Marjane (2003). Persepolis: The story of a childhood. NY, NY: Pantheon Books.

TEKS:
3) Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) analyze literary works that share similar themes across cultures;
(B) compare and contrast the similarities and differences in mythologies from various cultures (e.g., ideas of afterlife, roles and characteristics of deities, purposes of myths); and
(C) explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting of the literary work.
(6) Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) analyze linear plot developments (e.g., conflict, rising action, falling action, resolution, subplots) to determine whether and how conflicts are resolved;
(B) analyze how the central characters' qualities influence the theme of a fictional work and resolution of the central conflict; and
(C) analyze different forms of point of view, including limited versus omniscient, subjective versus objective.
(7) Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze passages in well-known speeches for the author's use of literary devices and word and phrase choice (e.g., aphorisms, epigraphs) to appeal to the audience.
(8) Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain the effect of similes and extended metaphors in literary text.
(9) Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze works written on the same topic and compare how the authors achieved similar or different purposes.
(13) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:
(A) evaluate the role of media in focusing attention on events and informing opinion on issues;
(B) interpret how visual and sound techniques (e.g., special effects, camera angles, lighting, music) influence the message;
(C) evaluate various techniques used to create a point of view in media and the impact on audience; and
(D) assess the correct level of formality and tone for successful participation in various digital media.