Fantasy, fairy tales, happy endings:
Teachers find success in NEH program led by Harvard scholar
Edward Mason, Harvard Gazette, July 23, 2012

"Nicole Guillen, a high school teacher at the Alliance Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School in Los Angeles, said the fantasy of Lewis Carroll or “Peter Pan” read by older generations may not be as relevant to today’s students as the violence depicted in modern literature.

"“They’re growing up where gangs are part of everyday life,” Guillen said. “In some communities, what kids see is very real and it’s a horrifying type of reality, and that’s why they like seeing it in a book: I don’t have a Wonderland or a Neverland, but I do have this reality.”

"Elizabeth Gray, who teaches at an alternative East Brooklyn, N.Y., high school, countered that escapism is an important part of fantasy literature.

"“I teach a lot of gangs; I’m not sure they always want to read about gangs,” she said. “They might prefer to read about Neverland. I wonder if [“Hunger Games”] is too close to home?”

"Lauren Bielefeld, a ninth-grade reading teacher from Fountain Valley High School in Orange County, Calif., said fantasy literature tests moral compasses.

"“Kids like to imagine what kind of kid they would become,” Bielefeld said. “I can hear my kids do that with ‘Lord of the Flies’ and with ‘Hunger Games.’”"

"What Will You and Your Children Read This Summer?"

KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times, June 6, 2012

 

"What’s your summer reading plan, and what’s the plan for your children? Two of my four have summer reading time charts from school. Will this be another year when I determine that every evening at X time will be “quiet reading time,” only to have it endlessly thwarted by things like impromptu s’mores and meteor showers? (And how can that really be bad?) I want them to read. They (mostly) want to read. But oh, we have a terrible time with those charts. 

"... Does 20 minutes a day of easily tracked reading fit into every family’s day except ours? They do read, but how many 6-year-olds pay attention to where and for how long? Me, I’ve never exactly understood why they (or, more relevantly, I) should. I prefer the rising third grader’s option: a space to list all the books she reads, along with “one thing you liked” and “one thing you didn’t.” "

"Using Graphic Novels and Comics in the Classroom"
Andrew Miller, Edutopia, January 11, 2012

"Here are some specific strategies to ponder as you select a graphic novel or comic to read, or as you consider how students might create their own. Thinking about them will help you focus your purpose in your instruction. All of them are useful, as long as the purpose is clear to the teacher and the learner.
...
"1) A Tool to Differentiate Instruction
"Graphic novels and comics can be a great way to differentiate instruction for learners in terms of reading and also in terms of assessment. 
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"3) Assess Student Learning
"PBL calls for the creation of authentic products that are useful and credible to the group. You can have students create comics or graphic novels, or components of them, as a useful formative assessment tool to check for understanding of important content. If used as a summative assessment, the comic could be made to combat bullying, such as the suggestion Suzie Boss made in an earlier post. Make the graphic novel or comic a product that students create to meet a need. Don't just make it a regurgitation of knowledge. Instead, give it an authentic purpose.
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"There are many other purposes for graphic novels in the classroom, from looking at different cultures and backgrounds to utilizing technology in authentic ways. Just make sure you select the graphic novel or comic with a clear purpose in mind. Perhaps you have multiple purposes, as there are many instructionally sound purposes out there."

"I will leave you with some favorite graphic novels and comics that I've used in my classroom! Trust me, I have read plenty more than this list!

• "Persepolis, a memoir of a girl growing up during the Islamic revolution in Iran, was recently made into a motion picture.
• "Maus, a top favorite for many, explores themes of the Holocaust through a memoir characterized by mice and cats.
• "American Born Chinese is the tale of three characters: Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American in the neighborhood; Chin-Kee, the ultimate Chinese stereotype; and the Monkey King, ancient fable character."