The role of sequential art, graphic novels, and comics in the English Language Arts classroom is an important one. Different students in an ELA classroom need different things. Some students need more than just a traditional text, some students need help interpreting texts, which can be supported with pictures such as those in a graphic novel, and some students need help grasping challenging concepts in literature. 

While traditional text still remains necessary and constant in an ELA classroom, research is starting to show just how different modalities and types of text can be beneficial in a classroom. As technology becomes increasingly prevalent in the classroom, so too has students’ needs for multiple outlets. It is true that reading traditional text has its own benefits when learning and interpreting literature, however there are aspects brought to the forefront by graphic novels and sequential texts that traditional literature simply cannot provide. For example, Kelley writes “Graphic novels can help enhance student’ visual literacy skills to deal with the increasing use of visual stimuli in today’s world… graphic novels allow readers to more quickly visualize and track characters while monitoring their comprehension.” (7) This is very helpful to students who are not high readers or even those who don’t feel confident in their abilities to read and analyze a text.  

Perhaps the biggest advantage to graphic novels, sequential art, and comics is that kids enjoy them. Too often we hear of students choosing not to read a required text purely based on the fact that they don’t want to, don’t feel motivated to, or simply don’t enjoy reading. Motivation is a huge obstacle that teachers must navigate in addition to the reasons as to why students are turned off to reading. Offering the chance for students to read something different, such as the graphic novel, is one great way to navigate these obstacles. As teachers, instead of being discouraged or turned off to students reading something other than traditional text, we can embrace the idea of graphic novels and sequential art if it means our students are reading. After all, reading something is far better than reading nothing at all. 

5 POST-READING QUESTIONS: 

1. What does the shattered plate symbolize in the story? 

2. Which sequence of panels do you feel best illustrates the central theme of the story? 

3. Why do you think the author was intentional about putting language to the wordless panels? For example on pages 318 and 318, there is no dialogue, yet the author included the word “tick” over and over again. Why do you think that is? 

4. What do you think is the significance of just having the two black and white drawings back-to-back taking up four entire pages beginning on page 292 and ending on 295? How do these pictures apply to the overall theme of the story? 

5. How do you think Rose and Windy will change over the next year based on the changes you read about over that summer alone? Do you think their innocence will be completely washed away or do you think either of them will be able to hold onto some of the innocence? 

• Were your views and opinions challenged or changed by this text?  Do any of the ideas clash with your views? If so, explain what you are rethinking as a result of the ideas presented in the text.  Give examples of how your views might have challenged or changed. 
  • For the most part, my views and opinions weren’t changed. I feel strongly about inclusivity and accepting people for who they are. One view that I did feel was a little challenged was the idea of not making right and wrong totally black and white. I was confused and also inspired by how Sasha was able to forgive Richard and move on with their life despite what happened. They had the beautiful ability to accept his apology and genuinely forget about what happened. I found myself wondering if I would be able to do the same if it were me. Of course I’d like to think that I would handle that situation with the utmost grace, but it’s so hard to know for sure. The way Sasha handled the situation is a true testament to the strength that they have.
• How well does the text address things that you, personally, care about and consider important? What does the text have to do with you, personally, and with your life (past, present or future)?  Consider how it addresses the values and beliefs that are important to and how you understand the world, what it means to be human, or what it means to live a meaningful life.
  • I thought this text was a beautiful representation of what it means to be different and how important it is to embrace what makes us all different. I also thought it did an amazing job of emphasizing how necessary it is to learn and be conscious of inclusive language. These ideals are some that I find important when raising my three daughters. Now, more than ever, parents are having to be intentional with what they teach their children in regards to using inclusive language, being inclusive, and being accepting of everyone no matter what differences might stand between them. As my oldest daughter gets older, I learn more and more about how difficult it can be to answer some of her tough questions. We have a close family friend that is transgender and he has scars from his top surgery that was done during his transition from female to male. One day while at a pool party, she saw his scars and asked me what happened. I felt pretty blind-sighted by that question from my four year, but found it to be a valuable learning opportunity for her as a child growing up in a world where people are finally feeling strong or confident enough to live their truth, and for me as a parent navigating raising children to be accepting of those who different and wish to be acknowledged by words that most closely identify who they are. I thought this book included a lot of great lessons that I have, do, or will have to teach my children and found it to be a good way to get an idea of what someone like Sasha must be thinking or feeling when they are discriminated against or even when they are feeling accepted. Having never met someone that is agender, I found it to be difficult to be able to explain why/what my daughter should say or do if they had the opportunity to befriend an agender (or any other type of person that doesn’t identify with the same category). This book really gave me a better sense of understanding their thoughts, feelings, and why they do or say certain things. I also thought that this book is a great representation of what it means to be human, which is to be kind, be open-minded, be inclusive, and most importantly, be yourself.
• To what extent did it pass the “Who cares?” test? What is your overall reaction to the text? Would you read something else like this, or by this author, in the future or not?  Why or why not? To whom would you recommend this text?
  • My overall reaction to the text is positive. I loved the fact that it gave representation to agenders. I love that it had so many valuable lessons relating to inclusivity, inclusive language, exploration of sexuality, discrimination, and living our own truths at whatever cost. I would definitely read more books like this one with similar themes and story lines because I feel like I could learn at lot of lessons that can be applied to my life as a parent, as a teacher, and as a human in general. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something “different.” Too often in books we find repetition—many stories are just slightly altered retellings of other stories. However, this book, the characters, and the way it was written is so different than anything I’ve ever read. I would also recommend this book to a young adult struggling to figure out who they are or who and what they love. I think this book would give them a chance to see that not only is there someone in a book that is similar to them, but they also came out stronger because of their situations, despite there being hate surrounding them as a person.

Name of character: Quinn 

Your age and physical appearance: 

17, white, basketball player, athletic 

Your house, city/area, favorite place: 

West side of Springfield, MA; multi-family buildings—I live on the second floor above Mr. And Mrs. Langone. The neighborhood used to be a good one, but apparently has gone to shit, as in they don’t fix streetlights anymore and cops patrol the neighborhood now. 

Your passions, “soap box topics,” deepest desires (which may not be mentioned in the text): 

I know that standing up for what I believe is right is important. I mean, my dad died doing it. But learning how to do that is harder than I thought it would be. I always thought there was just black and white, right and wrong. Turns out there’s way more grey area than anything else. I’m tired of being the All-American Boy and not even really knowing what that means. 

Your main goal: 

I want to figure out who I am and what I believe in. I want to play basketball and get into a college so Ma doesn’t have to worry. 

Your biggest obstacles and problems: 

I’m trying to be the kid that everyone wants me to be—the great basketball player, the good student, the dutiful son and brother—but it’s hard. How can I figure out who I am if I’m too busy being who they want me to be? 

Your greatest strengths: 

I am dutiful, determined, and well-rounded. 

Your greatest weaknesses: 

I’m timid. I’m too scared to act on things that I want or believe in because I’m terrified of making one wrong move. I care way too much what people think of me. 

What one or two words best describe you: 

Dutiful. “I just wanted to take care of my brother and fix everything before she came home the next morning” Progressive. I knew that what Paul did was wrong and I was determined to shine light on that. “If I didn’t want the violence to remain, I had to do a hell of a lot more than just say the right things and not say the wrong things.” 

List quotations from the text that reveal most clearly who you are and what you are about: 

“I wasn’t a stand-in for Dad. Nobody could be that. When the IED got him in Afghanistan, he became an instant saint in Springfield. I wasn’t him. I’d never be him. But I was still supposed to try. That was my role: the dutiful son, the All-American boy with an All-American fifteen-foot deadeye jump shot and an All-American 3.5 GPA.” 

“I felt like such an ass. I’d quickly convinced myself I had no idea who that kid with Paul was that night.” 

I could be all the way across the country in California and I’d still be white, cops and everyone else would still see me as just a “regular kid,” an “All-American” boy. “Regular.” “All American.” White. Fuck.” 

Prepare an opening monologue of one to two brief paragraphs to introduce yourself to the audience: 

My name is Quinn Collins and despite what most people think, I’m not the All-American my friends and family thought I would turn out to be. Sure, I’m a good enough basketball player and a good enough student; my dad is an All-American hero in every sense of the word; and I’m a dutiful son and brother, but I’m not the blindly loyal, silent, sit-back-and-watch type of kid that I’ve been in the past. I used to think that it was so annoying to be looked at in a light that I didn’t deserve—the light cast down by my heroic father’s memory. I hated that the narrative was written for me because of his death—the great kid, with the great father, getting a great scholarship and making something of himself—and feeling like I had no chance to rewrite it. 

No chance, that is, until I witnessed something that rewrote my narrative for me. Seeing Paul pound on Rashad in person from the front row would change anyone, let alone someone like me who lived in a very small, very white bubble. Watching someone you know and love doing something you never thought they were capable of doing would change you, too. So yeah, I may be the son of an All-American hero, but I’m determined to make sure that his death was not in vain and that I also become a man courageous enough to stand for his convictions and what is morally right, not morally easy. 

While there were many different strategies provided to incorporate into my teaching of All American Boys, especially strategies that are grade-specific to what I plan to teach (grades 6-12), the one I found most interesting was “Text Graffiti,” which is when the students explore specific quotes and excerpts, picked by me, from the novel and try to predict what they mean, what themes they involve, and how they relate to the overall story. I think it would be a great before and after reading strategy for this particular text, because I think there are so many powerful quotes that give insight into what sorts of themes the novel will explore as well as promote critical thinking about how the student feels about that theme. I also believe it challenges the students to really consider what each word in the quote or excerpt mean in order to provide a greater understanding of what is going to happen. This strategy also allows the students to draw from their lived experiences, which can be very enriching for their peers who probably don’t have the same experiences, or, if they do, they are given the opportunity to relate to that classmate.  

I would like to use this strategy as a way of engaging with the text prior to reading the novel. Students will view the quotes in front of them and comment on each quote by talking about how the quote makes them feel, what they think it means, and how it applies to everyday life before they are told by the authors what it all actually means. This way, the students are actively using different skills to draw and create conclusions, of which they will later confirm or correct after they’ve read the book.  

As stated by Beuhler in chapter one of Teaching Reading with YA Literature, “In addition to handing students good books, we must give students engaging and meaningful things to do with books” (11). These strategies support this idea of YA pedagogy in that it they are all great examples of ways to engage our students and get them excited as well as thinking critically about what they’re reading. 

WHO: Jill 

WHAT: Jill’s loss of some relationships and gaining of others 

WHEN: The march 

WHERE: Police Plaza 1 

WHY: Jill is one of the leaders of the organization of the march and is white, which causes a shift in her as a person. 

The view of the sea of people in front of Police Plaza 1 was more overwhelming than I ever could have imagined. The chanting of “Spring-field P-D, we don’t want brutality” was enough to cover me in goosebumps from the beginning of the march until the end of the die-in. I couldn’t tell if the lump that I felt in my throat was formed from pride, fear, or the feeling of relief that all of this might’ve actually been worth making my entire family hate me. I’m sure it was some combination of the three. Throughout this process I couldn’t believe how radically different the two sides of the argument were. I was shocked and saddened by the fact that some of the people I was closest to in the entire world not only had different views than me, but were also capable of hating me for it. And what’s worse is I could probably hate them for it, too. I’m thankful to have gained new friends from all of this in Quinn and Tiffany. I’m thankful that throughout this entire week, I’ve grown more than I have in the last year. Maybe my mom or my aunt can’t see that I’ve grown (or maybe they don’t want to), but one thing is for sure—the growth will not stop here, my fire will not dim after this march, and I will always refuse to stand with them on the wrong side of history out of loyalty. If anything, it’s time for me to be loyal to myself and my beliefs no matter who I upset in the process. 

This assignment would be great for middle and high schoolers for a variety of reasons. One of which is because it really allows the student to think outside of their own box of experiences and viewpoints. By assuming the role of someone else, the student must think about how they might be feeling and how the experience might be affecting them. Sometimes, the thoughts and feelings of the character might mirror those of the student, but more often than not, the student has to truly dig deep to understand the character. They can combine real world ideas and experiences and combine them with creativity and complex thinking/understanding of the character. This leads to another reason why this is a great assignment is it fosters complexity, agency, and autonomy as discussed in Buehler’s Chapter 1. She writes, “We can foster complex reading experiences and promote reading autonomy if we devise classroom tasks that invite students to engage in these forms of blending and connecting” (11). 

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