what the research says:

For a variety of reasons, knowing and understanding history as a socially-valued skill has declined over the years. It is expected that people know the basic facts, but the model of history instruction in schools simply does not work in an optimum fashion, and so the ultimate fruits of the endeavor are limited in their staying power. Modern secondary schools are often required to follow a prescriptive curriculum that offers limited alternative options for study. History is no longer used as the important lens for decision-making that it once was. It is seldom used as that same civic compass and is now more lip service than anything.

Engaging Different Learning Modalities

The advantage for these kinds of graphic works lies in the ways that they present a story that engages different student learning modalities. With illustrations and text purposefully designed to be engaging first and informing second, readers will be left curious about what comes next.

Using Assessment

An important feature for these graphic titles as they are used in K-12 settings will be the presence and application of formative types of assessment. The presence and use of this feature will function as an additional support for teachers who utilize these titles for instruction. The assessment function of the titles will be supported through the organization’s website and offer teachers the ability to receive and/or download data sets from their classes which apply to particular titles being read. There are several different commercially available software packages available that would be able to deliver this.

Historical Knowledge and Civic Understanding

From the perspective of NAEP, students in American schools could do with much improvement in knowledge, skills, and dispositions as it relates to civics and history education (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2018). The presence of graphic materials that reinforce and expand educational standards and other guiding frameworks for educators are intended to present a positive impact for students by providing a supplement to other curricular materials which expands the nature and effectiveness of the curricular resources as a whole.

The study of graphic materials and their impact on learning a multilayered and multifaceted subject. In the sections that follow, we present research articles attesting to it's impact on numerous areas of learning.

Scholarly Articles 

Barbre, J. and Tolbert, J. (Spring/Summer 2021) Graphic Instructional Pedagogy: Critical Literacy Development Using Low Art. Journal of Thought (Manuscript in Press).

Barbre, J. (2019) Crafting a Critical Literacy Skillset: An Improved Use of Visual Modalities. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 7 (2).

Barbre, J. (November, 2018) The Practical Implications and Possibilities for Graphic Novels and Comic Books as Pedagogy in the Literary Experience: A Proposal. International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research, 17 (11) 48-55. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.11.4

Barbre, J., Honaker, D. (May, 2018) Multimodal History Instruction: Expanding the Possibilities of Comic Books and Graphic Novels Across the Curriculum. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 8 (4).

Comer, K. (2015). Illustrating Praxis: Comic Composition, Narrative Rhetoric, and Critical Multiliteracies.  Composition Studies, 43(1), 75-104. 

Kang, G. (2017). What Counts as Literacy? Investigating Everyday Flexible Literacy Practices  Within An Academic Official Space. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 46(1), 41-50. 

Michell, M. (2006). Teaching for Critical Literacy: An Ongoing Necessity to Look Deeper and Beyond. The En glish Journal,96(2), 41-46. doi:10.2307/30047126 

Pagliaro, M. (2014). Is a picture worth a thousand words?  Determining the criteria for graphic novels with literary  merit. The English Journal, 103(4), 31-45. Retrieved  from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24484218 

Pantaleo, S. (2014). Language, literacy, and visual texts. English in Education, 14 (2), 113-129. 

Rapp, D. N. (2011). Comic books’ latest plot twist: Enhancing literacy instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 64–67.  https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171109300416 

Richardson, E. M. (2017). “Graphic novels are real  books”: Comparing graphic novels to traditional text novels. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 83(5),  24-31. Retrieved from http://proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/ login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxyeast.uits. iu.edu/docview/1929675667?accountid=11648 

Schwarz, G. (2006). Expanding literacies through graphic novels. The English  Journal, 95(6), 58-64. doi:10.2307/30046629 

Dickinson, J., & Werner, M.M. (2015). Beyond Talking Heads: Sourced Comics and the Affordances of  Multimodality. Composition Studies, 43(1), 51-74. 

Hassett, D., & Schieble, M. (2007). Finding Space and Time  for the Visual in K-12 Literacy Instruction. The English  Journal, 97(1), 62-68. doi:10.2307/30047210 

Jacobs, D. (2015). Special Issue: Comics, Multimodality, and Composition. Composition  Studies, 43(1), 11-12.

Jacobs, D. (2007). More than Words: Comics as a Means  of Teaching Multiple Literacies. The English Journal, 96(3), 19-25. doi:10.2307/30047289 

Labio, C. (2011). What’s in a name?: The academic study of comics and the “graphic novel”. Cinema Journal, 50(3), 123- 126. University of Texas Press. Retrieved June 26, 2018,  from Project MUSE database. doi: 10.1353/cj.2011.0033

Letcher, M. (2008). Off the Shelves: Graphically Speaking: Graphic Novels with Appeal for Teens and Teachers. The English Journal, 98(1), 93-97. Retrieved from  http://www.jstor.org/stable/40503218

Lopes, P. (2006). Culture and stigma: Popular culture and  the case of comic books. Sociological Forum, 21(3),  387-414. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/sta ble/4540949. doi: 10.1007/s11206-006-9022-6 

Scanlon, J.J. (2015). The Work of Comics Collaborations: Considerations of Multimodal Composition for Writing  Scholarship and Pedagogy. Composition Studies, 43(1)m 105-130. 

Carr, P. (2012). Project Based Learning: Increasing Social Studies Interest and Engagement. Rising Tide, 5.  Retrieved from http://www.smcm.edu/educationstudies/pdf/rising-tide/volume-5/Carr.pdf 

Clark, J. (2013). Encounters with historical agency: The value of nonfiction graphic novels in the classroom. The  History Teacher,46(4), 489-508. Retrieved from http:// www.jstor.org/stable/43264152 

Jadallah, E. (2000). Constructivist learning experiences  for social studies education.The Social Studies, 91(5),  221-225. Retrieved from http://proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/ login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxyeast.uits. iu.edu/docview/274610499?accountid=11648 

King, A. (2012). Cartooning History: Canada’s Stories in  Graphic Novels. The History Teacher, 45(2), 189-219.  Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23265919 

Pustz, M. (2012). Comic books and American cultural history: An anthology. New York: Continuum International. 

Ayala Garcia, P. (2009). Comic books and the experience of self-fulfillment: A study with high  school students (Order No. 3348569). Available from ProQuest Central.  (304866578). Retrieved from  

http://proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest 

com.proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/docview/304866578?accountid=11648 

Brenna, B. (2013). How graphic novels support reading  comprehension strategy development in children. Literacy, 47(2), 88–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741- 4369.2011.00655.x 

Boerman-Cornell, W. (2015). Using Historical Graphic  Novels in High School History Classes: Potential for  Contextualization, Sourcing, and Corroborating. The  History Teacher, 48(2), 209-224. Retrieved from http:// www.jstor.org/stable/43264401

Connors, S. P. (2015). Expanding students’ analytical frameworks through the study of graphic novels. Journal of  Children’s Literature, 41(2), 5-15. Retrieved from http:// proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest com.proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/docview/1734735898?ac countid=11648

Bahl, E.K. (2015). Comics and Scholarship: Sketching the Possibilities. Composition Studies, 43(1), 178-182. 

Bridges, E. (2009). Bridging the Gap: A Literacy-Oriented Approach to Teaching the Graphic Novel Der  erste Frühling. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 42(2), 152-161. Retrieved from http://www.jstor. org/stable/40608634 

Burger, A. (2017). Teaching Graphic Novels in the English Classroom: Pedagogical 

Possibilities of Multimodal Literacy Engagement. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chute, H. (2008). Comics as literature? Reading graphic narrative. PMLA, 123(2), 452-465. Retrieved from http:// www.jstor.org/stable/25501865

National Council of Teachers of English. (Nov 2008). Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the  Classroom (The Council Chronicle). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/magazin e/archives/122031/contenthistory/compare/0/0  

Romagnoli, A. (2014). Comics in the Classroom: A Pedagogical Exploration of College English  Teachers Using Graphic Novels (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from www.scholar.google.com 

Sun, L. (2017). Critical Encounters in a Middle School English Language Arts Classroom: Using Graphic Novels  to Teach Critical Thinking & Reading for Peace Education. Multicultural Education, 25(1), 22–28. Retrieved  from http://proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/login?url=http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d b=eric&AN=EJ1170198&site=eds-live&scope=site

Versaci, R. (2001). How comic books can change the way our  students see literature: One teacher’s perspective. The  English Journal, 91(2), 61-67. doi:10.2307/822347 

Vetrie, M. (January 2004). Using film to increase literacy skills. The English Journal, 93(3) pp. 39-45.  doi:10.2307/4128807 

Williams, R. (2008). Image, Text, and Story: Comics and  Graphic Novels in the Classroom. Art Education, 61(6),  13-19. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/sta ble/27696303 

Wilson, B. (2014). Teach the How: Critical Lenses and Critical Literacy. The English Journal, 103(4), 68-75. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24484223 

Wolfe, P., & Kleijwegt, D. (2012). Interpreting Graphic  Versions of Shakespearean Plays. The English Journal, 101(5), 30-36. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/ stable/23269525

Gorlewski, J., & Schmidt, J. (2011). Research for the classroom: Graphic novels in the classroom: Curriculum design, implementation, and reflection. The English Journal, 100(5), 104-107. Retrieved from http://www.jstor. org/stable/23047812