"I hate reading." "Reading is boring." "How is reading going to help me in life?" If you've heard these questions before, then you have probably come into contact with a reluctant reader. Students who do not have an innate love of reading will struggle to read in the classroom and read for pleasure.
Our school is a middle school with over 1200 students in grades 6, 7, and 8.
We are located in a rapidly-growing suburb with a wide variety of demographics; some of our students come from affluent households and some are economically disadvantaged. The vast majority of our students do not purchase books with their own money (or parent's money) and therefore rely quite heavily on the library.
My Project
Graphic novels (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, Tommysaurus Rex and The Joker) are increasingly becoming a tried-and-true method of engaging reluctant readers, enhancing visual literacy of all readers, and aiding language learners in verbal and non-verbal skills acquisition.
As touted in a report by Scholastic (2011), teachers and librarians "have reported outstanding success with getting kids to read with graphic novels, citing particularly their popularity with reluctant readers, especially boys--a group traditionally difficult to reach." Such reluctant readers can be motivated to engage with the story thanks to the high-interest visual elements of graphic novels. Further, graphic novels can clue in struggling students, such as children with autism, to emotional contexts that they otherwise might miss in standard texts.
Graphic novels "require readers to be actively engaged in the process of decoding and comprehending a range of literary devices."
Donations of graphic novels will enable the librarian to reach and engage those reluctant readers who think reading is "boring" and "pointless." Further, teachers can use graphic novels to "hook" students into reading for pleasure.
Graphic novels are generally more expensive than traditional texts due to the many-colored pages, and having a wide variety of graphic novels on hand will enable those students who may not be able to afford books to still enjoy reading.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Chacon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
