If chosen with care, a graphic novel holds the key to the magic king-and-queendom of story. On a micro-level, visual support in storytelling is like transforming a tedious and lifeless windmill into a living dragon that invites the student to a challenging but exciting and worthwhile match. How to change this? If I look at this from a macro-perspective, I feel that the only thing I can actually do is to lie down in front of all the busy windmills and take a nap. Literacy is not just about reading and understanding text, it is also about applying text to life and expressing thoughts and feelings verbally.
And more importantly, the kids who struggle with literacy also lack the words and phrases to stand up against unfair treatment and bullying.
They struggle to decipher the meaning of the political change when the slogan "All animals are equal" receives the additional note "But some animals are more equal than others". Those kids who don't grasp the concept of subtle manipulation through text (as shown in the progressive power grab by the pigs on the farm) have a hard time understanding changes in society and the impact society has on them as individuals. Needless to say, this partial illiteracy causes problems far beyond not being able to read Animal Farm in original, but in a way, this minor issue is symbolical for the bigger picture. They get their fill of excitement and drama via other media, and they hardly ever see any benefit in overcoming the struggle to read in the traditional way. After all, we have a quite substantial percentage of students who have severe difficulties with literacy even in Middle School, and who find it incredibly hard to engage in literature. They are nothing like the original book, and that is why I rarely pick them for myself.īut they do magic for kids in school who struggle to understand the complex storylines in their class novels.
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