Graphic Novels in the Classroom

I absolutely LOVE the idea of "graphic novels" in the classroom. In fact, in one of the education courses I am taking now, obviously being at the college level required me to read a graphic novel. While I read the novel, it was easy for em to picture and understand exactly what was going on. This way is much more affective than simply reading a novel without pictures or reading information from an article or textbook. This presents information in two different ways for two different types of learners; learners that like to have concrete solid information in words and learners who benefit from relating the words to the pictures, which face it, we all do. Seeing pictures helps you to process and actually remember what you have read.

Another great point that was brought up in this "graphic article" was the idea that the pictures in a graphic novel are permanent. This means that the reader can go at his or her own pace and not be slowed down or rushed by maybe even a teacher going at a different pace that they need during a lecture. I think that graphic novels are a great idea and will continue to be on the rise in the upcoming years.

How can you use art in math?

The article, "Islamic Art as an Educational Tool About the Teaching's of Islam" was a very informative article about a subject that I was not very familiar with at all. It discusses the use of arabic writing that occurs in many art forms and the importance and precise way in which arabic must be written. I would have never guessed this, but arabic writing (and art, because of the vast amounts of writing that appears in arabic art) has a lot to do with geometry. The ways and proportions in which the symbols are written are very important to the meaning of the words and therefore it is necessary for people who write in arabic to have a basic understanding of math, geometry in particular.

While this is not as important in the English print, to some degree when you think about it, you have to have some spatial and proportion ability in order to write legibly and clearly. This means that your math skills are related to your art skills and visa versa.

Art can be used in math in many ways. Especially for younger children, I can find many valuable ways that art can be used. In the lower grades, many children are able to express themselves easier through art. I have a child that I work with, for example, who is in the first grade and can never come up with ideas to free write about. I started her off by having her draw a picture first, and then use the picture to write her story and it worked out just great! This is what I mean when I say that it's easier for children to express themselves and understand concepts through art. The same can go for math, seeing thing visually, especially when learning basic math skills like addition and subtraction, it is easier to have a visual representation in order for young children to get the concept.

Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg is an artist who took very simple tasks and broke them down into a complicated process. On his website are a variety of his comical pieces that are all unique but very similar in their own way. By seeing this, it made me realize how much variety you can really have with art and the many different ways it can be portrayed.

In the article by Thomas A. Oakley, being a high school art teacher he talks about how he used Goldberg's work to help inspire his students who felt they had no talent in art to create work of their own. I can see how Goldberg's work would be perfect for this because it is expressed in a way that can appeal to a variety of viewers, they range from very simple pieces to much more elaborate pieces, which is what really helped Oakley's class. He used his work to have his students write about ways in which art is made, and this idea can be modified in many ways. One way that I could use his work in my own future class is 1) for a source of entertainment and enjoyment but I can also use it to break down all different sorts of activities or subjects that are being learned in the class. For example, if I was doing a lesson on photosynthesis with my class, I could have my students break down all of the processes and steps involved in photosynthesis. Or for something with a little more variety I could have students draw pictures of their typical Saturday afternoon. There are many things that could be inspired by Goldberg's work.