User:Bearskin/Classical comics

Classical Comics - the use of graphic novels in education The debates continue, literacy remains an issue.



"By mixing tradition with a more creative approach to the curriculum, we will achieve our objective of producing successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens." Ken Boston, Chief Executive of QCA

The primary stated aim of Classical Comics is to make classical literature appealing to all.

Classical Comics are a new publisher in the UK.

The Classical Comics books are created to meet the UK curriculum guidelines, and the series provides multiple text versions of classic and well loved books.

As well as the mainstream UK applications in education, the books are also designed for EFL/ELT teaching.

Dickens, Bronte et al will be available in original and Quicktext versions. However, due to the complexity of the original Shakespearian language, Shakespeare can require further translation to make the story accessible to all students, and enable them move through a series of text versions to the full, unabridged original plays.

So, for Shakespeare, the three text versions, linked to the same brand new graphics, are the key to engaging students of all ages.

The readers are taken on a journey through the classics from the basic story written in simple language, moving through the full story in plain English, to the wonders of Shakespeare’s full, original English text.

The titles are designed to provide the following benefits:

·	Inclusive teaching

The three text versions allow a single class of mixed abilities to work with the same story. Lesser-able readers can use the Quick Text version, while the more-able readers can use the Plain Text or Original Text versions .A classroom of pupils, of whatever ability, effectively reading from the ‘same’ page.

·	Cross-Curriculum

The books can be used to encompass core and foundation curriculum subjects including English language, English literature, history, art, drama and ICT as well as inspiring individual creativity within children.

·	Reluctant Readers

Experts in the field, and teachers across the UK, believe that this medium promotes literacy in the most reluctant readers. A paper on the subject, courtesy of Mel Gibson and LTScotland gives the full picture http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/literacy/images/Graphic%20novels%20across%20the%20curriculum_tcm4-402928.doc

·	Teaching Classics at Key Stage 2

The books can be used from year 5 onwards utilising the Quick Text versions for classroom work, and Plain English plus Original Text for smaller reading groups.

·	Getting Boys to Read

A current, and well-documented challenge, the publisher says that the books have been greeted by boys of all ages with massive enthusiasm! Quotes such as ‘I didn’t know that Shakespeare could be so cool’ and ‘I would read these at home too’ came from a focus group looking at Henry V.

As Ian McNeilly, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, has said: "This is a fun way of getting into the stories. "Plays are not meant to be read, but to be seen. The illustrations in these books are an easy way of following what is going on. "The genius of Shakespeare is in the language, but for some students understanding it can be a struggle. It will be useful for teachers to have three different versions of the text."

The company are developing an integrated package of tools and resources for each book, written by teachers, for teachers and suitable from Key Stage 2 upwards. Both hard copy teachers’ guides and interactive whiteboard software will be available.

For KS2 and 3 the resources provide cross curriculum topics and the opportunity to tailor lessons to meet individual needs.

Again meeting the requirements of the UK curriculum guidelines, the teaching resources provide exercises covering structure, listening, understanding, motivation and comprehension as well as key words, themes and literary techniques.

The artwork is drawn by contributors such as Jon Haward,http://www.jonhawardart.com/bio.php, Neill Cameron, www.neillcameron.com, John Stokes and John M Burns,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burns_%28comics%29, with Declan Shalvey, Eagle award winner http://dshalv.blogspot.com  , and Gary Erskine of recent note as artist for Virgin Comics in the new Dan Dare series.