To support the Graphic Novels community, we’ll be featuring new and upcoming graphic novels in order to highlight books or authors which may be of interest.
Note that these books have not been reviewed or vetted yet. Interested in writing a review, or know a STEM graphic novel we’re missing?, send us a note.
Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels
A new book to expand the excitement of teaching using graphic novels. We don’t know Tim personally, but this is an exciting take that’s US-focused for Common Core.
This text will allow you to harness students’ love of comics and graphic novels while increasing critical thinking and engagement in the classroom. Author Tim Smyth offers a wide variety of lessons and ideas for using comics to teach close reading, working with textual evidence, literature adaptations, symbolism and culture, sequencing, essay writing, and more. He also models how to use comics to tackle tough topics and enhance social-emotional learning. Throughout the book, you’ll find a multitude of practical resources, including a variety of lesson plans—some quick and easy activities as well as more detailed ready-to-use unit plans. These thoughtful lessons meet the Common Core State Standards and are easy to adapt for any subject area or grade level to fit into your curriculum. Add this book to your professional library and you’ll have a new and exciting way of reaching and teaching your students!
Science Comics: Bridges
Another book in the Science Comics series. Note that these books are written by different authors for each comic, so can have widely varying tones, appeals, and content. These almost always focus around a single protagonist as they explore a topic of interest.
Follow Bea, Archie, Trudy, and Spencer (otherwise known as the BATS!) as they crisscross the globe using every type of bridge: beam, arch, truss, and suspension. From ancient low-slung rope bridges to modern hi-tech towers of steel, they’ll traverse ‘em all. Their journey will take them through history and connect them with new ideas and different cultures. Along the way they’ll identify the dangerous forces trying to bring bridges crashing down, and how to defeat them…through engineering!