Sterling Grade School fourth graders dove into a graphic novel book club in January sponsored by the school library. A graphic novel is a book-length story told through comic book format with illustrations and word bubbles. In recent years, there has been a boom in the popularity of graphic novels for kids, and many high-quality books have been published that are highly engaging for students and also convey complex ideas that help them grow as readers and as people.
The project was developed by district librarian Amy Brownlee over the summer when she participated in a two-week National Endowment for the Humanities institute on teaching with comics held at San Diego State University’s Center for Comic Studies in California.
Brownlee received grant funding to purchase copies of the award-winning graphic novel Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas. It follows the story of a girl who moves to a new school, takes on new challenges, and becomes part of the school’s swim team. The book teaches a lot of valuable lessons about teamwork, perseverance, overcoming doubts and fears, bullying, and friendship.
All 44 fourth graders participated in the book club. Students were divided into small groups, each with a jr. high volunteer Reading Leader. There were nine 7th- and 8th-graders who volunteered to read the book on their own and lead small group discussions with the fourth graders.
“Our fourth graders were very excited to spend time with the jr. high Reading Leaders,” Brownlee said. “It was a great leadership opportunity for our older kids.”
The goal of the project is to increase reading excitement and motivation, encourage students to read and discuss quality literature, and to promote the joy of reading.
“Studies show that fourth grade is when we see a sharp decline in students’ interest in reading for enjoyment,” Brownlee explained. “We have a lot of strategies we use in the library to combat the dip in reading motivation, and this book club was a new element. Research tells us that the more positive experiences people have with books and reading as children, the more likely they are to become lifelong readers. That’s the goal.”
