Literature Circles III & Graphic Novel

Two things to talk about this morning: my latest literature circle experience and the graphic novel I have read for next week. Our literature circle spent time discussing Burger Wuss by M.T. Anderson yesterday, and we had what felt to me like a very productive conversation. We began by discussing the main character Anthony, and kind of branched out from there by talking about how he interacted with the other characters. This seemed to work for us when we discussed Harry Potter, no reason to change it. The difference between the two meetings was that our discussion revolved almost totally around the characters this time, whereas last time we spend more time exploring themes and specific events in the novel. I learned that the direction the conversation goes should be determined by the novel, and I hope to convey that to my students in the Spring when I teach using Literature Circles. I really want to teach The Book Thief for this unit, but it is unfortunately not in paperback, and not affordable for the students in hardback. That saddens me because it is one of the realities of Public School; there will always be something that you want your students to experience but can't because there isn't any money for it in the budget. :(
Back to our discussion and the dynamics of our lit circle...
I felt that we had fun with this book, and made some connections with one another that we may not have made without the activity, which made the time spent on the books and the activity worthwhile in my mind. I felt that I got to know the colleagues in my group a lot better than if I hadn't been in this group with them, and I also feel that I gained new knowledge and perspectives on the reading that I wouldn't have otherwise. This is what I hope to re-create in my own classroom soon.

Now, the really fun part of this BLOG: the graphic novel. I must admit that I was completely skeptical about reading a novel of this genre because I have all kinds of preconceived notions about comic books. I also didn't think I would be able to engage in a book like this because of these feelings. Boy was I surprised and delighted by being proved wrong! I read Maus I for this assignment because I had heard such good things about the author from my friend John, who got to hear him speak when he was here at U of L, and who has some experience with graphic novels. I also wanted to keep moving with the Holocaust literature in light of the experience I had when reading The Book Thief. I really want to open the study of this era up to my students beyond the stories of Anne Frank and Night. Those are great, don't get me wrong, but students need alternate perspectives, and honestly, most of the emotion involved in those two novels is lackluster at the high school age for many students because they have already read the stories, or heard a lot about them.
I was so shocked at the depth of emotion captured in Maus; I guess I didn't expect to be "wowed" by a book of this genre. It is amazing how the author can accomplish this depth with so few words, and with his incredible illustrations. I really think this type of novel will work with students, and I want to encourage the reading of them in my own classroom. I would like to read more, so I have chosen to buy the box set of the whole Maus story, and to read the second book for my next Young Adult novel. I am so interested in being knowledgeable about the graphic novel, and in learning from my students what they know that I may not. I am thinking of surveying the students tomorrow (11th graders) on this topic, so I will let you know what I find out.