Marvel Comics has posted comprehensive lesson plans to support several titles from Marvel Illustrated, Marvel’s graphic novel adaptations of classic literature. Lesson plans for The Last of the Mohicans, Treasure Island and The Man in the Iron Mask are available at http://www.marvel.com/comics/Marvel_Illustrated. We spoke to Brian Kelley, who created the lesson plans, about how to use Marvel Illustrated in the classroom, as well as the educational value of comics in general.

BookShelf:  What is your background in education and comics?

Brian Kelley: I have taught high school English (grades 9-12) and college developmental reading and English courses for four years. I'm a certified English teacher and Reading specialist, though currently I am a full-time doctoral student. I am not a practicing teacher at the K-12 level; however, I do currently teach pre-service education courses and co-teach graduate-level education courses.

I have followed comics since I was in about fourth grade. Comics were neither authorized nor forbidden in my elementary school, and they supplemented other reading interests I had when in school. I combined reading of comic books with numerous library books, including books that were "reserved" for teachers. In terms of comics, most of my reading focused on Marvel's multiple X-Men series as well as some comics in the Malibu Universe (The Strangers, Exiles, Ultraforce, Mantra, Nightman, Rune). The first comics I remember reading were Count Duckula and Alf, both released through Marvel. In fact, I still have the original Count Duckula, Strangers, and Exiles series since they were series which made an impression on me.

In college, I didn't really have time to read comics since I spent a lot of time reading classical and contemporary novels and poetry collections (the life of an English major). I did begin reading graphic novels after discovering Maus. When Persepolis was published, my partner at the time bought me the book because he knew about my interest in politics, identity, testimonial, and memoir – interests which, though strengthened in college, really began with the reading of comics. Persepolis renewed my interest in the medium.

I think comics also impact my desire to pay attention to social issues by increasing my awareness of race, gender, and sexuality.  Simultaneously, comics helped me better understand my own identity.  I think that my desire to be an activist, a teacher, and a scholar found its earliest roots in the comics' industry.

Currently I'm working with the New Jersey Reading Association (a state affiliate of the IRA) and the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Novels SIG of the IRA to develop a position paper on graphic novels which helps teachers understand the medium, while also helping teachers think about issues related to policy, censorship, and curriculum development. Apart from the Marvel Illustrated series, I have also developed lesson plans for Bloomsbury USA/Walker Books for Young Readers for Rapunzel's Revenge and two Twilight Zone books.

BookShelf: How did you approach creating lesson plans for Marvel Illustrated?

Brian Kelley: While creating the plans for the current three books in the Marvel Illustrated line, I thought about the main reasons teachers would use these books. I felt that many teachers who would use these books would look for ways of adapting or modifying the text for students who were struggling or unmotivated readers. In writing the plans, I felt that each of the books in the series would have common elements – specifically, that these books were adaptations of classical works. Approaching the lessons as I did, I thought that it was important to first generate a general "teachers' guide" for using graphic novels and, specifically, the Marvel Illustrated books. The lessons, then, became more about application and assessment than introductions.

As I read through the books, I thought carefully about how these texts could be used in the classroom in order to help students engage in activities.  The major emphasis of these plans is on promoting learning through critical engagement. I felt that each of the three books offered excellent opportunities not only for cross-curricular lessons, but also for multiple activities which feed off of one another.  As such, I decided that the lessons should be multi-layered, helping teachers move students from comprehension of text to real-world application.

BookShelf: How does creating lesson plans for adaptations of classics like Marvel Illustrated differ from creating lesson plans for something like Wolverine?

Brian Kelley: I'm actually working on a lesson plan for Magneto: Testament for Marvel, and there are major differences between adaptations and original works. With adaptations of classical works, even in the Marvel Illustrated series, teachers typically have prior experience with the original works and choose the adaptation to supplement or differentiate instruction. In such cases, teachers may be looking for lessons which they can use with an entire class – with some students reading the graphic novel version and some students reading either the full version or another abridged version. I wanted teachers to see that the Marvel Illustrated series was no less literary in abridged and illustrated format than the original texts. I also wanted teachers to realize that these books were different from other graphic adaptations. There's a certain beauty that Marvel's publications possess that I have not seen in any other graphic novel, and I think Marvel entered this field with a wealth of talent that sets the bar for graphic adaptations very high.

The Magneto: Testament series is an original story for Marvel and, as such, I think it will have a different appeal for teachers. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I think this series, with its slight hint of magical realism and the seriousness of plot, will really reach readers and educators in new and exciting ways. There's a specific page of the series (which I won't divulge now) that has become the cornerstone of the lesson, and I think teachers will really be floored by what can be accomplished with comics. Again, the talent that Marvel houses is truly unrivaled and I think their artists, writers, and designers really know how to reach out to readers.

(Note:  It's also really awesome to see my name with the Marvel insignia on the same page.  I know it's geeky, but seriously, how cool is that?)

BookShelf: You include a lot of activities that highlight the cross-curricular applications of these titles. What is your process for determining those?

Brian Kelley: I think that these books will mostly appeal to middle school teachers, and in some states middle school teachers are either responsible for teaching multiple subjects or are able to closely work with teachers throughout content areas. I think that when I looked at these books, my first instinct was to find social studies applications. Even as an English teacher, I frequently think about how to hook students into reading assignments with historical and cultural information. I also like to push students to think about issues of ethics, values, morals, and character through various activities. With every book I taught, from Picture of Dorian Gray, Dracula, and Frankenstein to The Cancer Journals, War of the Worlds, and The Farming of Bones, I always realized that students get more from a book and from a lesson if they can think about the material through a myriad of lenses and if they can participate in a number of activities which are designed to impact their critical thinking.

Most of what I included in the lesson plans comes from reflection on my own educational experiences and reading interests. I remember how boring I found it when I was in eighth, ninth, or even twelfth grade and read pieces solely to analyze abstract "literary merit." I think that this self-awareness as both teacher and student reminds me, constantly, that instruction with good books (and these are good books) doesn't mean that students can't learn by experiencing. The research activities, writing exercises, viewing activities, and even activities like conducting a masquerade are designed to feed off one another and enrich the learning experiences for these students. I believe that students retain information more, and books have more of an impact on their lives, if they are capable of working with it from multiple angles - some fun, some academic.

BookShelf: What advice would you give to a teacher who is interested in working with Marvel Illustrated titles?

Brian Kelley: I think the major thing to think about is purpose. Why are you using these books and what is it you REALLY want to accomplish? I think if teachers look at these plans and see some benefit or guide for using these books, then that's great. Even if teachers modify the plans, I know they're making decisions in the best interest of the students. I guess I keep going back to the point I hinted at earlier – not every book or every lesson can be used with every classroom. I really respect teachers and think that the lessons or activities they design for their classrooms are done with the best of intentions. I kept this in mind while designing these lessons hoping that I was thinking about how to keep a classroom alive while helping to actually accomplish their own goals for using the books. Again, these books are excellent and beautiful, and I think a teacher choosing to use these adaptations will be very happy with the responses they get from their students.

BookShelf: What, to your mind, are some of the benefits to working with comics in education?

Brian Kelley: Children enjoy comics just as much as they enjoy other children's and young adult books. If we are sincere about promoting motivation and engagement with reading, and if we really believe that students should be encouraged to read books that they enjoy, then comics have a definite place in the classroom. There was excellent research on the reading habits of urban teenagers which indicates that teenagers – both male and female – were reading comics. Of course they were reading other types of materials, such as magazines; however, by including these texts in the classroom – whether as graphic novels for curricular purposes (like Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese or Nick Abadzis' Laika) or for the classroom library – helps teachers validate the reading interests of students.

Some teachers may worry that if students read comics or graphic novels, they will only read graphic novels or comics. In reality, students read multiple kinds of text – via the Internet, video games, board games, as well as children's and young adult books. In fact, the children's and young adult book market is still quite large and fanfiction websites suggest that children not only read more than in the past, but also respond and create in response to what they read more than before. Exposing students to graphic novels and comics does not mean that this is the only type of text they will read. I think it is important to stress, though, that comics should not be used as an "entryway" to reading non-graphic texts. Teachers need to respect these texts as valid and valuable components of, not ancillary or subordinate texts to, the world of literature.

Some may also worry about the caliber of the text, believing that comics – considering they are a blend of image and text – are too simplistic to be academic. We must remember that comics and graphic novels blend image and word, asking students to integrate information between image and word as well as multiple panels in order to comprehend the text. The cognitive talent required to read these texts is quite significant, regardless of how simplistic they may appear to an untrained eye.

I think most, if not all middle school and high school teachers would argue that motivation and engagement for reading is one of the biggest challenges facing educators today. James Bucky Carter has really paved the way for English teachers, in particular, to begin using these texts in the classroom, showing that they can be paired with traditional (or canonical literature) and that these texts are as literary as other works of literature.

I do think that we need to be cautious about how we integrate comics and graphic novels into the curriculum and into schools.  We need to make certain that the texts we select are of an excellent quality and that we're not offering students texts which are manufactured or unappealing. We also have to understand that, as with traditional novels and texts, not every book should be promoted by teachers and added to the curriculum or classroom library. With tight (and tightening) budgets, we need to be aware of what appeals to our students while respecting the need to learn and appreciate quality books. Asking students to be part of that decision-making process can really help teachers find materials which are appropriate.

I think that one of the things we need to do is balance carefully between validating students' reading interests, integrating appropriate materials, and also being mindful that these texts do have an element of the "taboo" which appeals to our students. We don't want to push graphic novels to the point where they become so dissected and studied that students lose interest in the medium. We do need to respect the principle of pleasure associated with reading, and when we bring these books into the classroom, we should constantly remember that children read more when they are interested in the material. 

We need to respect that children and young adults have read these texts for decades without any authority approving them, and we need to recognize that children and teenagers will seek out books which appeal to them without a stamp of approval. Our validation, then, should not be about "authority" but about recognition – we recognize that these books are popular, we know some (if not most) have literary merit and curricular applications, and we appreciate that they appeal to young readers. Bringing them into the classroom then is not about the teacher knowing more than the students about structure and storyline and providing that information to the student. Instead, we should acknowledge that our kids do have knowledge of structure and storyline – sometimes a deeper knowledge than we do – and that, as Pennac once argued, the readers have rights that can not be invalidated.