Step Outside of Your Reading Comfort Zone

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I regularly encourage my students to step out of their reading comfort zone when selecting books, and I recently asked myself, "When was the last time I stepped out of mine?"

The answer was, not in a very long time.

I love fantasy novels and tend to default to the fantasy genre when selecting books to read in my free time, but one day, while staring at my classroom bookshelves, I had a realization. The most circulated books in my classroom library are graphic novels, and I've never read one before. Once I realized this, I felt a little embarrassed. I've known for a long time how popular -- how genuinely loved and cherished the graphic novels in my classroom are by my middle schoolers, but while I've held many a First Chapter Friday in my classroom to introduce my students to new genres, there has been an entire format that I've neglected to explore myself. (If you're interested in starting First Chapter Fridays in your classroom, check out this post!) I told myself that I simply had to fix this and make it right, and so my reading journey began with a graphic novel.

I'm in my mid-thirties, and until a few weeks ago, I'd never read a graphic novel. It wasn't like I'd consciously chosen to never read a graphic novel, but I don't recall ever having seen a graphic novel in my school library or at a book fair as a child. I'm not sure I'd ever even seen one until I began teaching. But I'm happy to report that I have read my first graphic novel, and after finishing my very first graphic novel I can confidently say, "I get it now! I get what all the hype is about!"

Speak Up!

For my first graphic novel, I chose Speak Up! by Rebecca Burgess. The story follows Mia, a 12-year-old girl who is autistic and struggling with both bullies and navigating a world that doesn't understand her. Mia also has a secret that she shares only with her best friend, Charlie. Mia is also Elle-Q, an internet music sensation, and she and Charlie create Elle-Q's wildly popular music together.

It's a heartwarming story about trust, friendship, taking chances, and chasing your dreams, but what really struck me was how the author illustrated anxiety and sensory overload. As a mom of two autistic children, there have been so many times that I wished I could just hop directly into my children's heads to experience what they were experiencing when they were struggling with anxiety and sensory overload so I can better understand what they are going through and find better ways to comfort them. Thanks to Rebecca's illustrations, I was able to see the feelings my children experience, which was incredibly eye-opening and helpful! Being able to see the feelings on Mia's face and see the way she pictured stressful moments was amazing!

Ben Bee and The Teacher Griefer

After reading Speak Up! I wanted to continue to explore stories that are told using different formats and styles, and I ended up finding BenBee and the Teacher Griefer by K.A. Holt. I already knew about K.A. Holt because Holt's book Knockout has been popular in my classroom. However, BenBee was totally new to me. While reading BenBee, I once again had an enjoyable and enlightening reading experience!

BenBee and the Teacher Griefer tells the story of Ben and his three classmates who love playing an online video game called Sandbox. They failed the Language Arts portion of their state test and are in summer school. They are divergent thinkers who are lucky enough to have a teacher who embraces their different learning styles, thinks outside of the box, and gets creative to help her students succeed by embracing their love for playing Sandbox. The book tackles some big issues, like grief and there are many ups and downs, but it's a very heartwarming story. The story is told from all four students' perspectives with alternating chapters. What I loved about this was the glimpse I got into the minds of four different, but divergent, thinkers. For example, Jordan has ADHD, and his thought patterns are reflected on the page with long, run-on sentences. Javier, however, is a visual thinker, and his thoughts are revealed through his notebook doodles.

Taking My Own Advice As teachers, we know that our students aren't the only ones learning in our classrooms - we're learning from our students too! This experience made me realize that I'd been avoiding graphic novels, and new formats in general, simply because they were new and unfamiliar to me. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by their modernness. However, by actually taking my own advice about stepping out of one's comfort zone when selecting books, I opened myself up to some wonderful new stories, and I'm so glad I did. I'm going to continue to explore stories told in formats that I'm not accustomed to, and I hope you will too!

(And if you choose to read Speak Up! and BenBee and the Teacher Griefer, fall in love with the stories, and decide to read them in class with your students, click the links below to check out my classroom resources for both books!)

Link to Speak Up! classroom resources.

Link to BenBee and The Teacher Griefer classroom resources.

Until next time! Lauren