Teaching with comics

 I hate to even post this as I always post everything I do for free. I don’t want to put a paywall between this work and teachers who are already underpaid. Resources - like buying books, paying for my website, blog, etc. - gets expensive when funds are tight. If you use my resources and would like to send a little support, I’d appreciate it. If you can’t, I understand and I’ll keep on posting anyway! Thank you to everyone for all of your support over the years!

They Called Us Enemy. A graphic memoir based on the experiences of George Takei and the time his family spent in Asian-American internment camps during WWII. The illustrations immediately pull the reader in on a personal and emotional way that a prose book just cannot do. Students are able to make quick connections to the Jewish Holocaust through the visual information. I would suggest pairing this book with the March Trilogy in a larger discussion about civil rights and connections to today. A must watch in the classroom is Takei’s Ted Talk that inspired the creation of this graphic memoir - https://youtu.be/LeBKBFAPwNc

How to Spot a Jap - a racist US Army pamphlet in comics form during WWII - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5020743/Shocking-WWII-propaganda-pamphlet-spotting-Jap.html

https://classroom.popcultureclassroom.org/product/educational-comix-series/colorful-history/ - Pop Culture Classroom is a wonderful organization that shares free educational resources. I have written several articles and lesson plans for them, including several on the Internment Camps. These short comics are all free to download and use in the classroom - you add them to your cart and then they are emailed to you - free of charge.

Citizen 13660, by Mine Okubo, 1946. This illustrated memoir was created just one year after WWII and serves as a powerful primary source of the time. She recorded everything in these illustrations as cameras and photographs were not permitted.

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner, 2014. Something I had never considered before reading this book - what happened if only one of your parents was of Japanese ancestry? Stunningly illustrated, this book tells the complete story of Pearl Harbor, suspicion, growing racism, internment, end of WWII.

displacement. 2020. This graphic memoir is a combination of non-fiction/memoir and historical fiction as it is based off of the experiences of the author’s grandmother. It is a story that connects to today’s youth as a disinterested teen is tired of being dragged through her mother’s travels in her childhood neighborhood. But then her family’s history becomes all too real as she travels back in time to the Japanese-Internment camps and forces the reader to consider what this life was like. Historical events become all too real as we can see/feel them through the people who lived through them. There are powerful wordless panels that allow the reader to slow down and to immerse themselves into the reality and emotions of the internees. The ever present tags with numbers is a chilling reminder of the connection to Jewish concentration camps. Current events are intermixed throughout the story as we see the impact of the election of President Trump and the proposed Muslim immigration bad. At the end of the story, mom and daughter discuss the possibilities of events repeating themselves and the importance of speaking out.

Pie In The Sky by Remy Lai, 2019. This wondrous story is a combination of powerful illustrations and prose that tell a story in a unique and compelling manner. Lai shows us the trials of being an immigrant and just trying to fit in, while also trying to hold onto family and traditions. The pairing of text and illustration just really blew me away as they truly are so much more together than apart. Seeing the language difficulties in this way just made so much sense to me and to my own children.

Fly on the Wall by Remy Lai, 2020. LOVE this book, not only for its story, but also for the intertwining of prose and images in such a powerful and unique way. Such a wonderful human story that connects culture, identity, and strength of spirit.

Stargazing by Jen Wang. 2019. What does it mean to be Asian-American? To be Chinese-American? Christine wonders if her new neighbor, Moon, fits her own thoughts of what it means to be a part of this community. Fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft will immediately see the connections as the characters question who they are and their role in the world. This story centers on not judging someone by your own preconceived notions, while also trying to fit into the larger American community yourself. Mostly, this journey is one of exposure to different types of folx and knowing that we are all individuals.

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha, 2020. A moving memoir about being uprooted as a teen and trying to fit into a new culture and school. I love the interplay of words in English and Korean as the reader moves through the illustrations. Educators can be reminded of how tough it can be for immigrants into our classrooms and the individual struggles each goes through on their own. I easily made a connection to Jerry Craft’s New Kid in that comics, and pop culture, was able to bridge a wide divide between cultures.

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, 2017. Heart-wrenchingly powerful to read as a parent. For older readers due to some language and nudity. This really puts a human lens on the struggles of families just trying to survive and to have a better future.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, 2017. An wonderful imaginative trip in which Nidhi uses bright colors as an active character in this story about India and an Indian-American family. As a story alone, it is immersive and stunning. BUT - as a vehicle to understand important topics, this book is a wonderful educational resource as well. Immigration, parenting, bullying (on an economic and racial level), the importance of teachers seeing their students, the importance of family, the struggle of finding one’s identity. Wow! This book is on its way to being made into a movie and I cannot wait to watch it! Nidhi’s website is full of her mind-blowing art and worth a visit - while there, you can also view the FREE teacher guide she was kind enough to put together for Pashmina - https://everydayloveart.com/product/pashmina-study-guide/

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, 2006. I have written many teacher guides for Macmillan, including for American Born Chinese. You can access the lessons here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tW1A0J8lFKc01JmifvDZxkDU4oeOoSPieb_rpmE-Bhc/edit?usp=sharing . This story is truly a book within a book and challenges the reader to see the individuals before us and to not judge.

Green Lantern, Legacy. My own kids LOVE this entire series from DC Comics - these graphic novels are meant to engage middle and high school readers in a meaningful way. I love that Minh was able to bring his own Vietnamese heritage and voice into this graphic novel and the illustrations by Andie are just amazing. When young readers are exposed to stories such as these - they are better able to understand large topics like racism, immigration, and more through the eyes of an individual. This is what makes comics such a powerful tool in the classroom and a wonderful way to make sure our classroom libraries are full of representation and individual voices. Students are then free to raise questions and want to find out more about the real-life events that are mirrored in this story. But, at the same time, this is also a story about any 13 year old trying to navigate life. To figure out who they want to be and the values for which they stand in this life.

Amadeus Cho - Korean-American Hulk. His initial appearance was as the Totally Awesome Hulk and he is now known as Brawn. I had his comic out in my classroom and a Korean-American student picked it up and talked to me about how much he loved seeing this new character. Learn more about Cho here - https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amadeus_Cho_(Earth-616) . I love that, not only is he relatable to teens, he is also one of the smartest people on the planet!

PROSE BOOKS

I cannot recommend these four books enough! I have “met” the bravest of Americans in reading through these letters, diaries, and oral accounts of living in the Internment Camps and fighting to save the same American government who imprisoned them.

My own kids and I read this as part of their Project Lit Club in middle school. I am also a Project Lit advisor for my high school and I HIGHLY suggest joining in this nation-wide grass roots literature club, reading current books that challenge our views. This club was begun by Jarred Amato - follow @jarredamato and @projectLITcomm for more info.

Farewell to Manzanar, 1973. A middle grade reader, can also be used for high school readers. Would be interesting to pair this prose reading with George Takei’s graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy.

https://korematsuinstitute.org/ - A collection of powerful resources on Fred Korematsu and his civil rights political and court battle against Asian-American discrimination and internment during WWII and after. This website offers powerful FREE resources for educators and I have used them in my own classroom - including a free graphic novel that makes connections to treatment of the Asian-American communities and the Islamic-American community. Here is a direct link to a free online 24 minute video - https://korematsuinstitute.org/of-civil-wrongs-and-rights-film/