Canadian study: Comic books may help children with reading difficulties learn to follow stories more effectively

From The Vancouver Sun in Canada:

Teachers and school boards should embrace comic books and graphic novels as a "gateway" literature, helping children transition towards more complex narratives and helping boys catch up with girls in reading achievement, according to a new study.

The study, released July 21, by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) reveals how comic books help develop a child's ability to follow a sequence of events, interpret symbols, predict what will happen next and connect narratives to the reader's own experiences.

Moreover, comics and graphic novels can help bridge the learning gap between boys and girls.

The CCL study cites the latest Program for International Student Assessment, which reports that 15-year-old Canadian girls outscored boys in reading achievement. The study also cites research that indicates girls take more enjoyment from reading than boys.

According to the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation, however, after newspapers or magazines, comics are the most popular reading materials for boys. Elementary school-aged boys report reading comics significantly more than girls.

"If comic books can serve as that vehicle to increase the interest and enjoyment in reading — which the study shows is lacking in boys relative to girls — then they can help," said Jarrett Laughlin, CCL's senior research analyst.

Laughlin said the study serves to dispel some of the myths surrounding comic books, such as the canard that comics will replace the reading of other genres in classrooms.

The research shows that boys who read comics also read more text-based material and report more reading enjoyment than boys who don't read comics, he said.

Brett Walker, a teacher who runs a boys-only reading group at Ottawa's Lester B. Pearson Catholic high school, agrees with the study's findings, although he takes issue with some of the statistics that claim boys don't enjoy reading as much as girls.

It all depends on what we mean by reading, he said.

"I think what we define as reading needs to change," he said. "I think if you ask a boy if he likes to read websites (rather than novels) he'll probably say so just as much as girls — if not more."

Walker said his school started a reading group for Grades 7 and 8 because young boys were underachieving compared to girls. He said research suggested boys do better when surrounded by their own gender and when reading materials they enjoy and said group members have shown improvement in their reading skills.

He said the club has become "cool" and is considering expanding the program to include older boys.

Walker also shuns the idea that if given the choice, boys and girls will only read comics and steer clear of stories with advanced narratives.

"You have to start somewhere," he said. "If a kid is not reading at all, they will never get to the complex stuff."

The July 21 study also suggests comics and graphic novels are helpful for children with learning disabilities or for those who are not ready to read text. Comics gives readers practice in understanding material on a printed page, tracking left to right and top to bottom and processing what happens between individual panels in a story.