RATHER THAN BEMOANING BOYS' FASCINATION WITH MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES, TEACHERS CAN USE THESE VISUALLY MEDIATED NARRATIVES TO ENGAGE RELUCTANT READERS AND WRITERS.
AN OBSERVATION
EDUCATORS WHO GREW UP WITH LESS TECHNOLOGICALLY COMPLEX MEDIA MAY BE TEMPTED TO DISMISS OUR CHILDREN'S AND OUR STUDENTS' MEDIA AFFILIATIONS, CONTRASTING THEM WITH WHAT THEY REMEMBER AS FAR MORE WHOLESOME LITERACIES OF THEIR OWN CHILDHOODS.
Although comic books or cartoons are often considered subliterature and hardly appropriate for schools, these genres make an interesting bargain with young readers.
As students get older, new multimedia genres of digital storytelling such as video literature can sustain their interest in reading.
To stay on literacy train, challenged readers need access to cartoons, comics, graphic novels, and picture books.
Texts supported by pictures are far more appealing.
