How to Read a Graphic Novel: Home

6-8

Missouri School Library Standards

6-8: Reading Engagement: Develop individual reading choices & Reflect on connections made during reading.

AASL National Standards

CURATE - Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing and sharing resources of personal relevance.

45 minutes

This lesson was created by Megan Bright, Liberty Middle School, Liberty 53 School District. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This lesson helps name the parts of a graphic novel so students and teachers learn to use all of the visual clues to help understand the story.

• Slides and a projector
• Access to digital or print graphic novels (via Sora, library collection, or physical books)
• Selected graphic novel pages displayed via projector or printed handouts

Students will learn vocabulary to use while reading and analyzing graphic novels.

Use the provided slides to discuss the various elements of a graphic novel. Then, apply those terms to specific pages of a graphic novel for whole-class discussion.
Warm Up:

• Ask students:
  1. "What do you like about graphic novels?"
  2. "What do you think people misunderstand about graphic novels?"
• Have students discuss at their tables for 2-3 minutes, then share responses with the class.
• Explain: “Today, we’re going to break down how graphic novels tell a story and how to read them like experts.”

Whole Group Instruction:

• Present the slideshow, discussing each of the following elements with examples:

  1. Panel Layout – How are the boxes arranged? Does the shape impact the story?
  2. Gutters – What happens in the space between panels? Are there any jumps in time?
  3. Character Expressions – How do the characters' faces show emotions?
  4. Background Details – What extra clues are hidden in the setting?
  5. Types of Text – How does the text style change to show tone or action?
  6. Sounds (Onomatopoeia) – How are sound effects written visually?
  7. Size & Scale – What stands out by being bigger or smaller?

• Interactive Check-in:

  • Pause after each section and ask students for examples from graphic novels they’ve read.
  • Show a comic strip or a short page, and ask:
    • “What do you notice about the panels and gutters?”
    • “What clues does the background give us?”

Guided Practice:

• Display a selected page from a graphic novel using Sora, a document camera, or printouts.
• Model how to analyze the page, asking:
  • “How do the panel layout and gutters affect pacing?”
  • “What emotions do the character expressions show?”
  • “What words, fonts, or sound effects stand out?”
• Call on students to describe their observations using the graphic novel vocabulary introduced earlier.

Discussion:

• Break students into small groups (3-4 per group).
• Assign each group a different graphic novel page (from Miles Morales: Spiderman, Babysitters Club, When Stars are Scattered, or New Kid).
• Task: Each group identifies at least 3 elements from the lesson and explains how they contribute to the story.
• Groups share their findings with the class.

Closure:

• Explain where to find graphic novels in the library, using the slides:
  1. In their genre sections (most are placed at the end of their corresponding genre).
  2. Narrative Nonfiction section (biographies/memoirs in graphic novel format).
  3. Manga section (organized separately).
  4. Nonfiction section (for factual graphic novels).
  5. Sora Digital Library (great for borrowing graphic novels online).
• Final Discussion Questions:
  • “How do you connect with characters in graphic novels?”
  • “Which graphic novel genre interests you the most?”
• Encourage students to check out a graphic novel before leaving.

• Observation: Monitor student participation during table discussions and group work.
• Class Discussion: Listen for students correctly using graphic novel terms in whole-group discussions.
• Group Presentations: Check that students can identify 3+ graphic novel elements and explain their impact on storytelling.
• Exit Reflection: Ask students to name one new thing they learned about graphic novels today.

For Struggling Readers / English Learners:

• Provide visual guides with labeled graphic novel elements.
• Allow students to work in pairs to analyze graphic novel pages.
• Use word banks with definitions for vocabulary terms.

For Advanced Students:

• Challenge them to compare two graphic novels and analyze how panel layouts differ.
• Have them design their own comic strip using the elements they learned.

For Students Who Need More Engagement:

• Let students choose a graphic novel page they want to analyze.
• Provide sticky notes for students to annotate elements directly on printed pages.