Today, many people don’t take comics serious while turning to other types of books which, in their view, have higher artistic values. Their loss. They just don’t realize how beneficial reading these visual and textual masterpieces can be.
Over the last ten years, more educators start using comic magazines in a real-case scenario. While kids are deep in the perusal of graphic novels packed with superheroes and provocative thought dialogue balloons, their parents ponder whether these pieces do really help their children to enhance their educational skills or not.
Meanwhile, literacy and writing professionals, as well as instructional designers, make a compelling argument in favor of employing comic magazines as a good teaching tool. So, let’s get to the main advantages comic book fans get when enjoying their favorites.
Comic Book Stories Improve the Functioning of the Brain Mechanisms
All teenagers know that reading is good for them. Doing that a lot is not only about becoming a good member of a library. Teachers always say that the more one reads, the smarter he or she is. And they are completely right!
In 2013, it was found out that giving a careful perusal to the stories has an incredible effect on the brain functioning. This occupation changes the activity of neurons not only for the moment a person reads but also for a few days after the reading is finished. In fact, stories change the functioning of the brain mechanisms; therefore, the way one thinks changes too. Thus, comic books packed with stories is a good tool to boost your brain activity.
Comic Books Contribute to the Students’ Academic Performance
Many of those with poor reading skills can greatly benefit from the masterpieces presented in both pictures and written texts. A few studies showed that readers who find it difficult to acquire textual materials can understand them better if given in the form of dialogue balloons and images. With their eye-catching graphical elements and a focus on plotlines, comic magazines can gain more fans than other literary genres.
Reading comics can also help those who cannot get the texts written in an advanced language. When people deal with both texts and graphical elements at the same time, they acquire the provided information in a completely different way. We will talk about this in the following section.
Moreover, comics help students to learn educational information which other times may seem to be boring for them. It is known that those who start reading comics are able to acquire more information than they did before. They show better results on the tests involving memory questions than those who do not read comic magazines. Therefore, those who usually seek English homework help should think about turning to comic magazines.
Educators of schools and universities went even further. Except for teaching literature, they now use comics to enhance students’ writing abilities. When teachers make students work on their own stories, they give them a chance to enhance their storytelling skills as well.
Those who struggle with reading difficulties, do better with comic magazines than with boring books presented in a traditional manner. The pictures combined with the phrases are easier to acquire for those who face some issues when reading plaintexts. Educators took this into account and developed a series of educational matters designed in a comic book format.
Comic Books Change the Flow of Thoughts
To digest the info provided in the books, readers have to process several components at a time. Except for dealing with texts, they have to perceive visual elements while using their spatial abilities to create a complete understanding of the story.
Therefore, readers get interested in this kind of literature for the same reason they like watching movies and play video games which involve more complicated processes. Much research has been done to investigate the neurological effects of reading comics. In accordance with the received results, there is a lot more to these books than just “looking through a pack of sketches,” as some critics state.
Comic Books Are Not Just About Superheroes
Very few people know that comic magazines involve also many other topics rather than only superheroes’ adventures. There are also thousands of great novels and nonfiction materials. All of these storylines, as well as many other books, are focused on important questions and touching feelings.
The pictures along with the speech bubbles allow readers to perceive the considered themes in a quite different way than they do when dealing with traditional masterpieces. Students should go further than regular prose. They should discover everything comic books can offer. They probably will not like everything they read, but again they still don’t enjoy all the traditional books they hold in their hands. They just have to be put on the right way to find out what fits them.
To Conclude
Comic books and magazines have already made their way into the educational process. There are many investigations that have shown how this genre does not only inspire students to enjoy literature but also enhances their various educational skills. Along with reading abilities schoolers experience the improvement of their writing and thinking skills. All of these are due to the specific manner all comics are presented in. The combination of dialogue balloons and images boosts readers’ brain functioning even after the story is finished.
