Blog Post #2 - Genocide and Comics
See comments section at the bottom of this blog for a free book give-away. All you have to do is comment for a chance to win.
Hi there and welcome to my second blog post. I am a high school social studies teacher of over 25 years and know the power of teaching through a humanities lens of analytical reading and writing. I share a lot of my lessons in my Eisner nominated book, Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels – available through online booksellers and Routledge’s website -https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-with-Comics-and-Graphic-Novels-Fun-and-Engaging-Strategies-to-Improve-Close-Reading-and-Critical-Thinking-in-Every-Classroom/Smyth/p/book/9780367520373
You can reach me by email - historycomicsguy@gmail.com or on social media - @historycomics. I am also on Facebook - my page is Teaching with Comics. Please share my website and this blog with friends and colleagues. I am available for consulting work, inservices, presentations etc.
I am still trying out this blogging part of my site, so thank you for being here! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. I am also going to be doing book give-aways in the near future as well.
This week, I am sharing my lesson on genocides where students individually research a genocide and then share with one another. Our ELA teachers do a phenomenal job teaching Elie Wiesel’s Night in classes the year prior to me having these students in my 10th grade World History course. In our WWII unit, we revisit the Holocaust and reconnect to what students previously learned. Following the Holocaust lessons, we then use this base to explore genocides throughout history and today. The intent is for students to learn about patterns, similarities, differences, etc. and decide what can and must be done in our time. I wrote about these lessons in my Eisner nominated book, Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels, but will share much of our classroom resources and activities here as well. I do not take this content lightly and I see this as perhaps the most important project of the year and hope that students walk away with enduring understandings that will shape them as involved global citizens. I take care to have conversations with students, to answer questions, and to have built a communal and respectful classroom community over the course of the year leading up to this fourth marking period project. I have created a Google Slides presentation with my resources and lessons here - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bQy19f11V6FHRQY07SOa_x3bv3DvIPGL/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106404336286912298554&rtpof=true&sd=true – you can download my directions, worksheets, and resources.
The first year I did this project, I had students from small groups and research a genocide together. They then presented to the class and students took notes during the presentations. This year, I decided to have students individually research a genocide and then, instead of presenting to the entire class, they will have a conversation with another student and learn from one another. I found that the whole class presentations were too formal and did not foster conversation. When students teach to one other person, it is much more personal and allows me to go around the room and really interact with each small group. It also prevents students from being overwhelmed, having to learn about many genocides over the course of several days. By the end of the project, students will have an in-depth knowledge of four genocides – enough that we can being to see an overall picture and to make some decisions as a group.
I am very proud of my students and have been impressed with their empathy and historical analysis skills. At the end of the project, students will then hand-write a formal essay, with citations, evaluating their genocide. They will also submit a formal typed MLA-style annotated works cited page. We spent time this year learning about how to evaluate sources for credibility – a vital skill.
BUT WHAT ABOUT AI? I get this question a lot when I give presentations and inservices. We do have ClassPolicy – an app on teacher computers that allow us to see what students are doing on their computers during class time. Each day, students have to submit a summary of what they did during class and I am continually talking to them throughout the class period. Everything is done in class. When they present, they absolutely have to know what they are talking about and fully understand their content and process. When they handwrite their essay, I already have their notes and they also know that I will check their cited sources.
Questions or comments? Feel free to post them here. I didn’t want to write too much, but I hope I did a decent job of explaining what we are doing in class.
Graphic Novels and comics I read this week and recommend. Pictures of the books and sample pages can been seen in the gallery below.
Rex Rocket by John Gallagher – author of the Max Meow series. This is a middle grade series. The first will come out in summer 2026. Zany and hysterical fun. Visual story-telling taking full advantage of the comics medium. Great lessons about team work and has a lot of astronomy/space science sprinkled throughout. Each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger and encourages young readers to predict and think ahead. As we are in the midst of the exciting Artemis program, this series will be perfect to engage students about current events.
Inbetweens by Faith Erin Hicks. This story hit me directly in the feels! A beautiful message of taking it easy in yourself and finding your way. A story about twins attending a summer arts/animation program and struggling to find their way. “You’ll find where your art belongs.” – this is the perfect quote that sums up so much of the story. One of my own kids has been on a self-taught journey of art and animation and so this resonated deeply with me.
Mrs. Orwell by Andrea Chalupa and Brahm Revel– high school level – I learned so much when reading this book! Tells the fascinating story of Eileen Blair (George Orwell’s wife and partner). I did not know about their involvement in the Spanish Civil War and the impact of Stalin… really makes sense when reading his books. It is so powerful when ELA and social studies teachers can teach together in a true humanities fashion and this book would be an excellent way to do so.
Armaveni by Nadine Takvorian – 8th grade and up (some cursing, violence). This is the author’s true story of finding out about the experiences of her family in the Armenian Genocide. Powerful and emotionally involves the reader. This makes an inhuman history very human and was put into my classroom library for the genocide project.
My Journey to Japan: Escape to Yokia Mountain by Matthew Loux. This is a middle grade reading level – but I can see it being used in elementary through university classes. When I was reading it on my lunch in the school library, the Japanese teacher excitedly interrupted me to talk about how her students are learning about these same topics and will be visiting some of the same places this summer. The story is fun and engaging, with so much insight into Japanese culture, geography, technology, etc. I even put together a quick teacher guide for it.
My Journey to Japan: Escape to Yokai Mountain by Matthew Loux
Excellent resource for many levels –
Elementary through University social studies/History and ELA classes – an introduction to Japanese culture, religion, geography, technology, etc. A way to discuss the importance of folklore as students can then research/explore folklore/mythology from other cultures. They could also describe folklore from their own culture.
Japanese language class – comics add built-in scaffolding to help support readers, especially when learning new words. Students could also be assigned a page/panel to reword in Japanese – the teacher can photocopy a page after having taken the English words out of the dialogue balloons. (This can also be done on the computer in PowerPoint, etc.)
Draw your own map of Japan or an area of Japan (or use pictures) and describe it using Japanese.
Copy a map of Japan and have students track where the characters are going through the story. Students could use pins or markers on a paper map, or circle/draw arrows on a digital map.–
Create a comic about an imagined trip to Japan. What places would students most want to visit?
Create a comic for a Japanese student coming to visit your country, local area, or even school. Label all the things you’d think they need know in Japanese and English.
Research Kappa – Japanese water imps. Create a comic about them. You can also research more about Japanese Yōkai and create a presentation/comic to explain to the class. What are some magical creatures that are a part of your culture?
Conduct research on castles in Japan – compare to castle building in other countries. (An awesome source on European castles is Castle by David Macaulay and there is a video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGbPShUpjpg). Compare European knights to Japanese samurai, chivalry to bushido.
Draw an illustration of American teen culture to a visiting student from Japan.
Draw an illustration of traditional American culture for a curious Japanese student.
Draw an illustration of a popular festival celebrated in your country after learning about the Gion Matsuri.
Create a comic about an average day in your American life for a curious person in Japan.
Food – students can make the Japanese food mentioned throughout the book.
What elements of Japanese culture do you recognize in your own life? Manga, anime, J-Pop, video games, etc.
I am currently reading Hip-Hop and Comics, edited by Sheena C. Howard, Justing D. Burton, and Brea M. Heidelberg. These two worlds have always belonged together and I am so glad to see more and more being written on this connection. This collection of essays has proven insightful and could be an entire college course! I put a picture of some other Hip-Hip resources in the picture collage.
