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Kids Read Comics Pre-Conference

When

Friday June 19, 2015: 10:00am to 5:00pm  Add to Calendar /   Add to Google Calendar

Where

University of Michigan Duderstadt Center (2281 Bonisteel Boulevard)

For Whom

Information Professionals, Educators, And Cartoonists

Description

A special KRC Pre-Conference for Librarians, Educators, and Cartoonists! Come warm yourself up for the fun events at the Kids Read Comics Convention by participating in some panels and hands-on workshops. Librarians will get resources on how to build and maintain their collections; Educators will learn how to incorporate comics into their curriculum; and Cartoonists will learn new ways to work with these two groups to better advocate for their medium!

It’s free to attend, but we ask that you please register here.

All events will be at the James and Anne Duderstadt Center located on the University of Michigan North Campus. map

10:00-11:30 am – Comics: A Pathway to Learning
As teachers find a variety of uses for comics, graphic novels and manga in the classroom, they need to understand the complex thinking and deep skills required to both read and create them. In this workshop, work with cartoonist Jerzy Drozd to explore the convergence of literary and artistic disciplines inherent in comics and see how comics can be a powerful way to build reading comprehension skills, such as prediction, inference, and fluency.

All participants will be given a 61-page packet that will help you develop your own comics programming and classes, even if you don’t know how to draw!

1:00-2:00 pm – The Secret History of Comics Readers
In November 1953, Ople Noble sent a letter to forensic psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. Noble, who was secretary of her eighth grade class in Bisbee, Arizona, and her classmates had read and discussed Wertham’s article in Ladies’ Home Journal, “What Parents Don’t Know about Comic Books.” She wrote to share her and her classmates’ insights on juvenile delinquency and comics with the psychiatrist, as they disagreed with many of his conclusions. Encouraged by Wertham’s reply, which was accompanied by a box of chocolates from Macy’s Department Store, Noble wrote at least two more letters to Wertham, one of which outlined the results of a class discussion on the comic character Green Arrow.

In this talk, Professor Carol Tilley will share more about Ople, as well as young fanzine creators, letter writers, amateur cartoonists, and more, who read, wrote, and played with comics during the mid-20th century. Don’t miss these secret and seldom-told stories of some of the kids who helped make comics the most important print media of the 20th century and remind us why comics matter.

2:00-3:00 pm – Panel – Comics in the Classroom
Wondering how to get the most out of using comics to teach your students or to create compelling events at your library? Moderator Colby Sharp (Nerdy Book Club, nErDcamp MI) and an all-star cast of cartoonists and educators will share some engaging strategies and tips to get your students more immersed in any subject. Colby will be joined by Kean Soo (Jellaby, March Grand Prix), Tory Woollcott (Mirror Mind), Sabine Gabaron (Lecturer at the Univesity of Michigan), Laura Given (school librarian), and Jim McClain (Reading With Pictures: Comics That Make Kids Smarter and Solution Squad).

3:00-4:00 pm –Tour of the University of Michgan's Computer and Video Game Archive
Librarian Dave Carter will guide you through the collection of video games in the University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive. Get up close and personal with some old friends, whether it’s the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, TurboGrafx-16, or the Sega Dreamcast!