Reading Survey

  My intention with my reading survey was to try to gather some information on the impact that the introduction of graphic novels would have on the classroom.  The questions that were most important in my mind at the time were: would students be interested in reading graphic novels? If students were offered a graphic novel version of their text as a supplement, would they still read the main text? Also, is there a correlation between students who are artistically inclined and those who would be interested in reading a graphic novel?  Although my sample group was fairly small, I was able to glean quite a bit of information.  I have included a copy of my survey questions and the text of my Survey Analysis below:

  Survey Questions

1. How much time would you say that you spend reading each week?  Include magazines, internet, comics, newspaper, etc.

A. I don’t read    B. Less than one hour   C. 1-2 hours    D. 2-4 hours    E. 4 or more hours

2. Of this time, how much time would you say that you spend reading magazines or comics?

3.  How much time would you say you spend reading books? 

4. Do you read comic books regularly?

 

5. How much time per week would you say you spend on reading for school?

6. If you were given the choice to read a novel in its original written form or read a comic book that was based on it and told the same story, which would you choose to read?

7. If you were asked to read BOTH a novel and a comic book interpretation of the novel, would you read:

A. Both   B. Just the novel   C. Just the comic    D. Neither

8. Do you enjoy reading the books that your English teacher assigns for you?

9. Do you prefer art class or literature class?

10. Do you prefer movies or books?

Survey Analysis

My intention in selecting the questions for my survey was to determine what high school and middle school students’ reaction would be to supplementing novelistic reading with graphic novels based on the original novels.  There is an increasing trend towards creating graphic versions of classic novels, with novels such as Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Dark Tower by Stephen King now available in graphic format.  Both of these graphic novel translations were created with the involvement of the authors, which shows that many authors are willing to see their work translated into graphic context.  The potential for motivating readers by offering graphic novels as supplementary material is huge, in my opinion, but it comes with inherent dangers as well.  Some students, having been offered a shorter and less reading intensive alternative, may choose to forgo reading the novel altogether.  However, for students who associate better with visual stimuli and don’t enjoy reading, these graphic versions could serve as a jumping off point for getting into books.  Imagine a kid who enjoys reading comics but lacks the motivation or attention span for more “serious” literature.  Giving them a comic book that allows them to more easily connect to the story could actually motivate them to read the novel if they found the story interesting, and that experience might re-motivate them to read books.  It was with these questions and considerations in mind that I constructed my survey. 

            The first eight sources on my data sheet were drawn from a Sophomore homeroom at Denver Academy.  The surveys were distributed for me by a classmate works as a teacher.  The remaining four sources were the children of some of my friend’s co-workers.  The last four sources have much more variation in terms of age than the first eight.  I have included the ages of the last four sources on my data sheet. 

            The first question I asked was the estimated amount of time per week the students spent reading.  As one might expect, the two youngest readers estimated the lowest amount of time, with one 14-year-old answering that he doesn’t read at all.  (Interestingly enough, when given the choice between art and literature as his preferred class, he answered literature).  The most common choice for amount of weekly reading was 2-4 hours, while the second most common was 1-2 hours.  This shows, within my limited sample, a trend towards two predominant types of readers- those who read fairly often and those who read infrequently.  Within the 2-4 hour group, there was an even split between students preference for art or literature class. 

            Two students responded that they read for 4 or more hours per week.  One of these students expressed a preference for art over literature, and the other responded that it depends on the teacher.  I had expected to find that the most avid readers would express a preference for literature, but this assumption turned out to be wrong.

            The two most important questions on my survey concerned the use of graphic novels in the classroom.  The first of these questions was a straightforward choice:  If you could choose to read a novel in its original form or read a graphic novel which was based on the book and told the same story, which would you choose?  I found an almost even split on this question, with one student claiming no preference.  The second of these questions was a 4-way choice:  If your teacher asked you to read BOTH a novel and a comic book interpretation of the novel, would you read neither, just the comic, just the novel, or both?  The greatest number of students answered that they would read both.  Among those who would read just one or the other, the general preference leaned slightly towards just reading the comic.  Among those who expressed a preference for art over literature, the majority (3/5) claimed that they would read just the comic, while the remaining two students said that they would read both.  None of the students who prefer art would read just the novel, but would read both, as they had been asked, or read just the comic.  Within the admittedly limited scope of my survey, this shows that students who prefer art would be interested in reading graphic interpretations of novels.

            Only two students indicated that they read comic books regularly.  Both of these students responded that if they were asked to read both mediums they would.  One of these students expressed that if he was given the choice, he would read the novel. 

            Although it is difficult to draw any general conclusions from such a small snapshot, my results from this sample seem to show that the inclusion of graphic interpretations of novels would be positive.  The majority of students, if asked, would read both mediums.  There is a danger here as well- among those who would read only one or the other, slightly more responded that they would read just the comic.  However, this amount was not overwhelming.  The section in our main text by Bucher and Manning is consistent with my findings.  Bucher and Manning stress that the graphic novel should not be written off as “mere fluff”, but can be a valuable teaching and motivational tool, especially for reluctant readers and visual learners.   

            Although this was just a snapshot, I was able to garner some useful information from this survey.  I had been concerned that the majority of students would just read the comic if asked to read both, but the majority claimed that they would read both, so this concern seems to be unfounded based on the snapshot.  I had expected that if given the choice, most students would prefer to read the comic because it would require less time and effort, but my results indicated an even split.  Most students seem to be willing to read the novel, even when offered a less reading-intensive alternative.  This survey was a valuable experience because it showed me that some of my concerns about including the graphic novel as a part of class might not be as grounded as I had thought