How to read comic panels...
Picture Referenced
When teaching comics, you should begin with teaching students how the flow of the panels read. Maus I is generally very simple concerning the panel's design. In comics, the reader reads from left to right and moves down the page. just as in traditional texts. You can use examples from the text to explain how the reader moves from panel to panel. The teacher should present several examples from the text on an overhead projector screen and give examples on how to read the panels correctly in front of the class.
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You may find that some students may want to continue reading graphic novels in their personal lives. There are different styles comic authors may use when writing their graphic novel. Therefore, examples from other sources may be helpful for the students in your classroom as well.
An example from the acclaimed graphic novel Watchmen, by Alan Moore, is below.
With this example, you can tell students that graphic novels are not always laid out as easily as Spiegelman's work. You do not read left to right, immediately in this work. On this page, the panels work downward. Then you move left to right. Stress to students that the panels all work together to make sense. If they are not able to make sense of what is happening through the panels they read, a different pattern may be being used. Go over several examples with the students from other graphic novels. This may help give them some suggested readings for the future. Below are some other examples.