Ashley Kaye Dallacqua he author reports on her study of ifth-grade students to demonstrate how graphic novels, in their similarities to ilm, can engage students in sophisticated discussions of literature. Exploring the Connection between Graphic Novel and Film image-based storytelling offers for a classroom, and real-world applications. Fifth Graders Connect Graphic Novels and Film During my research study in 2010, I examined the question, In what ways do readers engage while reading a graphic novel? Four ifth graders took part in book discussions and one-on-one interviews after reading two preselected graphic novels. These discussions took place in my classroom, after regular school hours. All of these meetings were videotaped, and then later I transcribed them. The four students read The Arrival, written by Shaun Tan, and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese. Tan’s wordless story illed with whimsical and at times eerie illustrations takes readers through one man’s journey to a ic- tional, foreign land. He leaves his wife and daughter behind and travels to ind shelter, food, and work. On his journey he meets people who share their sto- ries and help him along his way. Once he has arrived, the main character is joined by his family in this new world. Yang’s American Born Chinese is a set of three stories, including the old Chinese Fable of the Monkey King who no longer wants to be a monkey; the story of young Jin Wang, a Chinese American; and the story of Chin-Kee, a negative caricature of a Chinese teenager. All of these characters suffer from stereotyping and struggle with being comfortable with their identities. Near the end of the book, the stories overlap and merge, forcing the characters to face themselves, their culture, and their identities. n the spring of 2010, I had the pleasure of working with four ifth graders, exploring reading engage- ment with graphic novels. During my research study, I became inspired by the connec- tions these ifth graders made between the graphic novels we discussed and the ilm medium and ulti- mately concluded that this connection contributed to the engagement the readers experienced. In the year since this data collection concluded I have not been able to stop thinking about the connection be- tween graphic novels and ilm. Scott McCloud, in Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, outlines the basics to comics and briely references their connec- tion to ilm. In a similar manner John Golden, in his book Reading in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom, outlines the basics to using ilm in an academic setting and briely references ilm and storyboarding’s strong connection to com- ics. Both of these books are highly regarded and similar in content with regard to describing termi- nology, visual cues, structure, and reading of that particular medium. Each book references the other medium, but neither develops the connection. It is my hope, here, to explore that connection fur- ther. Additionally, I will illustrate the value these visual modes of literacy have as classroom tools for language arts educators. Using the voices of my students intertwined with current literature and re- search, I will show the connections drawn between graphic novels and ilm during our book discus- sions. These connections lead to academic implica- tions, including a similar ight for legitimacy, what 64 English Journal 102.2 (2012): 64–70 I Copyright © 2012 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.