“Classroom Connections” aligns Classroom Standards with comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books that students will want to read. All titles are available in Comics Plus.
Summer is a time of leisure! A time of fun! And for avid readers, it’s a time for reading whatever we want, wherever we want!
But what about our youngest readers who are not yet confident swimmers in the vast ocean of books? Or those who have not caught the wave of a new favorite series or author? What if they see words swimming in their head like millions of sardines; or they’re doggy paddlers, still learning to connect the words they hear with the text they’re reading?
What about the Summer Slide?
“The good news is that the summer slide is often overstated. In fact, evidence is decidedly mixed on whether it really exists, and education researchers say that summer is an opportunity.”
School’s Out. Should You Worry About the ‘Summer Slide’? Scientific American, 2023
Some research discusses the importance of books being “matched” to the student’s interests (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 2003) — in other words, letting them “Read what they want!” Other research has stated there must be a “match” between the reader’s ability and the readability of texts chosen by students. (Kim & Guryan, 2010)
If a book is too easy, the reader does not improve; too difficult, the reader becomes frustrated and does not read it.
Simply having access to books isn’t enough; readers need books at the appropriate level that also interest them. “Children who are at risk for summer reading loss may need help to ensure that they read the books they’re given and that they do so in ways that are likely to build decoding skills, fluency, and comprehension.” (Kim & White, 2011)
Young readers need scaffolding, or floaties, to support them as they read.
Building and Reinforcing Young Readers’ Skills
With Comics Plus, your beginning, early, and middle grade readers have unlimited, simultaneous access to a deep collection of graphic novels, manga, and picture books they’ll want to read all year long.
Our free Reading Skills Reinforcement for Young Readers resource is designed to help build and reinforce their reading skills — whether by decoding words, practicing fluency, or constructing comprehension.
It includes recommended titles and aligned classroom standards that can help librarians and educators enhance their reading programs, while providing scaffolding tools to parents who need it to ensure reading success continues at home.
Vickie Blankenship and Stella Bromley are Engagement Specialists for LibraryPass, as well as school librarians and educators with extensive experience in librarianship at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Both bring expertise in professional development and educator training, working with school districts nationwide. They have presented locally, regionally, and nationally on best practices for collection development, library programming, and classroom pedagogy. Active members of their state library associations, they are dedicated to fostering a love of reading in students and educators alike. They share a passion for connecting readers with the “just-right” book and believe that reading takes many forms, whether it’s traditional print books, comics, graphic novels, or manga; as long as readers are engaged with a book, their love for reading will grow.
Read All The Comics!
“An absolute game changer.” School Library Journal
With Comics Plus, schools and libraries can offer readers unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, manga, and picture books from popular publishers like ABDO, Andrews McMeel, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Mad Cave, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more.
No holds, wait lists, or monthly borrowing limits—all at a price that won’t break your materials budget.
Learn more at comicsplusapp.com and sign up for a free demo account.
We curate high-interest, immersive digital content that helps schools and libraries expand and diversify their collections—without breaking their materials budgets.
