The Graphic Textbook

My buddy Dave Wheeler and Mindwave comics brought something awesome to my attention today via their Twitter feed. A group of awesome comic artists are working on a textbook that fits Common Core standards AND that kids will want to read. The Graphic Textbook lives as a Kickstarter campaign that ends in six days. If you have some spare change to donate to a good cause, head on over and help out. There are rewards for donating.

The Graphic Textbook unites the finest creative talents in the comics industry with the nation's leading experts in visual literacy to create a gamechanging educational tool for the classroom and beyond, one that’s tied to a revolutionary impact study overseen by the Learning Sciences Department of Northwestern University. 

The goal is to create an awesomeness-filled book of the highest artistic quality and literary merit that also meets all the criteria necessary to be accepted as classroom curriculum. 

Aimed at grades 3-6, The Graphic Textbook features a dozen short stories (both fiction and non-fiction) that address topics in a variety of disciplines (Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, Science) drawn from the list of Common Core Standards used in classrooms countrywide. The accompanying Teacher’s Guide will include Standards-correlated lesson plans customized to each story, research-based justifications for using comics in the classroom, a guide to establishing best classroom practices and a comprehensive listing of additional educational resources.

The Graphic Textbook will prove once and for all that comics belong in the classroom by creating a comic that every teacher will actually want to use and a textbook that every student will actually want to read!

Page Count: 144
Print Format: Hardcover
Digital Format: ComicsPlus and DRM-free, print-quality PDF
Bonus Material: 100-page digital Teacher's Guide

Sound like a good idea? I think it sounds like a GREAT idea. It's almost completely funded (less than $10k to go!) and a $25 donation can get you a copy of the finished book. Chances are it will cost at least that retail, so if you're a grade 3-6 teacher, this might be a smart investment for you!