CBLDF is committed to helping parents, educators, and students turn challenges into triumphs in remote learning situations. Check out all the free resources we have for you to help keep your kids interested and learning, including lesson plans and discussion guides for more than 50 graphic novels!
With the temporary closing of schools and libraries, we’re here to help. These tools will help students, parents, and teachers take comics and graphic novels from online or around the house and turn them into great learning. All our resources can be downloaded or read online for free.
There’ll be more free resources for you in the days ahead, so stay engaged with CBLDF on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
We’re going to get through this, together.
Online Activity Resources
Using Graphic Novels in Education boasts in depth lesson plans for nearly 40 graphic novels! Titles include Amulet, Drama, This One Summer, Nimona, Ms. Marvel, Astronaut Academy, Lumberjanes, March and many, many more. This tool is a fantastic one-stop-shop to create lessons with titles many you already have around the house.
CBLDF Discussion Guides are conversation starters to lead graphic novel discussions around books that have been banned and challenged. In each guide, you will find the book’s synopsis, themes, suggested age range, reason challenged, discussion questions, and best of all, activities! Titles include Persepolis, Sandman, Watchmen, Maus, Fun Home, and more!
Panel Power is where to start, providing an introduction to why comics are good learning tools for kids. Panel Power is loaded with activities and reading recommendations for engaging kids with comics!
Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love To Read! gets deeper into specific ways parents and educators can use comics for learning. This resource is written by Dr. Meryl Jaffe, with an introduction by three-time Newbery Award honoree Jennifer L. Holm (Babymouse, Squish) and art by Eisner Award winner Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Drama) and Eisner Award nominee Matthew Holm (Babymouse, Squish). Graphic design was handled by Brooklyn-based designer David Herman. Raising A Reader! was made possible by a grant from the Gaiman Foundation.
This Is What Democracy Looks Like is a free comic book that maps out how the US government works. It was designed to foster democracy and encourages readers to become more informed and engaged citizens. Produced by the Eisner award-winning Center for Cartoon Studies, this comic is part of a major campaign promoting civics that will appeal to readers in and out of classrooms! This comic is the centerpiece of a national campaign for Constitution Day organized by the Center for Cartoon Studies with CBLDF and other major education and rights organizations. The free teaching guide includes lesson plans with ideas for technology extensions/modifications that are helpful for adapting lesson plans to remote learning situations.
Comic Book Club Handbook provides information on how to start and make the most of book clubs for comics and graphic novels. Designed for librarians, retailers, and individuals alike, the Comic Book Club Handbook provides proven strategies for getting started, selecting books, engaging your community, managing discussions, and much more, including a helpful table of books to get you started.
The Manga Book Club Handbook will help you start and make the most of book clubs for manga! The Manga Book Club Handbook lays out the basics of manga and provides the tools you need to start a book club for manga, including suggestions for remote book club meetings and readings to get you started!
CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics is the definitive history of the women who changed free expression in comics, with profiles of more than 60 groundbreaking female professionals and interviews with the women who are changing today’s medium, including Raina Telgemeier, Noelle Stevenson, G. Willow Wilson, and more! Read the original profiles and get teaching guides in this link. This is an excellent resource for educators looking for online reading material to support their study of Women’s History Month, and during the COVID-19 crisis, CBLDF is offering this for as little as $0.
The CBLDF Banned Books Week Handbook is a free resource that gives you the scoop about what comics are banned, how to report and fight censorship, and how to make a celebration of Banned Books Week in your community!