By Arune Singh
Ask any comic book fan about the lessons they learned from comics and they'll likely talk about the moral and social values gleaned from the adventures of Marvel's greatest heroes. But one school in Brooklyn—PS 124—is teaming up with Marvel's greatest heroes to teach some fifth-grade students how to read and write in English. Utilizing Marvel's Ultimate Collections En Espanol, these lucky students at PS124 have not only discovered the Ultimate Universe, but also a whole new way to communicate. Marvel.Com caught up with Daniel Tandarich, the teacher spearheading this initiative, to learn more about this groundbreaking program.
A former Education Director at the New York City Comic Book Museum who also created an after-school educational program featuring comic books for Americorps and the YMCA, Tandarich explains that he's always looking for new ways to get his students excited about reading. "A large portion of my day is focused on teaching new reading strategies to the students as well as new ways to excite them about reading. One part of my reading program is guided reading where I take a small group of students and work on a particular reading strategy or goal. In this case, I am focusing on my English-as-a-second-language-students. The Ultimate Collection en Espanol is a perfect tool for this because of the excitement that comic books offer as well as the
fact that I can use the English and Spanish versions to help make the students feel more comfortable. Plus, the character of
Spider-Man is so recognizable that his stories instantly mesmerize the kids."
Tandarich's a life-long comic book fan, citing the
Avengers as his favorite superhero team, and integration of that passion into his classes was a natural choice. Though he's been integrating comic books into his classroom for some time, he admits that the Ultimate Collections en Espanol opened up a new way to educate his students. "I have always tried to bring comic books into my work somehow," he says. "It makes my job so much easier as students are instantly attracted to the colorful illustrations and exciting situations. Sometimes I think that this generation of students have not been exposed to comic books as much as in the past, so there is this feeling of something new in the classroom that they are not expecting a teacher to pull out, especially to use as part of a reading lesson.
"I have been getting many students from all around the world in my classroom and many of them speak Spanish and are just learning English," adds Tandarich. "I needed some materials in Spanish and I wanted something having to do with comic books. The Spider-Man collection was a perfect match for my classroom and for what I wanted to accomplish with my students, which was engaging them in reading and making them feel comfortable in my classroom. The interplay between the words and pictures helps them to identify the English and Spanish equivalent of certain words quickly and makes them feel really good."
Some might wonder just why this ambitious teacher chose to use comic books as a way to bridge this linguistic divide when there's certainly a bevy of resources in other mediums, but Tandarich subscribes to the "use what you know" philosophy. "Comic books are a perfect balance of words and pictures," explains Tandarich. "Sometimes I refer to [comics] as 'illustrated sequential fiction', if I want to get fancy. The students WANT to read the issues and are immediately drawn into the storytelling. Sometimes that is half of the battle. The students will choose to read them on their own without any prodding from me, even on their lunch time and recess. It's gotten to the point where sometimes I need to ask them to stop reading them because we have to move on to math. When that happens, I feel like my goal of having them love reading has been accomplished.
"But one of the biggest reasons that I use comic books is for the fact that my students are getting many clues to what is going on in the story," he continues. "If they are unfamiliar with a word, they can look to the illustration for a clue or see how the character is reacting to get an idea of what is going on. Their learning is scaffolded by all of the conventions of the comic book—dialogue, pictures, sound effects, facial expressions. It all ties in together to make a cohesive whole as well as give the students a sense of satisfaction for figuring these things out on their own.
"As far as the other mediums you mentioned, television is not really an option in the classroom. Novels are used on a regular basis, however, when I want to teach a specific reading strategy like the clarification of word meaning or asking good questions. I find that comic books really assist me to zero in on what I want my students to know and remember."
Marvel Comics is certainly not the first company to publish comics in Spanish, but as Tandarich explains, the unique flavors of Marvel characters and stories make it perfect for his purposes. "I think the best thing about the Marvel Universe and its denizens is the 'real world' aspect of it all," says Tandarich. "The real life problems that some of the heroes have to overcome such as fighting crime and getting to class on time or being blind or fighting Dr. Octopus while you have a cold. The kids like seeing how these characters are going to solve their problems and save the day at the same time.
Spider-Girl is a great example of one of these characters along with dozens of others. And they love comparing one character to another. Whether it is who is stronger, the
Hulk or
Thor, or who would win in certain battles."
But it's not only the students at PS124 who love the integration of comic books in the classroom—the parents are fans too! "I've had parents come up to me and say that their children won't pick up a book at home but that they will read comic books on their free time," reveals Tandarich. "I don't want comic books to replace books but I do think that some students need that extra time to find their love of reading and comic books are a fantastic way to get them on their way. I tell parents that we all need a starting point for reading and what a great way to start, especially for those more reluctant readers.
"Also, some students are really attracted to the artwork and they begin making their own comic books, including dialogue for their characters. I usually have a lot of student-generated comic books adorning my classroom by the end of the school year. Once parents see the value of comic books they will definitely be making that weekly or monthly trip to their local comic book store."
You can keep up with the exploits of PS124
here, but stay tuned to Marvel.Com for more on Tandarich's unique educational program. To purchase these collections, you can find your local comic shop by calling 1-888-comicbook or heading over to
TalesOfWonder.Com.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN SPANISH COLLECTION TPB (JAN082218)
Written by BRAIN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by MARK BAGLEY
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ULTIMO COLLECIÒN LIBRO 1 TPB (JAN082218)
Escrito por BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Dibujado por MARK BAGLEY
Rated A …$29.99
On-Sale NOW!
ULTIMATE X-MEN SPANISH COLLECTION TPB (JAN082219)
Written by MARK MILLAR with GEOFF JOHNS
Penciled by ADAM KUBERT, ANDY KUBERT, TOM RANEY,
THOMAS DERENICK & AARON LOPRESTI
New Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
ULTIMATE X-MEN ULTIMATE COLLECIÒN LIBRO 1 TPB (JAN082219)
Escrito por MARK MILLAR con GEOFF JOHNS
Dibujado por ADAM KUBERT, ANDY KUBERT, TOM RANEY,
THOMAS DERENICK & AARON LOPRESTI
Nuevo dibujo LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Rated T+ …$29.99
On-Sale NOW!
To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook
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