The Arrival

    This week's reading was a bit different than usual, but nonetheless I enjoyed the graphic novel. The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a wordless graphic novel that tells the story of a man that sails to foreign land to seek a better life, leaving his family behind. The graphic novel tells a story that a lot of people can relate to, not only to those who migrate to another country, but also those who struggle fitting in. Overall, I enjoyed the graphic novel not only for the story it convey, but also the art style. It give a drawn on old paper feel to it, which I very much find appealing. 

    It was difficult trying to make a connection between the novel and my discipline, but I came up with a few ideas. In terms of thinking mathematically while reading, you can make connections to math concepts like graphs or mathematical notations or you can look for patterns like shapes, structures, etc. For example, on page 21 (of the pdf) students can identify geometric shapes in the images. As someone who enjoys reading graphic novels about my favorite superheroes and creating art myself, I often connect math and art. Proportion plays a crucial role in my exaggerative cartoon style, as I use it to emphasize certain features and create a sense of depth and distance.

    Did your discipline influence how you approached reading The Arrival? How might you incorporate a graphic novel similar to The Arrival into your classroom?


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