Creating Locally Relevant Curriculum with Graphic Novels

Abstract

We need a locally relevant curriculum because it is engaging and leverages community knowledge strengths. However, new teachers are not always aware of the resources available to make a locally relevant curriculum. Here in New Mexico, Los Alamos is a location with many resources detailing its purpose and existence. These resources coupled with so much notoriety inside and outside the state make Los Alamos a place that lends itself to culturally relevant instruction. Specifically, graphic novels provide a unique medium for students and teachers alike to start learning about the city that started the Atomic Age: Los Alamos and begin applying that knowledge more broadly. I, being a student and a teacher from New Mexico, offer my own understanding of a locally relevant curriculum utilizing three graphic novels about Los Alamos, its people, and its stories.

Citation

Bailon, M.R. (2021), "Creating Locally Relevant Curriculum with Graphic Novels", Rice, M.F. and Dallacqua, A.K. (Ed.) Luminous Literacies (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 36), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-368720210000036010