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Graphic novels can contribute to effective content area reading on social studies topics such as the American Revolution. This action research study’s purpose was to examine student recall of facts, enjoyment of reading, and interest in the topic when using graphic novels as compared to illustrated nonfiction prose in social studies content area reading. Twenty-two fifth grade students (13 females, 9 males) in a public school in a Midwestern state participated in the study. Half of the students read about the Boston Massacre and Patrick Henry through graphic novels and read about Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party with illustrated nonfiction texts, with the other half doing the opposite. The mean number of correct ideas recalled by students two weeks after reading two books in the graphic novel condition was 8.6 compared to 7.1 for the nonfiction prose condition with a medium effect size. Students rated their reading enjoyment significantly higher in the graphic novel condition indicating that graphic novels should be employed more often into the school curriculum. Suggestions for integrating graphic novels into the curriculum are provided along with other ways to take action.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the research steps taken to identify message directions for a community-wide health communication campaign aimed at supporting healthier eating behaviors among Latino farmworker families in the Immokalee community in Florida. Latino mothers were targeted to understand their beliefs about children’s healthy eating needs and identify communication campaign opportunities that would reinforce choices made in the home, surrounding meal planning, food selection and preparation and portion sizes.

A sequential mixed-methods approach using focus group, group interview and qualitative message concept testing was used in three distinct stages of research exploration. An independent sample was recruited at each stage through convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods. The stages of change theory provided a framework for research inquiry in the context of healthy eating-at-home practices.

In general, mothers were aware and participatory in the effort to serve healthy meals for their children at home. The time and money associated with buying nutritious foods and cooking healthy meals daily was stressful, but they were receptive to communication efforts to help them maintain their commitment to give their children healthy foods. These findings provided directional opportunities for the discovery and implementation of health communication strategies. Test results found that the target was most receptive to message strategies that acknowledged the responsibility of both parents to model healthy eating practices to children.

Recruiting resulted in small sample sizes at each stage of the investigation. The reliability of quantitative measurement was a limitation to the research conclusions.

Partnership with the audience from discovery to conceptualization resulted in messages that uniquely resonated with the audience for which they were aimed. Understanding about the target stage of readiness improves message effectiveness to the target group.

Health communication campaigns planned and developed with the target audience at its center will generate message strategies that effectively address issues of greatest relevance to those communication agents that seek to change.

The study provides a unique exploration of the steps that health communication agents should pursue to establish a thorough profile of their target audience and the issues that resonate when considering healthy eating behavior at home. The application of the stages of the change model encouraged the discovery of issues surrounding the challenge and highlighted potential obstacles that would mitigate the behavior change efforts.