Learning From the Comics

We're not talking Lenny Bruce here. We're talking about schools using comics and comic characters to help kids learn. Schools have quietly been recognizing the power of comic books and the graphic format to coax reluctant readers.

Boys and Superheroes: A recent news story featured a school in Maryland that's using comic books to encourage reading. They're hoping the program works especially well with boys, whose reading scores tend to lag behind girls.

Pikachu Goes Polymath: And creators of graphic characters are banking on making big bucks in education, too.

Ten years after the brand was introduced, Pokémon is going to school. The Pokémon Learning League is a full-fledged curriculum for grades 3-6. The characters will teach science, math, language arts, and life skills with content developed to meet the national curriculum standards.

Displaying an impressive pedigree, the program was developed by experienced education writers and evaluated by an advisory board of prominent educators, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The big idea is to engage children in a compelling storyline and then use a tried and true educational practice of having kids "watch," "try," and "apply" as they learn. The entire program is web based and there's a free evaluation period from now until October 31; afterwards, it switches to a yearly paid subscription of $1,000 per school. Households can buy it for $100.

MMPORG for Juniors: The Cartoon Network, whose mantra is to teach kids through humor and optimism, is launching a MMPORG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) for kids ages 6-14. The game is set to launch in 2008 and is based on their popular cartoon characters like Mac, Bloo, and The Kids Next Door.

It's Elemental: My personal favorite? The two Kentucky professors who dreamt up The Periodic Table of Comic Books.