EDUC 6809 Reading #4 A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

How does creating an Illuminated Text project relate to this article? “For readers who struggle, pictures operate beyond the decoration function (Levin, Anglin, & Carney, 1987), serving as a tool to create or confirm understanding.” (Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson 2011).  The Illuminated Text activity would be a highly effective strategy to assist students in comprehending various forms of text.  For example, poetry can be difficult for students to interpret.  But, if poetry can be transformed to images by students or teachers, then students would be able to create the mental imagery or memory pegs that foster understanding. My belief is this: “If we truly want to reach learners, they must be involved in the process of gaining understanding.  We cannot expect our learners to be “little robots receiving information”.  As participants, and creators of products, our students are accepting the responsibility of learning ownership.”  While creating the Illuminated Text for this class, I was able to show my interpretation of friendship, based on Eleanor Roosevelt’s poem, not someone else’s idea of friendship.  Also, I had to examine each word independently, and apply my understanding of the word.

 The following concepts represent students as active participants in the learning process.

Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson (2011) suggest, “In our work with struggling readers we have found that the use of sketches, illustrations, picture books, and movies provides students with information on which to build their internal images. By supporting students with these tools, the teacher provides students with essential elements necessary for responding to the text.”  While reading this article, I consistently related the content to strategies I practice with students in the classroom.  Some strategies were very similar, and a few were new and thought provoking.  To begin with, I have found success in using before, during, and after comprehension strategies across the curriculum.  In relation to using images, I model the process and explicitly teach the process to students.  Before reading, during reading, and after reading, I choose vocabulary, and images for students to illustrate, analyze, make predictions, and compare and contrast.  Students keep journals of their illustrations, and notes.  Students are involved in the process, and feel as if there is a purpose set for reading.

The W-R-W-R cycle is interesting due to the possibilities of a deeper depth of knowledge.  According to Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson (2011), “The parallel visual representation of the text allows students to practice visualizing, summarizing, predicting, and confirming even if they struggle with reading the text.”  I have never used a video/movie parallel to reading a novel.  What a powerful technique to ensure students’ understanding of the text!  A few weeks ago, I observed a teacher reading the novel, Holes with her students. Several students commented about going home in the evenings and watching the movie as the class progressed through the book.  I believe some were excited to find out what happens next, based on their predictions, and some probably watched to gain a better understanding.

Anne, N. H., & Rankin-Erickson, J. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual   images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers. The Reading Teacher, 56(8) 758- 770.