A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers. (Hibbing, Nielsen, and Rankin-Erickson, 2003)

Excerpt...

-Don’t assume your students can use visual imagery to support reading comprehension. Check out their ability to create images with discussions of what they “see” or with student-generated drawings.

-Students who have imagery skills may need to be prompted to use imagery to support comprehension. Those who don’t have the skill will need to be taught.

-Lack of ability to create images or ineffective images may be due to lack of background knowledge or vocabulary rather than reading skill. If this is the case, background knowledge will need to be built.

Providing the knowledge with picture books, movies, or other visual media also gives students a visual “memory peg” with which to connect new information from the text.

-Student drawings can be used for multiple purposes, but must be used strategically. Provide students with a purpose for drawing. Help them see that their drawings are a representation of their understanding, that drawings can help them remember important information, and that earlier drawings can be used to make predictions about what might happen next.

-Be mindful that lower ability readers tend to rely on text illustrations more than good readers. When the illustrations are accurate representations of the text, encourage students to use them to support comprehension. When the illustrations are not a good match, use this mismatch to provoke discussions that lead to deeper understanding of the text and build evaluation skills. Set students up for the mismatch beforehand so they won’t be disappointed and possibly disengage from the text.

Works Cited

Hibbing, Anne Nielsen, and Joan L. Rankin-Erickson. "A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers." Reading Teacher 56.8 (2003): 758. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.