Teaching children to comprehend and make sense of what they're reading is key in the literacy acquisition process. Reaching beyond decoding strategies and fluency work, comprehension is king in reading instruction and practices. 
And, admittedly at times, teaching children how to comprehend can seem a rather daunting task within the four walls of our own classrooms. We teach strategies such as questioning, inferring, character analysis and text connections.
Visualization is another important and valuable component
to mastering the comprehension challenge.
By visualizing as we read, we create "movies" inside our minds that convey critical meaning and understandings found within the text. And although kids by and large may possess great imaginations, teaching them how to harness those visioning skills and channel them into making meaning from text can be another thing altogether.
Here are 3 tried and true teaching strategies
for helping kids to engage in the
visualization process...
The "pictureless read-aloud"
To begin with, I choose a fun and engaging story like Margie Palatini's Bedhead and read the entire book without showing one picture from the text - I even tape a file folder over the cover of the book so that my kiddos have no preconceived notions of how the characters look in any way. I still use great expression, phrasing, (all the good stuff of a stellar read aloud) but without showing any pics.
Then, I send students back to their seats with a blank piece of paper and instruct them to illustrate a particular scene they imagined while listening to the book. We then gather back at the carpet, pictures in hand, to discuss how each person has their own way of visualizing a story, based upon our personal background and schema. It's amazing (an often enlightening!) to see the different ways students visualize the characters and events in the story.
As a teacher, you can identify very quickly those students who may struggle with visualization by noticing a lack of detail in their drawings - or perhaps a reluctance to even begin the task. And you've just identified one of your next strategy groups in reader's workshop!
I finish the activity by then gathering at the carpet to read aloud the story WITH pictures - making connections to the importance of forming mental images while we read. Every year my kids love this activity, and it provides me with valuable information on who needs extra support in this area!
Visualizing Through our Senses
Helping children to visualize the story through their senses is an extremely effective strategy. One example I use in my classroom is through the read aloud of Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon. Written in the voice of a girl who is going “owling” with her father late one night, the author creates vivid pictures in our minds as you hear your “feet crunch over the crisp snow” and feel the “heat in your mouth from all the words that are not spoken.”
for helping kids to engage in the
visualization process...
To begin with, I choose a fun and engaging story like Margie Palatini's Bedhead and read the entire book without showing one picture from the text - I even tape a file folder over the cover of the book so that my kiddos have no preconceived notions of how the characters look in any way. I still use great expression, phrasing, (all the good stuff of a stellar read aloud) but without showing any pics.
Helping children to visualize the story through their senses is an extremely effective strategy. One example I use in my classroom is through the read aloud of Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon. Written in the voice of a girl who is going “owling” with her father late one night, the author creates vivid pictures in our minds as you hear your “feet crunch over the crisp snow” and feel the “heat in your mouth from all the words that are not spoken.”
After reading aloud and discussing the story, students work in groups to engage in a sensory sort activity where they organize phrases from the story into one of 5 categories. Each category is labeled with one of the 5 senses: see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. For this FREE resource, click HERE! :)
Post-it Note Scavenger Hunt
My kids love literary scavenger hunts! To practice visualizing, give each student 3 sticky notes as they head off to read. Challenge students to find 3 spots in their story where the writer uses wording that specifically helps the reader to form mental images. Gather back at the carpet for share time to discuss, and create an anchor chart to capture examples of findings.
Most of all, have FUN with your kiddos as you explore visualization in the classroom! Here’s an example of an engaging little activity I created to celebrate visualization successes in the classroom. My students had a blast with it! They drew 2 scenarios they envisioned while read their book, and then recorded the words that inspired the pictures. Click HERE to find out more about this project!
Do you have other visualizing lessons that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them! Jot me a note in the comments section below.
Happy Reading!
