I see what I read I feel what I read
It's like a movie in my mind
I create pictures in my mind as I read.
Visualizing
Sensory Images
“When sensory images form in a child’s mind as he reads, it is an ongoing creative act.
Pictures, smells, tastes, and feelings burst forth and his mind organizes them to help the story make sense.
It is this ongoing creation of sensory images that keeps children hooked on reading.” (Zimmerman, Hutchins)
Bring Text Alive
“Sensory images are the cinema unfolding in your mind that make reading three-dimensional.”
(Zimmerman , Hutchins)
The Research…
• Proficient readers spontaneously and purposefully create mental images while and after they read. The images emerge from all five senses, as well as the emotions, and are anchored in a reader's prior knowledge. ... Proficient readers use images to draw conclusions, to create distinct and unique interpretations of the text, to recall details significant to the text, and to recall a text after it has been read.
—Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmerman, from Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop, 1997, p. 141
Research Shows That
“Comprehension of textual information increases when students can create detailed mental pictures of what they are reading.” (Muehlher, Sieman)
The mind stores information in two forms: linguistic and imagery.
Research Shows That
“The more students use both systems of representation:
linguistic and nonlinguistic, the better they are to think about and recall what they’ve read.”
(Muehlherr, Sieman)
Creating Vivid Images During Reading. . .
• Correlates highly with overall comprehension.
• Understanding, attending to, and developing a personal awareness of the sensory and emotional images that arise from reading give students the flexibility and capacity to experience text at an added depth. (Keene, Zimmerman)
What About our Dependent Readers?
• If kids fail to create sensory images, they suffer a type of “sensory deprivation.”
• “It’s like walking into a theater and sitting in a seat. But nothing comes up on the screen.”
(Zimmerman, Hutchins)
Proficient Readers. . .
Spontaneously and purposefully create mental images while and after they read.
Allow the images and emotions to emerge from all five senses. These are anchored in a reader’s prior knowledge.
Proficient Readers. . .
Allow themselves to be engaged more deeply, making the text more memorable.
Use images to immerse themselves in rich detail as they read. (The detail gives depth and dimension to the reading.)
Proficient Readers.. .
Use images to draw conclusionsCreate distinct and unique
interpretation of the textRecall details significant to the
textAdapt their images as they
continue to read by incorporating new information and new interpretations
Proficient Readers. . .
Understand and articulate how creating images enhances their comprehension.
Adapt their images in response to the shared images of other readers.
Visualizing with Wordless Picture Books
Purpose: Visualizing to fill in missing information
Resource: Good Dog Carl, by Alexandra DayResponses: Students draw what they visualize happening
between the pages and write about it.
Lesson 1
Illustration
__________________________________________________
Visualizing From a Vivid Piece of Text
Purpose: Merging prior experience and the text to create visual images
Resource: Fireflies, by Julie BrinkloeResponses: After reading, students draw visual images. Discuss
how each individual brings their background knowledge to the text.
Illustration
Lesson 2
You Try It!“The barn was very large. It was very old. It smelled of hay… It smelled of the perspiration of tired horses and the wonderful sweet breath of patient cows… It smelled of grain and of harness dressing... It was full of all sorts of things you find in barns: ladders, grindstones, pitch forks... lawn mowers, snow shovels, ax handles, milk pails, water buckets, empty grain sacks, and nasty rat traps...”
-The lead to Chapter 3, “Escape,” in Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
Lesson 2
Visualizing in Nonfiction Text: Making Comparisons
Purpose: Visualizing to better understand the dimensions of size,
space, and timeResources: National Geographic Kids article, “Beelzebufo:
A Giant of a Find” or any nonfiction trade books that use illustrations to make comparisons.
Response: Drawing a comparison between one object and another
Lesson 3
A Beelzebufo frog is as big as a beach ball!
Resource: The Librarian of Basra: A true story from IraqResponse: Class discussion; Charting responses
Lesson 4Visualizing in Reading, Showing Not Telling
Purpose: Creating images with compelling nonfiction
What makes the scene come alive?
The sand swept country
The abandoned buildings
Alia worries that the fires of war will destroy the books
Vivid Verbs and Nouns in the Text
The whispers of war grow louder.
The city is lit with a firestorm of bombs and gunfire.
The war rages on.
The beast of war moves on.
Resource: “Tea Overboard in Boston Harbor”Response: I see…, I hear…, I can feel…, I smell…, I can taste…
Lesson 5
Creating Mental Images That Go Beyond Visualizing
Purpose: Using all the senses to comprehend text
Title: Tea Overboard in Boston HarborAuthor:
I see…Americans disguised as Mohawk IndiansChests of tea being cracked open and the tea being thrown overboard
I hear…The hooting and howling of the AmericansThe chests of tea being cracked open and the sound of the tea splashing in the water
I can feel…The tension between the Americans and the BritishThe sense of pride the Americans feel for taking action against England’s control
I smell…The sea and the smell of tea in the air and in the water
I can taste…Salt water on my tongue as it hangs in the damp night air
Inferring
Merging background knowledge with clues in the Text to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated by
the author. Reasonable inferences need to be tied to the text
Making predictionsUsing context to determine meaning ofunfamiliar words/conceptsInterpreting the meaning of language
figurative, idiomatic, metaphoricVisualizing
Inferring relationshipssetting to plotcause/effectcharacter’s feelings/motives
Inferring author’s purposeCreating interpretations based on text evidenceUsing text evidence to surface themes and big ideasInferring the meaning of text featuresInferring the answer to a questionDrawing conclusions based on text evidence
Inferring involves merging background knowledge with text clues to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated in the text. Inferring is the
proverbial reading between the lines.(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007)
BK + Text Clues = Inference
Resources: A feelings chart and a card with the word sad written on it. The card is pinned to on the back of one student who doesn’t know what it says.
Response: Child with card on back goes in the middle of the circle, and kids give him or her clues as to how they feel when they are sad to help the child guess the feeling word.
Lesson 6
Sad
… my sister hit me with a golf club
…my dog died
…my mom said we couldn’t go to McDonald’s
…my grandpa died
Inferring Feelings with Kindergarteners
Purpose: Helping kids to better understand their own and other’s feelings: introducing inferential thinking
Resource: Time for Kids Article, Haiti Picks Up the PiecesResponse: A four-column think sheet titled Word/Inferred
Meaning/Clues/ Sentence and a chart with the same titles
Word Inferred Meaning Clues Sentence
magnitude strength/power Power Word Box“The
measurement of an earthquake”
The magnitude 7.0 quake ripped through the
country’s capital.
fleeing leaving Context clue Many residents are living in tent cities that have sprung
up across the capital. Others are fleeing the city for the countryside.
devastated ruined Pictures of crushed homes
A massive earthquake
devastated their island homes.
Lesson 7Inferring Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
Purpose: Using context clues to crack open vocabulary
Inferring Meaning of Unfamiliar Words
Strategies to Decipher Meaning of Unknown Words
• Look inside-the-word - Prefix, Suffix, Root, Base or Word Chunk
• Look outside-the-word - Use Context Clues and Text Features
• Look at other resources - Glossary, Dictionary, Peers, Internet
Resource: Tight Times, by Barbara Shook HazenResponse: Two-column note form headed Quote or Picture from
Text/Inference
Lesson 8
Quote or Picture from Text Inference
Cover of book showing boy with one lima bean on his fork and many on his plate.
What does Tight Times mean?
The dad tells him that tight times are why the babysitter picks him up after school instead of his mom. His mom has job.
He doesn’t like lima beans.
When you don’t have enough money to do the stuff you want to do.
His mom must have to work because they need the money.
Inferring from the Cover and Illustrations as Well as the Text
Purpose: Using all aspects of a book to infer meaning
Resource: Tight Times, by Barbara Shook HazenResponse: Three-column chart titled Background
Knowledge/Text Clues/Inference
Lesson 9Inferring with Text Clues
Purpose: Teaching the inferring equation BK + TC = I (Background Knowledge + Text Clues = Inference)
Background Knowledge
Text Clues Inference
Moms can get cranky when they are rushing to work in the morning
Babysitters should be watching kids
She says no when he asks for a dog
She is watching TV and the dad looks mad
He has probably asked for a dog over and over
The dad is mad because she is not doing her job
Resource: Baseball Saved Us, by Ken MochizukiResponse: Class discussion; chart of themes; theme boards
Lesson 10
Baseball Saved Us
Evidence in the Text(Words, Actions, Pictures)
Themes
Thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The camp was located in the middle of the desert. In order to boost spirits, Shorty’s father decided to build a baseball diamond and form a league.
Illustrations
InjusticePrejudiceTransforming anger into power
Reflect tone and mood of story
Recognizing Plot and Inferring Themes
Purpose: Differentiating between plot and theme, and inferring the big ideas or themes
You Try It!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Evidence in the Text(Words, Actions, Pictures)
Themes
Walked into the bears home uninvitedAte their foodBroke their chairsSlept in their beds
SelfishnessThoughtlessnessGreedinessDisrespectfulness
Resource: Textbook or nonfiction trade booksResponse: Two-column note form headed Facts/Inferences:
ongoing discussion about how comprehension strategies help readers understand content reading
Lesson 11
Topic:
Facts(Something we can see and observe)
Inferences(Interpretations)
Apatosaurs are slow.Adults protect young.Took place 70 million years ago.Bacteria decay the banana.
The T-rex will catch them.The Apatosaurs are plant eaters.
Bananas get rotten when you leave them out too long.
Visualizing and Inferring to Understand Information
Purpose: Using reading comprehension strategies to better understand content area reading
Resource: Encounter, by Jane YolenResponse: Discussion and sticky notes for questioning and
inferring
Lesson 12
EncounterBackground knowledge: Christopher Columbus was an explorer who was trying to reach India. He didn’t get to India, but he found a new land. He was looking for gold and riches.
Questions(I wonder…)
Inferences(I think…)
(cover) Is the man on the cover Columbus?Is the boy trying to push the man away?
Is the boy’s dream a nightmare?Are the birds in his dream the ships?Do the Taino think the birds are spirits?
Why do the men from the ships want to claim the land?
I think the little boy is telling the story.
Maybe the dream was telling him the visitors were evil.
Maybe the men want gold…
Inferring and Questioning to Understand
Purpose: Inferring go hand in hand to build understanding
TEACHING WITH THE END IN MIND:
ASSESSING WHAT WE’VE TAUGHT
INFERRING AND VISUALIZINGLook for evidence that:
•Students visualize and create mental images to make sense of what they read. As students listen to and read text, we look for evidence that they draw and write about their mental images or mind pictures to support understanding.
•Students infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. We look for evidence that students are using the context to figure out the meaning of words and concepts the elude them.
•Students use text evidence to infer themes and bigger ideas. We look for evidence that students are merging their background knowledge with clues in the text to themes and bigger ideas.
•Students infer and draw conclusions from informational text using features and text structures. We look for evidence that students enhance their understanding and think beyond just the facts as they read textbooks and other nonfiction text.