CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7

Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Strategy: Visual imagery. (Bridges)

Detailed Description:Visual imagery involves students creating an image about the text which they are reading. Creating mental images while reading can improve comprehension.

Practical Application: In an elementary classroom setting (third or fourth grade), the teacher reads a portion of a text aloud. The teacher instructs the students to draw a mental image of what is occurring in the text. Students then form pairs and share their own visual images relating to the text. They verbally describe how their picture relates to the text. An alternative method would be to have students draw or create an image on a technological device, such as an iPad.

TRAP: The visual imagery strategy has been cited in numerous journals and books including Comprehension Instruction by Cathy Block and Sherri Parris in 2008. The strategy is designed to integrate technology and reading comprehension. It is especially effective when working with students with dyslexia or English Language Learners. The purpose of the strategy is to stimulate students’ comprehension and memories of the details of a text.

Strategy: Readers Theater. (Freeman)

Detailed Description: Readers theater is exactly what is sounds like. Students create a skit or play and act out whatever they have read or are currently reading. They are not required to use props or multiple people, but they may if they would like to. It is meant to be a small, engaging activity to assist in comprehension and to get students physically active.

Practical Application: In a 1st or 2nd-grade language arts classroom, students could get in groups and create props that they deem necessary to act out “The Hungry Caterpillar”. They could then use these props to act out the story. This activity would help them with comprehension, sequence of events, and summarizing. It would also build creativity and cooperation with other students. This activity could be used in any grade level and it could be revamped to fit all classrooms. For example, in a middle or high school classroom, students could choose a passage out of a novel that they are reading, and create a skit that visualizes that passage. This would be a great activity to consider for texts that are hard to comprehend to most students.

TRAP: This method was found on the Connecticut State Department of Education’s website under section 7 of their curriculum guide. The purpose of this specific section is to provide teachers with “instructional strategies that facilitate literacy across content areas”.