Melanie Tew
Reading to Learn
Rationale: Visualization
is a key strategy when reading. It is important for students to
visualize
what they are reading because it helps them to better comprehend the
text. In
this lesson, students will make connections between the text and their
background knowledge by visualizing what they understood while reading.
They
will express their visualization through artwork.
Materials: Poem My
Snowman by Neal Levin for each student
: Drawing paper
: Markers and crayons
: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
(HaperCollins Publishers.
: Pre-drawn
visualization of My Snowman
: Assessment checklist (See below)
Procedures:
1. “Today we are going to
learn how to
visualize something while we are reading. Who can tell me what
visualize
means?” [Allow children time to respond.] “That’s right, to
visualize something means to see it in your mind even though it’s
really not
there. I’m sure everyone has visualized something before.
Let’s
practice for just a minute. I want everyone to close your eyes
and think
about a nice, hot, summer day on the beach.” Allow time for
children to
visualize. “I saw the waves crashing on the shore and children
playing in
the sand while their mom and dad sat under the beach umbrella.
Who can
tell me what they saw?.” Allow time for children to
respond. “Great
job, what you all just did was called visualization.”
2. Give each
child a copy of the
poem My Snowman by Neal Levin. “This poem is about
how the
author would make a special snowman. Who remembers how to read
silently?”
[Allow time for children to respond.] “That’s exactly
right. We
read to ourselves so that no one hears us. Now I want you to
silently
read the poem to yourself.” [Allow time for children to read
while you
also read the poem silently.] “Now I will read the poem aloud to
you and
I want you to close your eyes and visualize what I read.” [Read
poem
while children visualize.] “Who would like to share with me what
they
visualized?” Allow share time. Hold up a drawing (previously
drawn) of
what you visualized when you read this poem the first time. “This
is what
my drawing would look like if I drew what I visualized when I read this
poem.” Explain drawing to children and why you drew what you
drew. “I saw
a snowman in someone’s front yard, decorated with all types of lemon
candy. Then I saw the sun coming out in the afternoon, melting
the
snowman into a puddle.”
3. Give each child a copy of the
book Sarah,
Plain and Tall. “This is a new book we will be reading in
class. It is about two children, Caleb and Anna, that live with
their
father on a farm. Their mother died years ago. For many years it
has just
been the children and their father. Well, now their father wants
to find
a wife, so he puts an ad out seeking a wife. A woman named Sarah
replies
to his ad and comes to live with the family for a short period of time
to see
how things work out. Do you think they will end up together?
We’ll have
to read to find out.” Give each child a piece of drawing paper,
markers,
and crayons. “Now I would like for you to read the first chapter
of the
book and then draw a picture of what you visualized while you were
reading.” [Allow time for children to read and draw pictures.]
Assessment: Have children come
in front of class
and tell about their drawings. Assess children’s drawings on
their
depiction of what the author was trying to make the reader
visualize in
the first chapter and also assess children’s ability to correctly
describe the
picture in relation to the first chapter. Use checklist for
assessment:
· Student
demonstrates an ability to use the author’s words to create a mental
picture
and put that into a drawing.
· Student correctly describes
the drawing in relation to the first chapter.
References:
Levin,
Neal.
My Snowman. http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poem.aspx?PoemID=35&CategoryID=2
Grimes, Jeanine. Picture
It!
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/invent/grimesrl.html
Spradlin,
Meagan. Visualizing Sarah, Just Plain and Tall. http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/guides/spradlinrl.html
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