Turn
Reading into Watching a Movie!
Reading to Learn: Visualization
Rebecca
Bracken
Rationale: Students need
to make
reading more than just words on the page so it will become meaningful
enough to
them that they can begin to construct meaning and comprehend the
meaning to
learn. Children
need to visualize what is going on
within a story as they read it. Students will practice making pictures
in their
mind so they will be able to do it in their independent reading.
Materials: copy
paper for drawings, crayons and markers, Sarah
Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, a copy of "Bear in There"
by Shel Silverstein from A Light in the Attic .
Procedure: Review silent
reading strategies before Drop
Everything and Read Time (Students will read Sarah Plain and Tall). Before we do our next lesson, we are going
to have some silent reading time. When
we read silently, it is like we are reading ourselves a story in our
mind. The way we read silently is by
starting out quietly
whispering the words to ourselves, and then we stop moving our lips and
read to
your self. (Teacher models whisper reading, then silent reading).Now,
let me
see you do it.
- Everyone needs
to get comfortable, relax, and close your eyes. This activity will work
best if the room is completely quiet, no talking, everyone focusing on
their thoughts. I would like for you to picture your favorite person in
the entire world. Imagine Think about what that person looks like, what
they are wearing, what they are doing, and what kind of expression they
have on their face. Now that you have imagined this person in
your minds, I would like you to open your eyes. Could you actually see
that person in your mind? Turn to your neighbor and take turns sharing who you pictured
in your mind. When you see things, like we just saw our favorite person, in
our minds it is called visualization. We
can use visualization when we are reading to make it like a movie in
our minds so that we can actually see what is going on in the book.
- I
want you to use visualization, or make pictures in your mind, as I read
the poem “A Bear in There” by Shel Silverstein. Make a picture in your
mind about what is happening in the poem.
- Students will
share their responses to what they pictured happening in the book in
small groups (3-4 students per group). The
group will make a sketch of different aspects of what they saw in the
poem and share it with the class.
- “One of the
most interesting things about reading is that I may picture something
in a totally different way than you see it. This
is why it can be so much fun to talk about a book with your friends
because all of you might learn a different thing from thing from that
book”.
- Pass out Sarah Plain and Tall and have students read along with
the teacher the passage at the beginning of chapter three. “While we
are reading, I want you to make this book into a movie by picturing all
of the details in your head. We
are all going to read this passage from the book Sarah Plain and Tall.
After we are done reading the passage you are going to draw
what you visualized about the family getting the house ready for Sarah
to come. I will pass out crayons, markers, and paper for you to use.
Make sure you include the surroundings and how everything looked."
Assessment:
The
children’s drawings will be used as the assessment for the activity.
Once
children have created their individual drawings, they will get into
small
groups and share their drawings with discussing the way that their
pictures are
the same and how they are different.
References:
MacLachlan,
Patricia (1985). Sarah
Plain
and Tall.
New York:
Harper Trophy.
McDonald,
Melinda. “What Do You See?" http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/mcdonaldrl.html.
Silverstein,
Shel (1996). A light in the
attic. “Bear
in There”. New York:
HarperCollins.
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