Topic: Comprehension Through Visualization

10-second review: Students learn to visualize the elements of a story.

Title: “Picture It!” VM Naughton. Reading Teacher (September 2008), 65-68. A publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Summary: The five elements of a story consist of setting, characters, problem, attempts to resolve the problem and resolution. Students learn to create visual story maps of the stories they read.

Comment: This activity is not the same as “mapping” in which words are arranged in a diagram of the organization of the story or article. This approach actually tries to use pictures and/or drawings, even stick figures, and words to visualize the elements of the story. The possibilities for creativity are interesting. RayS.

The purpose of this blog, English Updates, is to review interesting contemporary (2008-2009) articles from professional English education journals at all levels—elementary, middle school, junior high school, high school and college.