A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Visual Images to Improve Comprehension for
Middle School Struggling Readers
Author(s): Anne Nielsen Hibbing and Joan L. Rankin-Erickson
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 56, No. 8 (May, 2003), pp. 758-770
Published by: International Reading Association
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Reading Teacher.
http://www.jstor.org
Anne Nielsen Hibbing
Joan L. Rankin-Erickson
A
re
pictu
a
is worth
Thisarticlediscusses teacher thousand
words:
and studentdrawings
in theclassroom, illustrations
visual
images
Using
Intexts,picturebooks,
andmovies as external to
improve
tools
that
image-based
supportreading comprehension
comprehension.
middle
school
readers
struggling
e are
w
texts. The
In my
textbooks when they show pictures
it helps me see what they are talking about.
im
by visual
television,
movies,
agery through
and illustrated
videos, computers,
use of these sources of images
is
surrounded
If you look at a picture,
in your head.
a school.
as one walks
obvious
through
in the United States often have com
Classrooms
School
class
and VCRs.
televisions,
puters,
are
and
labs
media
rooms,
centers,
computer
filled
with
this
images. Unfortunately
neces
not
of visual images does
to students' ability to create men
visual
bombardment
sarily transfer
tal images that support reading comprehension.
lack the
We have found that our students who
to create visual
ability
ten experience
images when reading of
For
difficulties.
comprehension
is worth a
the adage "A picture
students
relevant as they
is particularly
thousand words"
maneuver
their way through the informational
maze of learning from text. We asked our stu
these
to reflect upon that quote
thoughts in their journals. These
reluctant readers responded with
as the following
(all comments
written by students):
dents
A picture
ing on.
The Reading
Teacher
and write
their
school
middle
comments
such
as
are presented
helps me by showing
what's
go
If you have
sand words
May 2003
it puts more
ideas
a picture
itmay
take a thou
to get the true meaning
of the
picture.
statements
indicate the students' under
of
the
standing
supportive roles pictures play in
understand
what they read.
them
helping
We noticed
that many of our reluctant and
These
difficul
readers with comprehension
low-ability
were
to
not able
ties
describe the pictures in their
as they read. Over our years of teaching
minds
we've had several students who claimed to "see
nothing" as a result of their reading. This is not
surprising given the issues faced by many of our
little
limited vocabulary,
students, specifically,
about
many topics, lack
knowledge
background
of the relationships
of understanding
represent
ed in the language of the text, and lack of aware
ness
to visualize
is
what
that attempting
con
are
Students
happening might be helpful.
fronted
television
Vol. 56, No. 8
for
regularly with
or video
the continuous
that create
images of
the visual
?2003 International
ReadingAssociation (pp. 758-770)
for them. Students may become
representation
on the action sequence of images be
dependent
cause these images provide a concrete represen
tation of actions, ideas, time, and space. Gaining
as in televi
from an action sequence,
meaning
sion or video, is very different
than using one's
own concrete
to create in
experiences
that
support comprehension.
images
we have paid close
scholar-practitioners,
external
ternal visual
As
to the development
attention
of imagery skills
in our students. We have noticed that the strate
can enhance
gic use of visual material
reading
for reluctant and low-ability
read
experiences
ers and, indeed, can help them become more pro
ficient creators of internal visual imagery that
In this article we dis
supports comprehension.
cuss
instructional
tools appropriate
for middle
use
level students that
external visual images to
build comprehension
and are supported by the
research on mental
imagery. We present a sum
mary of points practitioners will want to consid
er when using
sketches,
illustrations,
picture
and
movies
with
reluctant
and low-ability
books,
middle
school readers.
Pictures in themind?Mental
imagery
sense of text
role of imagery in making
roots in the work of Allan
its theoretical
The
has
Paivio and his colleagues (Clark& Paivio, 1991;
Paivio, 1971, 1983, 1986; Sadoski, Paivio, &
Goetz,
1991). From this perspective,
knowledge
is represented both verbally and nonverbally
in
what is referred to as a dual-coding
system, in
representa
cluding both verbal and nonverbal
tions of knowledge.
Verbal
of
representations
are
of
words
verbal
(the
knowledge
composed
code) for objects, events, and ideas. The imagery
or nonverbal
in
system represents
knowledge
that retain some re
representations
to the perceptions
rise to
giving
them" (Pressley & McCormick,
1995, p. 71).
For example,
the words hot dog may evoke a se
"nonverbal
semblance
ries of verbal representations?
you
"something
eat in a bun," "made of ground animal parts,"
and so on. Hot dog may
"high in preservatives,"
images that share some
the actual perception or experience.
Nonverbal
images may include a visual image of
a particular hot dog (the one I drooled over yes
terday), an olfactory
image (the smell of hot
also
evoke
features with
nonverbal
dogs on a grill), a visual
image
where hot dogs have been eaten
game when my son's team lost),
related to an event that
sponses
of a context
(the baseball
re
emotional
included hot
team
(the
parents shared
dogs
disappointment
sons
their
leave
the
field), or other non
watching
associated
with
hot dog.
linguistic
images
to dual-coding
to
According
theory, it is possible
or
have nonverbal
also
that
images only
images
include associated words.
The concept of dual coding, or the coding
of knowledge
in both verbal and nonverbal
rep
that the elements of both
resentations,
suggests
This connec
systems are intricately connected.
tion between
the verbal and nonverbal
coding
systems allows us to create images when we hear
words and to generate names or descriptions
of
In fact, there is some
things we see in pictures.
evidence
that successful
readers do this automat
ically and that the inability to make verbal and
nonverbal
connections
is
quickly and efficiently
related to learning disabilities
(Swanson,
1989).
We
that creating a mental
im
a
is read is natural process
for our
have observed
age of what
more proficient
not come easily
readers. In fact, when images do
to our proficient readers, they see
it as a warning
that there is a breakdown
in com
are
aware
use
a fix
to
and
of
the
need
prehension
up strategy (e.g., reread, adjust rate of reading,
refocus). In contrast, many of the low-ability and
reluctant readers with whom we have worked do
not automatically
create images or are unable to
do so even with conscious effort. Rather than cre
ating images associated with meaning, many of
our struggling readers are focusing on the decod
asked about the reading that
ing of words. When
he had just completed, Shaun (pseudonym) put it
"I don't know what happened, Iwas too
busy reading the words."
The more we encountered
students
like
aware of the spe
Shaun, the more we became
cific challenges
faced by our low-ability
readers.
to have difficulty with compre
Shaun happened
this way,
because he labored at decoding.
In con
trast, some students read the words fluently but
still lacked the ability to create mental
images
that related to the text. In cases like this, there
hension
be problems
in the verbal or nonverbal cod
or
their
in an in
ing systems
ability to function
fashion.
connections
tegrated
Consequently,
between words
and images may not be made,
at risk.
thus putting comprehension
may
A picture
is worth
a thousand
words
759
on mental
Research
imagery demonstrates
of text is enhanced
when
that comprehension
or taught to use mental
students are prompted
learners who were
in
imagery. For example,
structed to create mental
images of events in sen
tences
two
learned
learners who
to three
read aloud
times
as much
as
the sentences
repeated
children are taught
1971). When
ly (Anderson,
to generate mental
images as they read, they ex
recall
and enhanced
abilities
greater
perience
to
draw
inferences
and
make
predictions
(Gambrell, 1981; Gambrell & Bales, 1986;
Pressley, 1976; Sadoski, 1983, 1985). Suzuki
(1985) identified implications for educators in
her review
she
of the imagery research. Specifically,
that there is evidence
that
to use imagery and verbal
students
determined
prompting
elaboration
has a powerful effect on learning and
the type of
For greatest benefits,
remembering.
needs to be related to the age of the
prompting
learner. Younger
learners may need demonstra
older learners may require "try
tions, whereas
instructions only. Suzuki also found
to-imagine"
that even the most proficient older ado
evidence
readers may need help in transferring
im
from one task requiring
strategic behavior
to
other
tasks
agery
requiring imagery.
lescent
Television in themind?A strategy
for imaging
As
teachers
of reluctant
and low-ability
we
who lack
have
encountered
students
readers,
to create pictures
in their minds.
the ability
we have incorporated
several strate
Therefore,
to help students become aware of the imag
ing process. One strategy we use is an analogy of
a television
in the mind. This analogy helps stu
dents to realize that there should be more going
on in the reading process
than just "barking the
gies
words." We
we "watch"
screen that
the television
we
use
and
think-alouds
read,
screen
the pictures on our mental
talk about
as we
to talk about
as we read. We
the need for the pic
emphasize
tures to match
the words. We explain that when
the pictures and words do not match
(e.g., a stu
to picturing
the dance on
dent's mind wanders
the actions of
Friday night rather than picturing
the text) it is as if the channel has been switched
from the "story" channel to the "dance" channel.
We
teach students
they need to do something
such as
when this "channel switching" happens,
760
The Reading Teacher
Vol.56,No.8 May2003
refocus
or reread
right channel"
in order
and create
to "get back
an appropriate
on the
mind
picture.
In our work with
struggling readers, we have
learned that sometimes
the words and pictures
may not match, not only because of a lack of fo
cused
attention
but also because
ground
or the struggle to decode words
or back
of a limited vocabulary
knowledge.
For example,
when
reading
SOS Titanic (Bunting, 1996), Clarissa (pseudo
nym) expressed puzzlement when she read, "The
deck steward gestured
toward the serving cart
that held silver teapots,
sugars and creamers,
and
saucers"
did not un
cups
(p. 83). Clarissa
derstand
the use of the word saucer in relation
to cups and saucers.
as she
She was imaging
read, but her image of saucer was tied to outer
another
space and not to dishes. We observed
instance of confusion
due to lack of experience
a student whose first
Teyen (pseudonym),
was
not
looked
bewildered
af
language
English,
ter reading "They gave up the firewood business
when
after Hal got his Caterpillar paid off
from A
(Hall, 1988, p. 94). The student
Killing Freeze
said it did not make sense, "because a caterpillar
is a fuzzy worm before it turns into a butterfly."
After Teyen was
tractor he could
shown a picture of a Caterpillar
resume his reading with under
students were aware of the "sta
standing. These
tic" caused by mental pictures that did not make
sense and, unlike many reluctant readers, asked
for clarification.
Our reluctant and struggling
readers often
felt they had read when
their eyes had passed
over the words. This type of reading can result in
the lack of a picture or a fuzzy picture on the
mental TV screen. When
students become aware
of the lack of an image or "static" from a current
they can then be taught to use fix-up
their rate, rereading,
strategies such as changing
or
attention,
refocusing
asking for clarification
image,
to overcome
the confusion. The ability to regain
an image related to the text becomes an indication
is back on track. The re
that comprehension
search on mental
1981) con
imagery (Gambrell,
that students may need to be prompted
to focus on their mental
repeatedly
images, or
as a way to monitor
in the mind,"
"television
In addition to prompting,
teach
comprehension.
ers may need to teach and model
the fix-up strate
firms
or fuzzy.
gies to use when the picture is missing
We have found that this modeling
and prompt
Figure 1
Students may
process.
ing must be an ongoing
not engage in these processes
independently?at
least not until they see the value and feel the suc
cess of doing
A teacher-drawn
sketch in response to students'
about Earthquake Terror
questions
so.
Drawings in the classroom
There are times when students cannot create
a picture in the mind due to lack of background
or the complexity
of the text. Clarissa
knowledge
achieved
instant understanding
simply by being
told that, in the context of the story, a saucer was
a "little plate that a cup sat on." For Teyen, a ver
of a Caterpillar as a "vehicle used
bal description
in road building" did not trigger understanding.
after seeing a picture of a Caterpillar
However,
tractor he not only could create an image in his
mind of what this was but also could see why it
was
to the meaning
of the text.
important
a verbal description
is sufficient and
Sometimes
other times an actual picture may be necessary
to reach understanding.
confusion
due to
Some students experience
of critical features in the
lack of understanding
or
between
charac
setting
spatial relationships
ters or items discussed
in the text. We have found
or quick
that a drawing
is a useful
teachers
tool
sketch made
by the
to help create under
one seventh-grade
stu
standing. For example,
to a paragraph
in Earthquake
dent responded
Terror (Kehret,
1996) by stating, "I don't get
what's going on." Others from her class of low
ability readers (i.e., students scoring in the bot
tom quartile on a standardized achievement
test)
nodded in agreement at her expressed confusion.
the making
of a small
The paragraph described
trunk
of a
the
shelter in the woods
by using
tree and three small alders to
downed maple
form
the walls and roof of the shelter. The para
graph read as follows,
Afterstrippingoff as many of the lowerbranchesas he could,
he laidthe rootend of thealderon topof thedownedmaple's
trunk.He did the same thingwith the other twoalders. Next
he gatheredpine and cedarboughs.... He laidthemon topof
thealders, forminga crude roof.He placed thealderbranch
es thathe had removedacross the farend of theshelter,prop
ping themup to forma backwall. The shelterwas shaped like
halfa tent,with an openingat one end. (pp.46-48)
the teacher drew a step-by-step
sketch of
the students voiced under
what was happening,
standing. See Figure 1 for the drawing.
After
text Watchdog
and
the Coyotes
the
author
took
1995),
pages to de
(Wallace,
of the three
scribe the setting and the meeting
lived
side
main characters,
who
by side.
dogs
Once again some students were having trouble
In
the
the setting. The students understood
envisioning
this important part of the novel after the teacher
the spatial layout of
drew a diagram illustrating
A simple sketch can be
the dogs' neighborhood.
worth a thousand words for some students.
Just as teacher-generated
drawings help stu
events and relationships
visualize
por
in
done by students can
text, drawings
trayed
inform the teacher about what students are or are
not understanding
about a text. When
reading a
novel aloud to students, we give them the op
tion to just listen, or listen and create drawings
dents
on the text being read. We have learned
that these drawings provide a visible and explic
it record of learning (McConnell,
1993).
Some students elected to produce drawings
as they listened to the novel The Night Crossing
novel dealing
(Ackerman,
1994), an adolescent
based
the draw
As we examined
ings (see Figures 2, 3, and 4) it became clear that
in what the students
there was great variability
were portraying.
in Figures
2 and 3
Drawings
scenes directly
from the novel be
represented
in Figure 4 may
the drawing
ing read, whereas
to do with the topic of the
have had something
to the
but had no direct connection
Holocaust
with
the Holocaust.
events
included
that are related
should prompt
in the day's reading. Drawings
to the topic but not the text
the teacher to question students to
A picture
is worth
a thousand
words
Figure2
Student drawing, true to text,while listeningtoNight Crossing
If?^w.^l&ate'Vx
that the purpose of this drawing is to track
the action of the story and to represent the main
idea or events of each day's reading. The draw
an excellent
ings of the previous
days provide
source of information
to help students activate
dents
and reconnect with the
background
knowledge
text. The drawings
also serve as a tool to help
students make predictions
about the subsequent
reading.
screen draw
Figure 5 shows the television
one
of
after
student
four
consecutive
ings
days
of reading Night John (Paulsen,
1993). Frame 1
the setting, including
the layout of the
depicts
and the relationship
of the slaves'
plantation
to
the main house and the fields. Frame
quarters
2 shows one event of the chapter, the slaves being
served dinner out of a trough. Although
this was
not the only event in the day's reading,
was one that illustrated the day-to-day
this event
treatment
that was key to the overall meaning
of the chapter. Frame 3 illustrates the significant
event of the "trading" that went on between
the
main characters?that
of secretly exchanging
the
to
A
of
how
write
the
letter
tobac
for
knowledge
co. The final frame shows the hanging of a slave,
of the slaves
see if they are comprehending
the text or simply
from
related
drawing
something
background
but not tied to the events of the text.
knowledge
As Peeck (1987) pointed out, a student's failure
or accurate drawings
can
to produce
complete
an
at
reveal comprehension
gaps
early stage in
the learning process. We occasionally
have had
students who spent a great deal of time drawing
details to cover up their lack of un
superfluous
of the text. For example,
derstanding
Figure 4
alerted us to question
the student about his un
of what had been read. His detailed
derstanding
of Hitler
did relate to the
drawing
speaking
events
with
to do
War II but had nothing
reading. This drawing became the
of a conversation
that cleared up
about important events and rela
of World
the day's
starting point
his confusion
tionships in the text.
In addition
to informing
the teacher of stu
can also aid in
drawings
dents'
understandings,
of
retention
information
&
(Snowman
as
cau
But
Peeck
1975).
(1987)
Cunningham,
need to be accurate, and time
tioned, drawings
in terms of
spent drawing needs to be evaluated
net gain. One way we have structured students'
is to have them quickly
draw one
drawings
screens each day
sketch on a series of television
after the read-aloud. This builds on our television
in the mind
762
analogy
The Reading Teacher
and communicates
Vol.56,No.8 May2003
to stu
one of the risks, discussed
in the chapter, for
slaves who break the rules. These drawings show
not only the student's understanding
of specific
in the text but also an understanding
larger issues represented by these events.
events
of the
Illustrationsin the text
In addition
to prompting
and
image making
to
support imagery, it is important
using drawings
for teachers to consider the role text illustrations
and book cover illustrations
play in the reading
process. Illustrations frequently serve an affective
or motivational
function
for students. Peeck's
review
of the affective-motivational
(1987)
effects of illustrations
shows many positive out
comes. Specifically,
pictures can make reading a
text more enjoyable,
result in positive
attitudes
toward reading in general and toward illustrated
text in particular, and can influence the time read
ers are willing
to spend on a text. All of these ef
fects are particularly beneficial
are reluctant readers.
for students who
the affective and motivational
func
Beyond
serve
to
also may
tions, illustrations
provide
to students who are reading about
knowledge
as
things that are not part of their experience,
with
Teyen
and
the Caterpillar
picture.
As
Schallen (1980) stated,
Pictures help the reader learnand comprehenda textwhen
centralto the text,when they repre
they illustrateinformation
to theoverallmessage, and
sent newcontent that is important
when theydepict structuralrelationshipsmentioned in the
text. (pp.513-514)
role of illustrations may be more critical for
readers than skilled readers. For ex
struggling
The
ample, Rusted and Coltheart (1979) confirmed
from text to
readers frequently move
as
to
text
the
read,
using
pictures as
they
pictures
a tool for understanding.
In contrast, good read
ers pay little attention to the illustrations during
that poor
too young and the boys' shorts looked like dress
es. There was a noticeable change in the students'
attitude from that point on. The play no longer
to continue read
held credibility, and motivation
caused us to pay
ing it declined. This experience
in the ma
attention to the text-illustration match
terials we use with our students and to try to use a
mismatch
productively.
can be used to
A text-illustration
mismatch
engage students more deeply with the text if the
students are set up for it. Our experience
when
reading Such Nice Kids (Bunting, 1990) pro
an example
confirmed
of this. We knew that the main
on the cover of this text
depicted
much
than they were described
looked
younger
our
in the text. In
of the
discussion
prereading
book with a small group of eighth-grade
boys,
enced
we
their reading.Goldstein andUnderwood (1981)
that less competent
readers are influ
to a greater degree by text illustrations.
For readers who struggle, pictures operate be
yond
the decoration
function
(Levin, Anglin, &
a
as
to create or con
tool
serving
1987),
Carney,
firm understanding.
when a small group
of this was
example
of students reading Slam
An
(Myers, 1996) repeatedly looked back at the
cover
to verify points in the novel. The cover de
a basketball
in one
picts a young man holding
arm, staring through a chain-link fence. Students
turned to the cover when Slam, the main char
acter, was described as being six feet, four inch
es. One young man turned to the cover when we
read, "I remember walking
away to the other
side of the park and then turning back and look
he was"
ing through the fence to where
(pp.
next
The
the
student
30-31).
day
pointed out the
cover illustration
and retold the incident in the
vides
characters
asked them to make predictions
about the
ages of the characters. We then asked the boys
as they read that either
to look for information
or
refuted
their
Several
supported
predictions.
re
times while
the
discussion
novel,
reading
turned to the cover illustration. The students def
initely felt the boys on the cover looked younger
in the text. However,
than 17, as described
they
still studied the cover and tried to identify the
of the ob
by name. And, regardless
vious misrepresentation
of age, the readers used
on the cover to predict what
other information
characters
was
going to happen. One of our final discus
sions included an overall critique of the cover
Figure3
Student drawing, true to text,while listening toNight Crossing
prereading discussion.
a picture is not worth a thousand
Sometimes
words. When
the text and illustrations
do not
can
the
illustrations
with
interfere
match,
actually
and reduce learning (Willows,
comprehension
We
found
this to be true when a group of
1978).
middle
school reluctant
readers read "A Few
Dirty Words" (Scott, 1999), a play dealing with
in school. The students nearly re
belled due to the one illustration
that accompa
nied the play. The illustration of two young male
basketball
and a female manager
ap
players
harassment
peared four pages into the play. The students had
already created an image of the characters based
on the text. The images described by the students
to the
did not match
the illustration. According
two
the
basketball
students,
players pictured were
A picture
is worth
a thousand
words
763
Figure4
Student drawing,
confirmed
for us that low
responses
use
to help them
readers
do
illustrations
ability
to
details
and
story
picture
verify their under
can
Students
benefit
from the use of
standing.
if they are in alignment with the text
illustrations
These
to text events,
unrelated
while listening toNight Crossing
and if students
port meaning
are making
connections
that sup
making.
Picturebooks to build background
knowledge
Given our students' positive response to pic
ture books, we have used them as a tool to build
needed
for the under
background
knowledge
standing of adolescent novels taught in the class
room. Specifically,
before reading novels dealing
our students read picture
with
the Holocaust,
books that dealt with World War II. After read
ing a self-selected
picture book, students filled
out comment
illustration
based on information
in the text. The
discussion
provided evidence
that proactive attention to a text-illustration mis
can help read
match and supporting discussions
active and detailed
ers engage more deeply in analysis of the text.
Because
novels for adolescents
usually pre
sent only a cover illustration, we had students
read picture books as a way to better understand
trayed or evoked, and (c) the increase of specific
or awareness of details.
content knowledge
students
the artwork.
Many
critiqued
more
or
true
to the text the
the
realistic
Overall,
illustrations were,
them. For example,
the better the students
some students wrote,
liked
A picture book is de
their use of illustrations.
fined as a storybook that is "a fiction book with a
I liked the pictures because they were well
drawn and detailed and colorful.
dual narrative, in which both the pictures and the
to tell a story. It is a
text work interdependently
tale told in two media,
the integration of visual
He did a good job in drawing
exactly what I would picture
art" (Bishop & Hickman,
1992, p. 2).
After students read the picture books, we asked
them to write in their journals about how the pic
tures helped them and what they liked or disliked
and verbal
about
the illustrations.
following
support
Comments
It helped me get a better clue of what's go
ing on. Helped me see what Iwas reading.
The pictures
toled the rest of the story.
So I could picture out what the chipmunk
was doing?it
also helps me read faster.
I liked tha pictures
read and so I could
instead of having
The Reading
Teacher
because
it was
less to
just look at tha picture
to picture it inmy brain.
Vol. 56, No. 8
them. It looks
inmy mind.
I liked all of the different colors but all the
pictures were kinda blurry and not too clear.
The pictures were not very colorful. I liked
it showed how dark and dull
that because
was.
the Holocaust
such as the
that "pictures in text
benefits"
prose-learning
the view
consistency
produce
(Levin et al., 1987, p. 53).
764
forms asking questions about read
the
ranged
ing
picture books. Student comments
from general to specific, dealing with three dis
tinct areas: (a) the artwork, (b) the emotions por
May 2003
In research, Gombrich's
the conclusion
supported
in
their capacity
supreme
comments
students'
Many
(1982) arguments
are
that pictures
to arouse emotions.
addressed
the emo
tive power of illustrations
and the role illustra
in helping
them understand
the
tions played
some
of the characters. For example,
emotions
students stated the following:
I
They (the pictures) helped a lot because
felt.
understood
how
the
really
boy
were
very graphic,
(the pictures)
They
showed real cruelness.
I like how they (the pictures) made
the
face sad and happy. You could
people's
feel the emotion.
on the faces
I could see the emotions
were
know what they
going through.
Figure5
Student drawings following read-aloudof Night John
on four consecutive
days
and
Frame 2
1
Frame
reader might not have the
low-ability
memory
"pegs" (Gambrell & Jawitz, 1993) for
some of the specific details within a text. Visual
can provide
the memory
peg
representations
The
needed (Kozma,
ate background
1991) to connect with
appropri
stu
knowledge.
Specifically,
the written description
dents may not understand
to link
until they have the visual representation
comments
with it. Students'
expressing
expand
Frame
Frame 3
4
ed understanding
of specific details in the picture
books on World War II provide evidence
of the
role illustrations may play for some readers.
It helped me understand
how people can
so
build things
nicely and how the guards
would watch them all the time.
The kids used sticks as guns. They didn't
use plastic ones!
showd want
it was
like after the
They
bomb
and before.
cause the Germans
shaved there heads to
out
that showed me
make
of.
And
things
that it was cold and sad where they where.
The comments
of our students demonstrate
readers.
that text illustrations
support low-ability
to assist them in
Students used the illustrations
to
what they read and as vehicles
understanding
provide
additional
and supporting
students
(Peeck,
1987) and can provide
critical background
information
and sup
are
related texts. Movies
port for understanding
motivate
the
and
learner,
enjoyable,
they
they
can result in positive
attitudes
toward reading.
Movies
also can provide
time contexts,
setting
tions
In one of the pictures
it showed Anne and
her sister sitting together with a big blanket
around them and they were both bald be
information.
Movies as image makers
"Seeing is beeter than hearing seeing is be
living," wrote one of our students when asked
to write
to
in his journal
about his reaction
a
a
we
been
movie
version
of
book
had
watching
reading. For this student, the visual images pro
vided by the movie
cleared up many of his con
the reality of
fusions and helped him "imagine"
what he was reading.
can
in a reading classroom
Showing movies
in the
facilitate different learning goals. Movies
can have many of the positive
reading classroom
effects found in illustra
affective-motivational
with
informa
details, and other important situational
less prior
tion for those students who have
of the subject being
addressed.
knowledge
can be a language model
for individuals
Movies
who are reading texts that include unfamiliar di
alect. Visual representations
offer memory
pegs
with infor
that can be used to form associations
mation
(Kozma,
already in long-term memory
1991). Our experiences
support the belief that
movie
students need
images provide information
sense of text. However,
to make
the type of
and how it is used must match
the teach
movie
and the learning needs of the stu
ing objective
are examples
of using movies
dents. Following
to meet
different learning goals.
a literature unit about the
Before beginning
a
class of middle
school reluctant
Holocaust with
readers, we asked students what they knew about
the subject. Seven of the 12 students knew noth
ing about it. The others knew it had to do with
Hitler
and the killing
of many
A picture
Jewish people. We
is worth
a thousand
words
/?b
to use movies
to help build the back
our
if they
students needed
ground knowledge
were
to
The
Devil's
read
successfully
going
decided
Arithmetic
(Yolen,
and Daniel's
1988)
Story
(Matas, 1993).
To meet
of building
the objective
back
we
were
selected
the
movies
ground knowledge,
not video versions of the books; rather they were
and clips
such things as historical documentaries
movies
fictional
and nonfictional
about the same time period and context. We se
information
lected movies
that would provide
the historical
and religious
about the setting;
other
from
layers of conflict between
races, and religions;
communities,
individuals,
to the books, but
and characters?not
specific
or groups
rather the roles played by individuals
the multiple
context;
the Holocaust.
unit, we asked
teaching the Holocaust
the students to write in their journals about what
had increased
they learned. Their knowledge
of the "facts" they talked
Many
substantially.
about came from the movies
they had seen rather
than the books they read. Two students directly
stated that the movies
helped them to picture the
key
from
images
their novels. The movies
to enhance understanding
provided
and com
students to then create in
allowing
prehension,
ternal images as they read the novels. When
in their journals
students were asked to write
or not the movies
had helped
about whether
the novels,
them understand
they echoed many
same
of the
things they had written regarding the
from picture books.
support they had gained
comments
included the following:
Specific
a movie
you can get a
you watch
is
better picture of what
happening.
When
The movies
helped us read in our book. It
was like visual. I understand
visual things
better
then reading.
In the book
when
they
talked
about
the
ghetto it did not sound that bad tell you
saw it?it was wet
where
and dark...people
In
streets.
in
the
books
have
the
you
dying
to make your own pictures.
a lot of things
When
you watch the movie,
just click.
Sometimes we have
a book to watch a movie
background
The Reading
knowledge.
Teacher
and children
like
very much
a
After seeing
television
show based
affects
families
themselves.
on a family's
with homelessness,
experiences
two middle
school students commented
in the
"I didn't realize people like me were
discussion,
were
homeless"
and "I thought
the homeless
of
bums." Throughout
the remaining discussions
the novel, students often referred to information
from the movie.
had provided
The movie
key
new information
to
connect
with
which
images
from
the novel
1993). In
(Gambrell & Jawitz,
this case, the movie
did more
than simply pro
vide cognitive
information
background
regard
the
ing
provided
during
After
events
related to the novel Monkey
Island
(Fox,
was
it
evident
did not un
that
the
students
1991),
derstand that homelessness
is a real problem that
had
stopped in the middle of
to help build necessary
From the discussion we
Vol. 56, No. 8
May 2003
topic of homelessness.
students with a greater
The
ability
movie
to reflect
on the judgments they hadmade due to their lack
of accurate
information.
better
Students'
enabled
increased
un
to empathize
and to personally
them
derstanding
with victims of homelessness
connect with characters and events
in the novel.
of many
teachers who use movies
a class novel or play.
for finishing
a
movie
version
of To Kill a
watching
We know
as a "reward"
After
Mockingbird
(Lee, 1960) in her English class,
one
reader reported
that she finally
struggling
This
report and others like it
"got it" (the book).
us
to believe
based on novels
led
that movies
more
with struggling
could be used
effectively
readers, especially when the text is difficult and
in vocabulary,
the novel is unfamiliar
language
structure, dialect,
setting, or time period. Our
concern resulted in what we now refer to as the
Watch-Read-Watch-Read
(W-R-W-R)
cycle of
novel reading. Several teaching goals can be met
can
with this technique. Specifically, W-R-W-R
to build background
knowledge
prior to
as
move
text.
students
the
and
through
reading
It can also be used as a tool to confirm under
read text, to teach how to
standing of previously
or
to teach how to confirm
make predictions,
be used
the students
and to provide
deny predictions,
use
as
to
In order
read.
with memory
pegs
they
the teacher must
for this technique to be effective
be familiar with both the text and the movie,
where
they differ.
cycle goes like this:
1. The teacher introducesthe novel inwhatevermotivating
manner he or she decides would work bestwith students.
Part of this should includea discussion that helps the
they match well,
The basic W-R-W-R
and where
teachergain an understandingof the backgroundknowl
edge studentsbring to the text.
2. The teacherexplains thattheclass isgoing towatch a brief
clip of amovie based on thenovel theywill be reading.The
teacheralso instructsthestudents toattendto specific ele
ments of themovie clip. This could includedetails related
to setting, such as climate, ruralversus urban, indications
of poverty or wealth, or types of homes or buildings
present.Studentsalso could be promptedto pay attention
tospecific characters,theirclothing,and theirphysical fea
turesand to tryto predict theirrole in the novel. Students
could listen forunique vocabularyor dialect used by the
characters.Finally,studentscould trytoget a sense ofwhat
problemsmight be faced by the characters.The teacher
drawsattention to those aspects of the text thathe or she
thinkscould pose difficultyforstudentsand thatare repre
sented in themovie clip.
3. Studentswatch the firstmovie clip. Itcould be a short three
to five-minuteviewing or itcould last longer,depending
on themovie, itsmatch to the text,andwhat the teacher's
goals are.The point to rememberis thatstudents need to
see enough to help themunderstandthe targetedelements
of the textand tomotivate them to read,but not so much
thattheyfeel theydon'thave to read.
The W-R-W-R
cycle
is much
like
the
Directed Reading-Thinking Activity developed
by Stauffer (1969), with the visual representation
inserted prior to each sec
provided by the movie
ensures
tion of reading. This cycle of activities
the novel and, per
students are understanding
an opportunity
important, provides
haps more
to practice good reading processes.
The parallel
of the text allows students
visual representation
to practice visualizing,
summarizing,
predict
even if they struggle with
ing, and confirming
reading the text.
When we use movies
study or a novel, different
at the end of a unit of
strategic purposes are
at play. At the end of reading aloudNight John
1993), we showed our seventh-grade
of the same title (Hallmark
the movie
Entertainment,
1996). In this case, we
(Paulsen,
students
Home
wanted
to compare
and contrast
the
of the book and movie. As part of this
students created a Venn diagram plot
students
content
process,
ting the similarities
book
and the movie.
and differences
Once
between
the
students
compared
information
included in
asked to write
in their
or
liked
book
the
they
4. The class processes thecriticalelementsof themovie, with and contrasted
the basic
the teacherdirectingthediscussion to thecriticalelements each, the students were
thatwill facilitatecomprehension.Partof this discussion
journals about whether
should includestudentsmaking predictions aboutwhat movie better and
why. The students overwhelm
theywill read inthe firstchapter(orwhatever lengthof read
the
favored
movie,
saying it provided more
ingly
ingassignment).The success of this step depends on the details and allowed
them to see what was going
teacherknowingwhat elements of themovie will be most
on. Other students favored the movie
due to af
useful to theunderstandingof the textand helpingstudents
reasons.
Some
students preferred
the
fective
"notice"these elements.
movie because Waller,
the plantation owner, did
5. Students readtheparalleltext, lookingfor informationthat
as he was in the
not seem as mean
in the movie
matcheswhat theysaw in themovie relatedto characters,
in
book. Specific comments
favoring the movie
setting, context,and so on. Theyalso readto confirmtheir
"I liked the movie more
than the book
cluded,
or
to
the
related
action
sequence problemspre
predictions
because..."
sented inthe firstclip of themovie.
6. Afterstudents readthe firstassigned text, it is discussed
you can actly see whats going on and you
can under-stand
it better.
more
with thespecific intentofmaking thecriticalelements
can
use
the
out
that
salient and pointing
students
images
you can get a better picture of things. I'n
fromthemovie to add to theirunderstanding.
it seems likeWaller
the movie
is nicer then
7. Students watch the second clip of themovie. This clip
should cover thematerial thatstudents have just readbut
not go beyond that.This allows readersto see the visual
representationofwhat theyhave read, to confirm the un
derstandingtheygained fromreading,and to preparethem
forthe nextsection of reading.
in the book. Waller
helps them pick cot
ton.... I'n the book Waller
treats them with
no respect what so ever.
8. Students discuss any new understandingsandmake pre
dictionsabout thenextsection of textto be read.
are really discriptive.
It show you
more re
whats
It's
also
exactly
happening.
cause
I
it
also
like
better
the end
laxing.
as
as
isn't
much
there
ing
letting you hang
9. The cycle ofwatch, discuss, read,discuss, watch, discuss,
readdiscuss continues until the novel iscomplete or stu
dents have gained enough backgroundthattheycan read
the restof the novel independently.
the movie was more interesting. It had a lot
more detels, and you could acealy see what
was going on and you just couldn't amagin it.
movies
the book does.
A picture
is worth
a thousand
words
767
Figure6
Primarypoints forpractitioners
1. Don't assume your students can use visual imagery to support reading comprehension.
Check out their
of what they "see" or with student-generated
ability to create images with discussions
drawings.
2. Students who have imagery skills may need to be prompted to use imagery to support comprehension.
Those who don't have the skill will need to be taught.
3. Look for opportunities tomodel imagery strategies to your students. Discussing what you see on the tele
vision screen inyour mind will help students better understand this process.
4. Support for comprehension with visuals tools does not need to be elaborate. A teacher-drawn sketch or
clarification for students who are confused or lack the knowledge
picture can provide the necessary
for understanding.
necessary
5. Lack of ability to create images or ineffective images may be due to lack of background
knowledge or
rather than reading skill. If this is the case, background
will
to be built.
need
vocabulary
knowledge
Providing the knowledge with picture books, movies, or other visual media also gives students a visual
"memory peg" with which to connect new information from the text.
6. Student drawings can be used formultiple purposes, but must be used strategically. Provide students with
a purpose for drawing. Help them see that their drawings are a representation of their understanding,
that drawings can help them remember important information, and that earlier drawings can be used to
make predictions about what might happen next.
7. Be mindful that lower ability readers tend to rely on text illustrations more than good readers. When the il
lustrations are accurate representations of the text, encourage students to use them to support compre
hension. When the illustrations are not a good match, use this mismatch to provoke discussions
that lead
to deeper understanding of the text and build evaluation skills. Set students up for the mismatch before
from the text.
hand so they won't be disappointed and possibly disengage
inways that address students' learning needs. Carefully select movies based on the learn
in text; to provide visual im
build general background knowledge about a topic addressed
ing goals?to
in the story; to teach comprehension
of
and relationships
skills such as
ages
setting, characters,
summarizing, predicting, and confirming; or to promote evaluation skills by comparing and contrasting the
movie with the text. Be explicit with students about the learning objective forwatching the movie.
8. Use movies
It is interesting
that some students who pre
the book also said they liked it better be
ferred
cause
it provided more details. Many
of these
create
their
students liked the fact that they could
own
in their minds,
images of the characters
the ones provided
rather than using
by the
liked
their
movie.
they
images better.
Basically,
of comments
by students favoring
Examples
book version of the story included, "I liked
book better than the movie because..."
the book
has more
the chariders
the
the
you get to know
detail
a little better.
all the parts. I could see what I
the
book was about, and looked
thought
like. Not what someone else though.
it explind
it had a lot more
deatail
liked to imagine what
ing a slave.
you get to pick what
in your head.
The Reading
Teacher
and it longer. I also
it would be like be
everything
Vol. 56, No. 8
looks
like
Our students have provided evidence
that the
use of movies
as an instructional
tool has sup
we have found
ported their learning. However,
that students benefit most when we are strategic
the use of movies
and are clear with stu
about why we are using movies
and what
to.
should
attend
This
is
consistent
with the
they
work of Solomon
who
found
that
(1984)
setting a
a
for
increases
the
purpose
program
viewing
about
dents
learning related to that purpose.
to decide whether movies would
need
in ad
the learning goals and the needs of the
and then be explicit with students about
the desired outcomes.
dressing
students
Final thoughts?A summaryof
important issues
done on the role that imagery plays
Research
in reading comprehension
has implications
for
teachers as they work with students of all abili
a summary of the major
ties. Figure 6 presents
points
May 2003
Teachers
be useful
discussed
throughout
this article
related
images to support reading
are
comprehension.
presented as "Primary
Points
for Practitioners"
and are based on re
with middle
search and our experiences
school
to using external
visual
These
readers.
struggling
A picture
truly is worth a thousand words for
students who struggle with reading comprehen
sion. We have found that if students can create
their own images on the television screens in their
as they read, their potential for understand
text is increased. If students are not able to
the
ing
they are using all their
develop
images because
to
mental
decode
the words or their per
energy
sonal experiences
have limited their vocabulary
minds
and background
external visual im
knowledge,
ages can be used to develop
understanding.
use
of
visual
external
Strategic
images can provide
the background
and memory
pegs to
knowledge
is
and
students
"see"
what
unlock
help
happening
our
text
In
work
with
(Levin, 1981).
confusing
struggling readers we have found that the use of
sketches, illustrations, picture books, and movies
on which
to
students with information
provides
their internal images. By supporting students
these tools, the teacher provides students with
essential elements necessary for responding to the
text. Don't be surprised that when you use these
build
with
tools,
pened,
comments
Iwas
like, "I don't know what hap
too busy reading the words" change
to "Oh!Now I get it!"
L.B., & Bales, R. (1986). Mental
imagery and the
of fourth- and fifth
monitoring
comprehension
performance
readers.
Research
11,
Reading
Quarterly,
grade poor
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Gambrell,
L.B., & Jawitz, P.B. (1993). Mental
imagery, text il
and children's
and recall.
lustrations,
story comprehension
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Reading Research Quarterly,
G. (1981). The influence of pic
R., & Underwood,
Goldstein,
tures on the derivation
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Gombrich,
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Pressley, G.M. (1976). Mental
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psychology.
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Middle
School
S
Hibbing
reading
(4740
NE68516,USA).Rankin-Erickson
45thStreet,Lincoln,
in
teaches theDepartment
ofSpecialEducation
and
at theUniversity
Communication
Disorders
of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
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