Great "Pictures" Lead To Great Comprehension

“I’m a good reader, but I can’t remember what it said!”

“I reread sentences and chapters over and over and I still don’t get anything out of it! It’s like it goes in one ear and out the other!”

“Johnny just doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on. He doesn’t get jokes. He can’t seem to remember directions. He really wants to participate in class, but he give such “off-the-wall” answers that the other kids all laugh. I’m afraid he’s just going to give up.”

Sound familiar? Is there a connection?

Many students can “read” (or “sound out”) words, but don’t understand or remember what they have read. In fact, at one time or other, we all find that we have read a passage and have no idea what it said.

The key to understanding what one reads is to have an effective strategy for comprehension (understanding). People may be listening to themselves say the words or trying to recall the actual sequence of the words rather than thinking about the meaning. But those strategies just don’t work very well.

The most effective strategy that helps people comprehend while reading or listening is simply to change the words in their minds into pictures in their minds. The picture can include how things look, feel, sound, smell, and taste.

Visualization (changing words into pictures) is the foundation of comprehension and critical thinking. Almost everyone can “image,” but for poor comprehenders, the images don’t come easily or automatically. Just telling someone to visualize doesn’t do the trick.

The key to teaching visualization is Questioning by the teacher will be the difference between processing and not processing.

Here are some steps that will help students to develop the ability to create clear, connected images for good comprehension.

1. Choose material that is descriptive and very interesting to the students. For use in the regular classroom, grade level material can be used since the teacher will be reading to the students at first. For remedial use with students who have a language comprehension deficit, very low level material should be used while the student is learning to image effectively.
2. Have the students sit upright with their eyes (not their heads) upward. Read a sentence or two aloud, directing the students to “make a picture” in their mind.
3. Question the students about the pictures they are creating. The first picture should be very detailed and include such concepts as: What, where, color, size, number, shape, when, background, movement, and sound.
4. Continue reading a sentence or two at a time. Have the students create a “movie” in their mind by adding to the picture they have already created. Question about each new image and it’s connection to the previous image.
5. When finished with the passage or story, have the students review the key images, sounds, and feelings.
6. Have one student give a verbal summary of whole section.
7. Now that students have a clear picture of what the passage was about, do interpretive and evaluative questioning to develop critical thinking skills.
8. Repeat this strategy with the students reading orally and silently. Increase the level and length of material as visualizing becomes easier and more automatic.

1. Avoid yes/no questions.
   
2. Use choice and contract: “Is the cat very fat or skinny?
   
3. Get specific: “How did you picture the patio? Help me picture the tree better.”
   
4. Ask questions relevant to the gestalt or whole idea. Don’t develop distracting details.
   
5. Put contrast in your voice! The speed and tone of your voice has an amazing impact on your students! If you want the students to picture something, use a higher, faster voice. If you want them to “hear the sounds” in the picture they are creating, us a medium pitch and voice speed. To get them to think about how something feels (tactile or emotion) use a slow, soothing tone. Use a voice speed in both reading and questioning that matches the type of retrieval you want.