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Visual Literacy – Key to Comprehension. Donna Ogle dogle@nl.edu June 18, 2012. Comprehension of the visual world. Not all see the same world; not all interpret the same way Some begin with the particular and notice details Some take a wide angle view of the world and see the big picture.
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Visual Literacy – Key to Comprehension Donna Ogle dogle@nl.edu June 18, 2012
Comprehension of the visual world • Not all see the same world; not all interpret the same way • Some begin with the particular and notice details • Some take a wide angle view of the world and see the big picture
Informational texts contrast with fiction and require new skills Oliver, L & Winkler, H (2003). Hank Zipzer The Mostly True Confessions of the World’s Best Underachiever. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap. Administrators’ Academy Session Three Module Four
Just what is visual literacy? • Comprehension and expression of ideas in visual form • The ability to understand (see and construct meaning) and to express one’s own ideas in images Components include: reading, analyzing, assessing, interpreting, connecting, creating and communicating with images Visuals are emotional, personal, and reflect the creator’s perspective, skill and purpose
The changing contextWe live in a highly visual world. In the new textbooks…graphics don’t just explain the text, they are the text.” New York Times (2011) The twenty-first-century learner must master [this] intermediality of images and text in order to interpret an increasingly digital world…visual literacies are interwoven with textual ones, so that their interaction forms the basis for a more complete understanding. (Lapp, Flood * Fisher, 1999) “The image is the greatest instrument of instruction. What a child gets out of any subject presented to him is simply the images, which he himself forms with regard to it.” John Dewey
Foundations for visual literacy • The visual turn 25 years ago in textbook design • Increased dependence on visual displays in our media-dominated society • Importance of developing students’ visual literacy skills for comprehending content in and beyond school
Reading visuals – individual and in composite arrays in texts and media • Interpret a photograph, chart, table, map, etc. • Combine images in a series of photos or drawings • Compare and contrast images • Navigate among visual and textual information and find connections • Construct meaning by connecting and using all sources
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Fiction: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). (grade 5) Informational: Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text. (grade 2)
Writing Standards • 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. • 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. • a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. (grade 5) • Speaking and Listening Standards • 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding • of presentations. • 5. Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. (grade 2)
Reading visual information begins with illustrations in picture books Larry Sipe, Children’s literature specialist wrote: “One final important aspect of picture books: Navigating them requires that we pay attention to every feature, from the front cover and the dust jacket to the back cover. We can’t just skip to the first words of the story and begin reading; if we do, it’s like arriving at the opera after the overture is finished” (2008, Frey and Fisher, p.134).
Instruction is Needed • Learn to interpret each type of visual element • Preview entire texts or articles • Title, author • Organization : Table of Contents, titles, headings, boxed items, vocabulary highlighting, all visual components • Examine each visual to determine its meaning and relation to the rest of the text • Read actively • Combine information gained from narrative and visual sources while reading • Learn to take/make notes that include visual data
Graphic Preview • Create a diagram of the full page making boxes for any graphic feature. • Ask students to indicate what each represents as part of this text. Why is ___ included? Why is ___ important? • Turn headings into questions.
PARTNER READING Book Preview A. Look for author’s purpose and content: What is it about? B. How is it organized? C. Preview cover of book and Table of Contents together D. Look through the book (chapter-by-chapter walk-through) and notice: 1. Organization 2. Headings and Sub-headings 3. Pictures and Captions 4. Illustrations 5. Diagrams 6. Boxed Information 7. Highlighted vocabulary Boldface Italics Boxed Definitions 8. Resources in the book – glossary, index, suggested web-sites and other books
Pictures Photographs Maps Cartoons Comic strips/graphic novels Manga (Japanese) Diagrams Charts Tables Movies, videos Documentaries Sketches and drawings Posters Advertisements Multiple types of visual information in social studies The key for learners: Making connections among multiple visual and verbal sources on a single page spread
1. What is the first thing you see? Why do you think it attracted your attention? 2. What is in this picture? 3. Where was this picture taken? 4. Describe the people in detail (how they look, age, gender, clothing, location in the photo). What is each person doing? What do you think is not shown in the picture? Write a 1-3 sentence summary description to use as a caption.
Visual Thinking Strategies (D. Haug, Roosevelt High School, Mpls.) 1. What did you see? Start with the literal. List only tangible things – not ideas, feelings or conclusions. 2. Make three supported inferences from the photo. I think _____ because I see ______. 3. Do some analysis and make predictions. If you were in the photo, what would you be thinking, hoping, and wondering? If you asked a person in the photo a question, what would they answer? Support your analysis with photographic evidence and background knowledge. 4. What does the photo tell you about the time and place and the people? 5. What is missing from the photo? What do you think has been cropped out of the image? What questions do you have about what’s outside the frame? In Beach, Campano, Edmiston and Borgman (2010) Literacy Tools in the Classroom. NY: Teachers College Press. p.133
Science visual literacy • Diagrams Exploded diagram • Charts Tree diagram • Tables Time line • Graphs (bar, line, Flow chart Pie, column) Weather graph • Bird’s eye view Cutaway diagram • Storyboard (process) Scale diagram • Venn diagram Site map • http://k-8 visual.info/index.html
Instructional Guidelines for Teaching Students to Use Visuals • Understand the characteristics of the various visual formats in which information and ideas are communicated & develop the language to describe particular features • Still (picture, map, etc.) • Moving (video, movies, etc.) • Focus on interpretation of individual forms (start with photographs or pictures) • Integrate information from various forms /types of information in a text in developing an interpretation of the content • Apply understanding by creating one’s own representation of ideas through visual formats
Resources • Albers, P. (2007) Finding the artist within: Creating and reading visual texts. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. • Burchers, S. (2007) Vocabulary cartoons: SAT word power. FL: New Monic Books. • Frye, N. & Fisher, D. (2008) Teaching visual literacy: Using comic books, graphic novels, anime, cartoons and movies to develop comprehension: Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. • Moline, S. (200_) I see what you mean. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. International Visual Literacy Association. www.ivla.org