This document provides an overview of visual literacy and its increasing importance. It discusses how visual communication has developed from early cave paintings to the present day where visual images are ubiquitous. It emphasizes that visual literacy allows people to interpret and make meaning from visual information. The document also explores how educators can develop students' visual literacy skills through analyzing images, developing critical thinking, and using visuals to support literacy in engaging ways.

1. TwoSuesInspiring and practical training for school librariesReading Pictures ExploringVisual LiteracyHertfordshire Schools Library Service Thursday 13th October 2011Visual Literacy

2. Human beings first attempts at passing information on to future generations took the form of paintings. The oldest known cave painting is that of the Chauvet Cave, dating to around 30,000 BCFrom Cave Paintings

3. To early script in the form ofhieroglyphics

4. The Ancient Egyptians along with many others told stories in pictures

5. Through hand written Illuminated manuscripts

6. To Gutenberg and the printing press

7. Trace the development from pictures to words and pictures to today when....

8. “All of us are watchers - of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway - but few of us are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing."- Peter M. LeschakVideo

9. Visual messages are all around us

10. In the form of ...Books

11. Magazines

12. Websites

13. Videos/Computer Games

14. Diagrams

15. Documentaries

16. PrintedOr electronic

17. Or Non-FictionFiction

18. Books with things to do

19. Three dimensional pop up books

20. Three dimensional objectsitius.net

21. Paintings

22. Maps

23. Today the ratio of visual image to text is increasing...

24. We no longer expect pupils to be inspired by this.......

26. Book pages are now presented like web pages

27. The same with Newspapers

28. Light reading in 1908

29. The world pupils inhabit has become increasingly visual

30. ‘Young people learn more than half of what they know from visual information, but few schools have an explicit curriculum to show students how to think critically about visual data.’Mary Alice White, researcher at Columbia Teachers’ College

31. So what do we mean by Visual Literacy ?glendabaker.net

32. Visual Literacy Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading.John Debes, co-founder of the International Visual Literacy Association, 1969 (Wikipedia 2010)

33. Words are used to recall things we have seen and experienced Different parts of the brain are used when we are exposed to words and pictures Combination of visuals and text increases comprehension

35. Draw a cat

36. Civet cat

37. Children are increasingly dependent on visual images as a way of learning Many children find it easier to visualise images rather than read wordsTV, film, computer games are a bigger part of their lives than the written wordAs a result are more visually literate

38. Who benefits from including visual images ?Special needs

39. English as a second language

40. Visual learners

41. Reluctant readers and learners

42. Boys

43. In fact, most people!

44. So visual literacy has become more importantVisual images are becoming a predominate form of communicationPupils need to be able to make critical judgements when looking at and using imagesThere are no guide lines to help interpret images the meaning results from the context

45. “Our students must learn to process both words and pictures. To be visually literate they must learn to “read” (consume and interpret) images and write (produce and use) visually rich communications”Frey Nancy and Douglas Fisher

46. It is important that pupils learn to question images in the same way they question written text.

47. Seeing cannot always be believing

48. Developing critical thinking skills through imagesPupils are able to interpret images on a literal levelThe higher order thinking skills of analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting the image does not come naturally To do this the viewer must be helped to develop the necessary abstract thinking skillsGoldstone 1989

49. Thinking Skills in the National CurriculumInformation processing

50. Reasoning skills

51. Enquiry skills

52. Creative thinking skills

53. Evaluation skillsDepartment for Children, Schools & Families 2009

54. Using the 5 Ws (&H) at all levelsWhat happened ?Who were the people involved ?When did it happen ?Where did it happen ?Why did it happen ?How did it happen?Answers bring up more questions i.e. What were the motives ? What influenced those involved? What were the consequences of their decisions?Objective Questions – dates, places, namesSubjective Questions- opinion – motives, influences

55. Using Pictures to Encourage Questioning SkillsIn groups – have a look at the picture and ask as many questions as you can about itWhat do you know ? What do you want to find out?

56. Now look at all your questions:1. Which 3 questions are most interesting to you ?2. If you were a newspaper reporter, which 3 questions do you think are the most important ? Why ?3. How would you find out the answers to your questions?

57. Images can be manipulative The way the image is presented affects themessage the creator wishes to impartLightJuxtaposition of imagesPerspectiveLocationSize of itemsScaleFrameDimensionDepthBackground/ForegroundColour

58. Questions that need to be asked when studying imagesWhat message are the images trying to convey?Do you agree with the way the message is being depicted?Where has the information come from?What has been left out?What is the relationship between the image and the text?What effect does the size of the images have?

59. Interpreting the imageCaption 1:On a hot summer day in 1947, these spectators watch the final moments of a tense baseball game. Some fans are yelling in disapproval at the umpire because they don’t like the decision.

60. Interpreting the imageCaption 2:Entertainer Paul Robeson sings to labourers working at the racially integrated Moore Shipyards in Oakland, California on 21st September 1942.

61. Interpreting the imageCaption 3:A mournful crowd gathers to watch the funeral procession of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, drive past.

62. Interpreting the imageDid it seem that all the captions could fit the image or did some make more sense than others ?Did hearing three captions about the same image make it more confusing to figure out what was really happening ? Why or why not ?Words can sway how we think about the picture. Captions help us “pin down” meaning. Captions and our own expectations influence what we see or read into an image.The right caption was: Entertainer Paul Robeson singing to labourers

63. How can visual images help literacyStimulates creativity and inspires children to write their own storiesDevelops empathy Encourages children to explore texts further by making information or stories more accessible Develops social and cultural awarenessDevelops thinking and questioning skills

64. Inspire creativity

65. Close up images can inspire poetryhaikus are a “close-up”

66. Copper Coin

67. Ball point nib

68. Knife blade

69. Use images to develop pupils’ social and cultural knowledge

70. Cartoons canhighlight topical subjects for discussion

71. Gerald Scarfe depicts Prince Charles as a genetically modified weed Why?Background knowledge is needed

72. BadBad news I’m afraid Adam you’re a monkey!monkeyWouldyou Adam and Eve it? Adam and Eve itCharles DarwinCultural knowledge is assumed

73. Chris Riddell

74. Use images to pass on personal information and develop self awareness

75. Based on a Victorian parlour game, each contributor described themselves with images of their favourite things.

76. Donald Urquhart

77. Emma Chichester Clarke

78. Mary Fedden

79. Eric Clapton

80. Add LVS work on this

81. What are you like ?Helps get to know new pupils Helps pupils to analyse themselvesLess threatening than “write about yourself” – children can be given the optionAnthony Browne says “everyone can draw!”Great joint project with Art departmentWhat would you draw ?

82. Using filmChildren spend a lot of time watching TV and filmthis is not going to change so we need to tap into this resourceSequencing, predicting, recounting, suppositionMusic, light, sound and colour create moodThe camera is the eye of the viewer, angles, close ups, long shots resting on details all in form the viewer and add atmosphere

83. “The Motorist” film from BFI with activity:What are your reactions ?

84. What adjectives would you use to describe the couple driving, the policeman ?

85. Work in small groups to write bullet points for what happens next

86. Could form the basis of a lesson in which students develop their ideas into a piece of creative writing Write a sentence explaining what you think the film is about – how do your interpretations differlink

87. Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley

88. Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley

89. Need the rest of these slides

90. Graphic novels & comic booksin the curriculum

91. Comics, Graphic Novels and MangaAll use 'sequential art’ frames with speech bubblesCinematic format reflects film and computer games Have visual ‘permanence’ unlike film, time moves at the pace of the readerManga originated in Japan and subversively reads from right to left from back to front which appeals to pupilsNo longer seen as controversial a growing number are suitable for children (list of publishers and titles in pack)

92. One of the earlier graphic novelsWill Eisner coined the phrase ‘graphic novel 'in 1978 to describe his collection of short stories ‘A contact with God’

93. Graphic Artists Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon produced a version of ‘9/11 Commission Report’ as a comic bookJacobson maintained ‘the graphic art format helps people particularly younger readers, to grasp what happened’

94. Marjane Satrapi’s Graphic Novel ‘Persepolis’ gave her the freedom to tell a wider audience her tale of revolution in Iran

95. Words and pictures help to make more difficult texts accessible

96. ‘Self Made Hero’ has produced Manga versions of Shakespeare’s plays‘It is a very visual medium. We thought that Manga would work well with Shakespeare because he wrote the stories to be played out on a stage rather than just read aloud. Manga brings that visual element into play’ Emma Hayley Self Made Hero

97. Classical StoriesClassic CrimeBiographies

98. Evidence from one school librarian‘I was chatting to one of our less able Y10 boys a few days ago, and he starting discussing a ‘Midsummer Nights Dream’ throwing in references to the characters, plot, etc. This surprised me (especially since he's not in a group which 'does‘ Shakespeare) , but turns out he got the info and interest - if not a love for Will from reading Gaiman's 'Sandman' comics.’ Adrian Thompson

99. Outlaw: The Legend of Robin HoodWritten by Tony Lee Illustrated by Sam Hart

100. Now there are Graphic Novels to suit both boys and girls of all ages Glister Series by Andi Watson

101. Graphic Novelsnow have a valid place in the Library!Create interest in a variety of literary genre and range of topicsIncreased interest in readingAbility to discuss art and writingUnderstanding meaning in visual phenomenaIncrease literacy in all sensesIncreased understanding of popular cultureDevelopment of language skills and vocabulary

102. How to Exploit Your CollectionInvite staff from local comic book shop to give a talkHave a session with an artist drawing MangaCompare a graphic version with original work of literatureOrganise a book talk around your collectionGet pupils involved in selection of new titles, start a discussion on censorshipStart a Graphic Novel book groupPupils produce their own comic book. There are free online websites - makebeliefscomix.com Invent your ownsuper hero reflects classical heroes from the past on - heromachine

103. Manga deals with almost every theme imaginable, not just sci-fi and fantasy.’Manga is linked to the Japanese animation style known as ‘Anime’... drawn animation which will be familiar to pupils from film and TV Excellent introduction to Japanese culture

104. Using Picture Books

105. A picture book is one in which pictures play a significant role in the telling of the storyEither a wordless story told only in pictures or one in which pictures and words work togetherAn illustrated book is one in which the words provide the story which is only decorated by the illustrations

106. “What is the use of a book” thought Alice “without pictures”Printed word and pictures together are effective when telling stories and delivering informationUse across the curriculum Use when introducing a new topic so add to book boxes Pictures can be read on lots of different levels so have something for all ages and abilities

107. http://www.epbcii.org/Other languages and cultures

108. War and Peas

109. A simple explanation of sustainability

110. George saves the world by lunchtime

111. GeographyScan of George saves the world by lunchtime – children to write down everything they find and what they would do with it

112. Picture books are special. They are not like anything else. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the text— a gap that is filled by the reader’s imagination.’“These are not books to be left behind as we grow older. I would like to encourage the act of looking.”

113. Paintings on the walls tell another part of the storyUse of cinematic icons such as King Kong and Marilyn MonroeOrdinary objects morph into fantastic onesJokes or surrealist elements in background always have a relevance to the story

114. Paintings on the walls tell another part of the story

116. Get paintings from Hertfordshire art collection Escher to complement Anthony BrownUse Picture This and also get pictures from Herts if possible

117. Skills DevelopedReferences to art, culture, and ideas enrich the story and make his books ideal for opening conversations Ask the question ‘What is surrealism?’Talk about the symbolismThere are many different ways to interpret the stories the pictures often telling a different story from the words thus developing the imaginationA sophisticated level of humour, characterization and plot mean the books appeal to children and adults

118. End of Anthony Browne

119. Picture This

120. Example of the Power of Words and Pictures‘Blake's drawings have taken Rosen's personal text and made it universal, a template for grief and recovery’Guardian

121. How Blake Interprets Rosen’s SadnessHow do the pictures make you feel?Cartoonish pictures soften what is a very emotional subjectSadness is depicted in four drawings where the background gets greyer and greyer until suddenly it’s raining.Beneath a drawing of him smiling the statement 'This is me being sad’ Make comparison between the words and the pictures

122. The Heart and the Bottle

123. The Heart in the BottlePictureLink to app ad – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc3fghSJvBMAlice apphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gew68Qj5kxw&NR=1

124. An Amusing Slant on NatureFrank and funny. Takes young children, skipping and whooping, out from under the gooseberry bush.Independent

125. There are sneaking, creeping, crumpling noises coming frominside the walls’"This is a picture book for the twenty-first century child: visually and emotionally sophisticated, accessible, and inspired." --ALA Booklist“Gaiman has one creepy imagination, and his goose bump-inducing tale is given full visual throttle by McKean’sillustrations”Independent

126. Lucy’s fears are ignored by her familyUse of photography, painting, drawing and collageIt is atmospheric, sinister, scary and funny

127. USING STORIES WITH NO WORDS

128. Benefit of no wordsPupils have to look for visual clues to create a meaningful story lineThis requires sophisticated thinking and develops imagination.Experience has to be read in the pictures so a need to engage and get involved emotionally

129. Shaun Tan The ArrivalThe homely and familiar The new and strange

130. Get pupils to write their interpretation of the storyUse the illustrations to explore narrative structureThink about what happened before the story beginsFor PSHE start a discussion on poverty and wealthSpeech bubble the narrativeTell the story from the point of view of different charactersMake a play of the storyIdeas for the Arrival

131. Opens Discussion On Many LevelsInspired by Raymond Briggs ‘Snowman’

132. Deals with the problem of ‘belonging’

133. No text so no guidance like a new immigrant with no language or knowledge of customs

134. Opens discussion on new realities – a new school, job, relationship or country

135. Set out in same format as Graphic NovelThe Lost ThingShow video – won OscarThe Lost Thing trailer

136. Discuss what medium has been used - watercolour, pen and ink, collage etc... How has the artist created mood with colours and light How are the images placed on the pageRead the story without showing pictures and get pupils to draw their ‘mind pictures’How has illustration changed over the years? Research an illustratorCompare books across the age rangeMore ideas at Book Trust ‘Big Picture’ and ‘House of IllustrationIdeas for Using Picture Books

137. Kate Greenaway AwardShort listed books form backbone of good collection of picture books and illustrated textsWebsite offers help in analysing picture booksLocal and national involvementIn school voting creates interest in illustrationIn school competitions – bookmarks, postershttp://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway

138. Using Non-Fiction textsUse non fiction picture books with all ages to present new topicsPrinted word and pictures used together can be very effective at delivering informationHelps pupils grasp the essence of more complex subjects by working from simpler examples Make use of factual comic books and mangaInclude in book boxes

139. Maps and Diagrams

141. Imagine you are a giant looking down into your bedroom or kitchen draw a map – you have to ‘visualise’ to do this

142. Finding your way round the library

143. Examples of non fiction text bookshttp://www.squidoo.com/teachingwithpicturebooks#module16222962

144. Non-Fictiontexts

145. Online resources

146. Maths uses visual images all the time

147. And Science

148. Body and Movement

149. Anatomy and Health

150. IDEas slideBook boxes for curriculum topics – include graphic novels and picture booksPublicise visual aspect of your stock Deliver INSETLeaflets ?End of morning 15 mins short as at 15.8