Visualization is an important reading comprehension strategy where readers create mental images of the text as they read. Visualizing text makes reading more personal and memorable by engaging readers' senses and prior knowledge. As readers visualize, they gain a deeper understanding of what they read and can recall it for longer periods of time. The document provides an example group activity where students visualize a story without pictures and compare their mental images to the actual illustrations. Individual visualization exercises are also suggested to help readers strengthen this important skill.

1. Visualization
By: Kate-Lyn Allen
TLED 468

2. What is Visualization?
• Visualizing text is a proven way to improve reading
comprehension.
• Visualization helps readers engage with text in ways that make
it personal and memorable.
• Readers adapt their images as they continue to read.
"Proficient readers spontaneously and purposely
create mental images while and after they read. The
images emerge from all five senses as well as the
emotions and are anchored in a reader's prior
knowledge."
-- Keene and Zimmerman, Mosaic of Thought

3. Why is Visualization Important?
“Visualizing strengthens reading comprehension skills as students gain a more thorough
understanding of the text they are reading by consciously using the words to create mental images. As
students gain more deliberate practice with this skill, the act of visualizing text becomes automatic.
Students who visualize as they read not only have a richer reading experience but can recall what they
have read for longer periods of time. (Harvey & Goudvis 2000)”
“Visualizing text as it is being read or heard also creates personal links between the
readers/listeners and text. Readers who can imagine the characters they read about, for instance, may
become more involved with what they are reading. This makes for a more meaningful reading experience
and promotes continued reading.”

4. Group Activity

Talk to the students about what Visualization means

"When we read, we must listen to the words and create pictures in our minds
to go with the words"

Tell students that good readers make pictures in their heads to go with the
words in a book and this helps them understand the story. They make pictures
of the people and places described in books.

The more details you make in your mind picture, the easier you’ll remember it.

We will read The Gruffalo by Julie Donaldson without showing the pictures

Stop throughout the story for the students to describe what they think the
Gruffalo looks like

If students have a hard time describing what they see, model for them.

As the students describe what they see draw on the butcher paper what they
are describing

At the end of the story show how the illustrator drew the Gruffalo

Have students compare and contrast the class Gruffalo with the one in the
book
o
Talk with students about how they are all different. Most of them
combine some of the ideas from the passage and some ideas from the
author's head. Each drawing is different because we each make different
"connections" to the idea of the Gruffalo. But what is important is that
we used what we knew to help us make a picture. This helps us
understand the story better.

5. Picture This!
• I am picturing
• I can imagine
• My mental images
include
What do I:
•Feel…
•See…
•Taste…
•Smell…
•Touch…
•Hear…

6. I see what I read
I feel what I read
It's like a movie in my mind
I create pictures in my mind as I read.

7. Individual Activity

8. Another Mental Image Story
Granods
A Granod is an animal. It has a long, oval-shaped body. The granod
has a long neck and tail. The top of the neck, back, and tail are covered
by a row of triangular-shaped plates. The Granod’s head is shaped like
a long triangle. It has big eyes, and eyebrows that stick out. It also has
big nostrils. Its body is covered with scales. The Granod has four short
legs. At the end of each leg is a foot with five long toes. Each toe has a
sharp claw at its end. The Granod has two wings attached to its body.
These are located behind the front legs towards the top of its back.
Granods may be many different colors, but usually, they are green and
yellow, or red and yellow.

9. References
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Manatee County Public Schools. (n.d.). The Strategy of Visualization [Brochure].
Author. Retrieved October 5, 2013, from
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/Resources/vis1.pdf
Summ, C. (n.d.). Lesson: Visualizing From a Vivid Piece of Text. The Reading Lady.
Retrieved October 5, 2013, from
http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=pagemaster
Williamson, J. (April 26). Mental Images. Welcome to Room 36!: A Kindergarten
Blog. Retrieved October 5, 2013, from
http://mrswilliamsonskinders.blogspot.com/2011/04/mental-images.html
Visualizing. (n.d.). Teacher Vision. Retrieved October 5, 2013, from
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/reading-comprehension/skill-builder/48791.html