Still waiting for placement.
1st research project due: Visual Literacy for Reading Comprehension my prezi link: http://prezi.com/_vnpebikxnbo/visual-literacy/
Introduction
The
early development of a child starts with the development of language skills within
the home environment. Their literacy
development varies depending on their experiences before starting school. The teacher does not have control over this;
however, they must be able to adapt their instruction based on the literacy
needs of their class. This can vary year
to year depending on the socioeconomic status of the students. The teacher can assess their students and
determine the best path to take in developing reading comprehension
skills. Oral language skills are not the
only mode of communication. Written communication is also developed by a child
before school by drawing pictures on what they see in their environment. Through the development of these early skills
of communication, a child is able to become an emergent reader or writer
through the introduction of picture books.
The literacy development of a child is important by exposing them early
to pictures, so they can gain interest in reading. The first step is for the parents to develop
a literacy program at home by reading to their children, which will be further
enhanced in school by their teachers.
Starting in Pre-K, the teachers already start teaching their student
visual literacy by asking questions about a story. The teacher does this by asking the students
to interpret the pictures in the story.
An example of this is showing the students pictures from the story and
asking them to put them in order based on the main events in the story. The teacher needs to set the foundation for a
visual literacy program where students are able to strengthen their literacy
skills by making the connection between the words in a story and its pictures.
Visual
Literacy Main Components
Pictures books help children make
the connection to a story by its illustrations.
An illustration can tell us the mood and setting of a story where we can
see pictorial interpretations of the characters in the setting of the
story. The pictorial properties in the
illustration include color, shape, line, size, and style. This helps the students make that special
connection between the text and its pictures.
It helps the child visualize the story and be able to see the story in
both the author’s and illustrator’s eyes.
Some of our classic fairytales would not be the same without the
illustrations. The illustrations help
tell the story along with the text. This helps them gain an understanding in developing
early reading comprehension skills.
Also, the students learn to understand the main idea of a story by being
able to summarize the story’s main events.
The teacher can help by using tools such as a Venn diagram or a graphic
organizer or a story map.
The
basic design elements are picture to text interaction where the illustrations
reinforce, describe, and establish a connection to the story. The way a teacher can teach these skills is making
color and cultural connections, explaining how style implies the setting and
makes the tone, and the composition that makes the characters and main plot of
the story. Teachers can help the students
make these connections by teaching the components of visual literacy and
reading different genres of books. By
exposing the students to a variety of books, they can begin to understand how
to connect the illustrations to the story.
The more stories they are exposed to the stronger their visual literacy
skills will be developed. Another key
component to developing their visual literacy skills is to have the parents
reinforce it at home with a home reading program. Both the parents and the school are important
partners in developing their child’s reading comprehension. Visual literacy can be developed by looking
at the text to text connections, inference, visualizing, interpreting the main
idea, and answering questions about the story.
Conclusion
As a teacher, I
believe visual literacy is a major component to reading comprehension. The illustrations help us understand and
expand our creative minds in understanding how a story unfolds. Without the pictures in a story, how would we
get the same details in a story? The
illustrations bring the story to life and help open the eyes of the children to
a wonderful world of reading. This
article definitely emphasizes the importance of visual literacy. The more exposure the students have to reading,
the more likely they will be avid readers. By enhancing their visual skills it
help them comprehend the stories they have read, which in turn opens a new
world for them.
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