Reading to Learn

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Venture into a New Land with Visualization

 

 

Rational

Learning to read is very important and a major part of a young student’s education. It is so important because so much more knowledge is made available as we read to learn. As we comprehend texts, we understand what the message is about and gain knowledge. Visualization is a valuable technique that assists in reading comprehension and brings reading to life. It is the process of imagining pictures or scenes as you read the text. Students may be used to reading picture books that add information to the story, so it is important to visualize with expository texts in order to assimilate the text with their own experiences and imagination. This lesson will help students begin to visualize through molding and practice as we learn about European exploration of the Americas.

 

Material

• Colored pencils

• Copy paper

• Lined paper

• Rubric

• Expository Text 

• List of vocabulary words: explore, conquer, and settlement

• Practice paragraphs

• Whiteboard

• Dry erase markers

 

Procedure

1. Say, “Today we are going to add a tool in our reading toolbox that will help us comprehend texts. What does it mean to comprehend something?” Wait for replies. “To comprehend something means to understand what it is saying and to get the big picture. Do you see a long paragraph or article and get overwhelmed? Without comprehension, it is just a bunch of letters and words with no meaning. One way we can help train our brains to comprehend is to visualize the text. This means we will make our own metal movie or comic strip in our head as you read.”

2. “The article we are reading today is about people who sailed across a great big ocean and landed on new land. And guess what? This story really happened, and it is the story of how North and South America were discovered.”

3. “Before we read the article, let’s practice some of the vocabulary that will be in it. Does anyone know what it means to explore?” Let students answer. “To explore means to search somewhere unknown or new. I’ll use it in a sentence. Neil Armstrong was an astronaut who was the first to explore the moon in person. Can you explore new creatures outside? Help me finish this sentence. If I bought scuba gear to explore the ocean, I might find...”

4. “Great job! What does conquer mean?” Wait for responses. “To conquer something means to take over and become more powerful. Europeans would conquer new land by taking control over the people who already lived there. If you conquer something, are you the winner or the loser? Can you finish this sentence? Max is afraid of heights, so he is going to conquer his fears by...”

5. “Awesome! Our last vocabulary word is settlement. Does anyone know what it could mean?” Wait for a response. “A settlement is a place where people build a community. The pilgrims made settlements when they came to America. What would I need to build a settlement? Can you finish the sentence? The people in a settlement close to the beach would eat lots of…?”

6. Pass out a piece of copy paper and lined paper to each student. Make sure there are colored pencils available for students to share either at tables or desks.

7.  “Now that we know some vocabulary, let’s try a sample passage. I am going to read it out loud and tell you what I visualize as read. Remember, this means I am going to make a movie scene in my head from the text. I want you to close your eyes as I read, and we can see if we visualize the same thing. ‘Reaching Asia by land was difficult. The journey east was long and crossed many dangerous territories. Some people thought they could reach Asia by sailing west. Christopher Columbus was one of these people.’ Okay, open your eyes. Would someone like to share what they pictured in their mind as we read?” Let a few students share. “Great! I visualized a boat traveling a looong time in the rocky ocean.” Draw out the scene on the whiteboard as you describe it. “The wind was blowing and men rushing around on the boat because the text said it was ‘difficult’ and ‘dangerous.’ I pictured Christopher Columbus next to the boat in a long fancy robe with a map because the paragraph said he was looking for a route to Asia.”

8. “Do you see how our visualizations were a little different, but we all had similarities? That is the fun part about reading! Your visualizations can be creative and different from the person next to you, but you do have to base them off of what you read. No one should have pictured elephants wearing a hat because the text didn’t say anything about that. But it is okay if you didn’t picture Christopher Columbus holding a map.”

9. Give students a copy of the article. Give instructions and a booktalk. “I want you guys to practice your visualization skills by reading this article ‘New World: The First Europeans’. We live in North America, and this article is about the first time a European came to the Americas. Now we can jump on a plane and be in Europe in less than 10 hours, but their journey was very different. It took weeks to arrive on land, and once they got there, they were not alone. How do you think Christopher Columbus and the other explorers treated the Native Americans?”

10. “You can fold your copy paper in half, and then fold it in half again. When you open it up, you should have 4 boxes, one box for each section in the article.  Draw and color at least one picture from each section after you read. You get to bring your visualizations to life! On your notebook paper, write down why you visualized this picture and how it relates to the article. You can include information from the text. Let me know how picturing the text helped you understand what it was about. I also want you to answer these comprehension questions on your notebook paper.” Write the questions on the whiteboard.”

 

Assessment

The teacher will grade the drawing based on the rubric below for a total of 10 points.

 

___/1 Did the student draw four pictures with color?

___/2 Do the pictures directly relate to the passage?

___/2 Do the pictures accurately depict the meaning of the passage and highlight key points?

___/1 Did the student write descriptions about each picture?

___/2 Did the student include key details from the passage in their description.

___/2 Do the descriptions and illustrations demonstrate comprehension of the article?

 

This focus of visualization is to help readers gain comprehension skills. These are some comprehension questions that can help you determine their level of comprehension.

 

1. What was Christopher Columbus trying to find?

2. What did he actually find?

3. Why did Spain become so powerful in the Americas?

4. How did the Europeans treat the Native Americans?

5. Why did more Europeans come to the Americas?

 

Resources

 

“A ‘New World’: The First Europeans.” Kids InforBits, Gale, a Cengage Company, 2018. Kids InforBits

 

“Visualizing Like No Otter” by Alexandria Miller

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