I've recently been reading a book by Aimee Buckner called
Notebook Connections. Gretchen Smith recommended Aimee's book
Notebook Know How, written by a classroom teacher, about using a writer's notebook in her fourth grade classroom. I bought her second book on strategies for reader's notebooks at the same time. Both are FULL of useful, practical ideas.
One idea from this book in particular has been sticking in my head. Buckner discusses the idea of differentiated visualization. "What?" I thought. I even coded that! Aren't you glad to see that I practice what I preach. :-) "I've never thought of levels of differentiation!" The more I thought about this the more it makes sense to me. Hopefully I won't slaughter Buckner's ideas too much, but here's what I've been thinking about.
1.
Snapshot: Buckner suggests that when kids first begin to visualize they likely see snapshots as the story moves along. This makes sense to me since kids are first exposed to picture books and simple text. They begin to piece the story together through snapshots. Sometimes when I read more difficult nonfiction the same thing happens to me. I picture what's described and imagine all it's parts and pieces as I'm learning.
2.
Being There: Ok, so she doesn't call the next stage Being There, but I think that's a good description. When I think if this stage I think of being in the book. You are in that place where you can see it, feel it, smell it, hear it....hopefully you know that place. You look up at your alarm clock and an hour and 60 pages (I'm a slow reader, but a strong comprehender) has passed. It's like watching a movie.
3.
Empathy: The third stage of visualization that she describes I think of as empathy because it's when you can closely relate with the characters. During this stage I'm sitting in bed, sobbing and unfogging my glasses during
Moloka'i, because I could only imagine my nephew being taken away on a ship! (This is a beautiful historical fiction book about the Hawaiian Island that was a leper colony. I highly recommend it!) This is Tyler in my class many years ago softly sobbing as Little Ann lays on the grave of Old Dan as I finish
Where the Red Fern Grows. The other kids were sensitive to him, but few felt the book like he did.
For some reason this idea of differentiated reading strategies had really gotten me thinking. What do others say about visualization? If this is the case, what strategies should I employ to help kids move to deeper levels of visualizing? Will this happen on its own for readers? Does it look different with nonfiction? If I "feel" this way while reading nonfiction is that because it's persuasive writing? So many questions to sort through. Not to mention when I start thinking about differentiation of the other reading strategies!
In the meantime, I've been thinking about a few strategies that might be useful for reader's notebooks or for whole class lessons. (Thanks Kim for listening to my ideas!) Let me know if you try something and it works or if you have tried something!! I'd love to add it to the toolbox. Here are a few.
1.
Snapshot - (Odd how that sounds similar to the name I gave the first level). Have kids stop and think about the most memorable thing they have read in their story that day and take a snapshot of it in their mind. Have them illustrate this scene and create a caption or labels to help them remember why it was important.
2.
Lean In - This is actually from Buckner's book. She talks about having kids 'lean into" a scene and give it details. Have kids use all their senses to describe an important scene. What do they notice? How do they see it even though the author might not have said it exactly? (Buckner does a much better job of describing this. I'd be glad to share the book.)
3.
Character Compare - This might be harder for younger kids (and I'm sure the strategy could have a better name), but I want to them to pick a character that they have a connection to and describe this connection. How are they like the character? Do they know how the character might be feeling? Why do they think this?
4.
What the Writer Wanted Us to Visualize - If you are focusing on writing with your kids, you might consider having them describe what they think the author wanted them to picture. I would have the kids reread a passage and find places, words and phrases where they can point to the author's ability to craft words to create images. This would be a entry point into the trait of Word Choice and looking at active verbs and descriptive words.
Nothing fancy. If this is something you are working on, let me know. I've found a few other resources and picture books that might help as you help kids "see" their books.
Angie
If you have Linda Hoyt's Revisit, Reflect, Retell, try:
- Analyzing Poetry, pg. 56
- Illustrating the Story, pg. 79
- Three-Circle Map, pg. 80
- Image Search: The Art of Good Writing, pg. 122
- Sketch to Stretch, pg. 148 (super for nonfiction)
- Leads, Middles, Ending!, pg. 196
- Investigating Visual Supports, pg. 201
If you have Strategies that Work, read all of chapter 9, p. 130-154.
The last couple of weeks of school Mrs. Maxwell and her students worked on what it means to make inferences, something that kids do intuitively, but a kind of thinking that can be tricky to label. They've read a variety of mysteries, but one has quickly become a favorite: The Mary Celeste: A Mystery from History, by Jane Yolen. This book shares the facts of the mysterious disappearance of the crew in the 1800s. It's great fun to watch just how engaged the kids become as they discuss possible theories.
This is an activity worth trying with your advanced 3rd graders as you move toward the learning target of inference. The anchor book is highly engaging and the activity quickly reveals which students are proficient with understanding and naming an inference.
