Inspiring Literacy and Creativity: Picture Read It in the Classroom

Author Notes: This paper represents a narrative of Picture Read It in the classroom as told by teachers and our own staff and supported through research conducted by our team in 2013 for purposes of validating student outcomes using our classroom activities. We are publishing this paper for schools to gather key facts or evidence supporting an interest in implementing wordless picture books in the classroom. Picture Read It has gathered a significant library of research on wordless picture books which we would be happy to share with you upon request.

As students pour over detailed and stimulating illustrations full of sequenced plot and intriguing characters, their engagement ignites and their literacy skills flourish. Delving into wordless stories allows students creativity to soar, and they become enveloped in an experience teeming with educational value. Utilizing Picture Read It in the classroom is not only a method that grasps the attention of emergent readers through intriguing story art, but also opens the door for students to successfully synthesize their developing literacy skills and make valuable connections to stories. Picture Read It books use a sequence of visual images to tell a story, advance plot, and develop characters. Students are able to explore various facets of a story, as they utilize their own creativity, imagination, and experiences to narrate and engage in the tale. There are a host of benefits to utilizing wordless picture books in the classroom, from strengthened literacy skills and vocabulary development, to personal growth and confidence. Through the use of picture books, young learners are introduced to the format of books and the concept of a continued story with each new page. They acquire a curiosity about books, and a sense of wonder about what the next literary adventure will entail. This curiosity stems from the imaginative playfulness that implicitly accompanies reading picture books. Students become accustomed to the page layout of stories, the sequencing of events, and the details that contribute to a story. When reading picture books, children access their own developing vocabulary to narrate or discuss the images, while comprehending the books themes. As Carolyn Brodie (2011) mentions, wordless picture books support building vocabulary and comprehension skills while serving as an introduction to reading (p. 46). Although students may not be reading text in a picture book, they are reading the images and following the sequence of

events through a visual means; they are becoming familiar with the importance of literacy skills and concepts, and the format of books. With countless possibilities for creative interpretation, the story art inside Picture Read It books allow students to develop their ability to interpret meaning from pictures. Through noticing details, following plot developments, and analyzing character depictions, students are able to infer concepts portrayed through illustrations. As children picture read, parents and teachers can prompt them to answer questions such as what do you notice? Or who/what is in the picture? Prompting with questions about various aspects of the visual imagery will encourage students to think deeply about their interpretation of the picture. Each student will interpret the image differently; their imaginative narrations and the dimensions they notice within the theme will be unique. As students interpret the visual images of a picture book either to create a narrative story or to describe the details observed in the pictures, they are developing literacy skills. Plotsequencing skills are explored as they tell and retell the events portrayed throughout the pictures; students make connections as they move from picture to picture and they unravel the plot while realizing the books beginning, middle, and end (Brodie, 2011, p.46). Through understanding the plot as it is interpreted via visual images, students also notice and talk about the details of character development. They can observe a character experience the events within the plot and through creating the narrative to accompany the sequence of happenings, they implicitly strengthen their emerging character development skills.

Wordless picture books support building vocabulary and comprehension skills while serving as an introduction to reading Carolyn Brodie

When narrating illustrated stories, children often infuse their descriptions with dialogue between characters. They make connections among the storys themes, happenings, settings, and relationships to give the characters a voice. In other words, students bring the pictures to life; thus, the story itself comes to life. When children use Picture Read It books to imagine and tell stories, they use their oral language and emergent literacy skills while they become authors and storytellers. As Hamilton and Weiss (2005) mention at the beginning of Children Tell Stories, storytelling is the oldest form of education (p. 1). From content themes to language and vocabulary acquisition, the myriad of literacy skills gained through the use of wordless picture books is multi-fold. Whats more, there is an inextricable link between language and literacy. Storytelling is one of the best bridges between the two (Washington, 2009, p. 37). To read visual images, students incorporate their own personal experiences and background knowledge as they describe details of the picture or the development of the plot sequence. In this way, they connect personally to the pictures and engage in each part of the story, from beginning to end. Narrations include familiar elements of the childrens own environment and allow them to incorporate deeper themes and emotions. Picture Read It books encourage children to express their ideas and imaginations with language. Their oral language expands as they explore additional ways to describe images and reveal the unfolding plot of the story. Through augmenting their vocabulary, utilizing familiar words and phrases in a descriptive way, and engaging in conversations about the picture books, students enhance their literacy skills in countless, valuable ways. The educational value of Picture Read It is innumerable as nearly every aspect of literacy development is enhanced by their use. Not only do they strengthen emergent literacy skills, but they also ignite curiosity, imagination, and a love for books.

Picture Read It has developed over three years from a simple classroom activity to a book series authored by Mesemondo. Today, Picture Read It is used as an introduction to storytelling and literacy builder for children ages 3 to 10. To learn more about Picture Read It, please visit our website at www.picturereadit.com.

______________________________________________________________________________

Works Cited: Brodie, C. (2011). Wordless picture books: Creative learning ideas. School Library Monthly. 28(1), 46-48. Hamilton, M. & Weiss, M. (2005). Children tell stories: Teaching and using storytelling in the classroom. (2nd ed). Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owen. Washington, D. (2009). The inextricable link between language and literacy. In S. Norfolk, J. Stenson & D. Williams (Eds.), Literacy development in the storytelling classroom (pp. 33-37). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited