A Highly Sensory Experience

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

September 2004

Ahhh . . . the sweet corn season. Sometimes the wait seems forever, but accompanying the shrinking days of August are those ripening ears of golden yellow sweet corn: plucking ears from the stalks or inspecting them in the shade of a roadside stand ... peeling back the green husks to expose the juicy kernels ... painstakingly frisking off the slippery silks ... roasting the ears on a charcoal grill, or flipping them into boiling water ... and then feasting ... slathering an ear with melted butter, and hoisting it to your mouth ... chomping into that first hearty biteful, as hot moist kernels explode onto your tongue. ... methodically mowing down the rows. Oh, the pleasures of corn-on-the-cob!

Pretty suggestive, eh? Like most readers who have experienced eating fresh sweet corn, you probably noticed that the mere act of reading about this traditional delicacy triggered a host of sensory responses from your imagination. Could you visualize golden ears of corn, ready for eating? Did you picture yourself enjoying this summertime treat – perhaps at a family gathering or in your home? Could you almost taste an ear, perhaps to the point of wishing you were actually eating it? Did the aromas of cooking ears and fragrant butter waft into your consciousness? Could you hear the squeak of the ears as you twisted off the husks and cleaned them? Could you feel the heat on your fingertips as you lifted the first steaming ear from your plate?

Proficient readers read with their imaginations totally engaged, and they use language suggested by an author to create vivid mental scenarios rich in sensory imagery to breathe life and meaning into a text. Strategies that encourage students to “read with all their senses” help them extend beyond merely reading words to deepen their comprehension of a text.

The Strategy
Sensory reading can be prompted in a variety of ways during classroom instruction. Teacher modeling of how one’s imagination interacts with an author’s message is especially critical in developing readers who respond to textual cues to personalize their understanding.

Step 1: Guided imagery is an excellent technique for providing practice in examining details that can elicit imagination. Using highly evocative pictures or photographs can be especially effective for a guided imagery activity. For example, the paintings of 20th century artist John Steuart Curry offer a window into an American life that was predominately rural. His well-known canvas “Tornado,” 1929, depicts a farm family fleeing to a storm cellar before the onslaught of a swirling tornado. A guided imagery activity would prompt students to access all five senses – sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing – as they imagined the events portrayed in this scene.

First look carefully at the painting to notice as many details as you can. See this scene as if you were personally witnessing it. Carefully examine the faces of the people – the father, mother, and each child – and consider what they might be thinking and experiencing as the menacing storm moves upon them. Now imagine the sounds you might be hearing: the horses as they gallop frantically, the cat, the other farm animals. Can you hear the voices of the people in the painting? What might each of them be saying? How would it sound? Can you hear the noise of the storm and the devastation of the tornadic winds as they spin closer? Next, imagine how the wind feels on your skin, on your clothes, the effect it is having on the gate, the buildings, the trees. What smells do you notice? From the barnyard, the crops, the animals, the storm?

Guided imagery can also transport students deeper into their imaginations when they are asked to reach beyond what is displayed in the visual. Asking students to imagine what preceded or followed the event in the picture engages them in predicting and making inferences. In our Curry example, you might ask them to imagine the family huddled in the cellar as the winds rage above them. What do they see happening outside? What smells do they notice in the cellar? What are they hearing? Do they feel safe or threatened? What will they see when they emerge with the passing of the storm?

Step 2: Next, transition students into using language cues to spark their imaginations. Model, through think-alouds, your use of imagination and how an author’s language suggests how you might experience a scene in your “mind’s eye.”

You can stimulate imaginative thinking through read-alouds, especially to introduce a new text. One interactive activity that has been developed for classroom instruction employs a graphic organizer to walk students through four strategies as they embark on reading a new text: imagine, elaborate, predict, and confirm.

First, read an especially vivid excerpt to students. As they listen, they should shift their imaginations into high gear, and should utilize all of their senses to construct the scenario described by the author. When you finish your read-aloud, students open their eyes and quickly jot down descriptive words that capture what they imagined as they listened. Next, pair students with a partner to share what they visualized, using as much detail as they can in their descriptions.

The second strategy asks students to elaborate on their ideas. In the second column, students write a short retelling of what they have imagined. Model how the inclusion of specific language and examples helps a reader to visualize a text.

Third, students use their imaginations to make predictions, to speculate on what they might now encounter in the rest of the text. Emphasize how proficient readers use their imaginations to prime their thinking about the story or information, and to consider what they might expect from an author in a selection.

Finally, students begin reading at the spot where you have ended your read-aloud. The fourth column in the graphic organizer allows them to verbalize whether their predictions were confirmed, and if not, detail what happened instead.

Posted September 14, 2004