Reading with imagination

By Doug Buehl

You weren’t there.

You weren’t there, in the logging camps of northern Wisconsin in the 1870s, to hear the crack of axes against towering white pines, to witness the trudging draft horses as they snaked 16-foot logs along forest trails, to inhale the steamy rich aromas of a camp dining hall preparing platters of roast beef and baked chicken, baskets of biscuits and line-ups of fruit pies.

You weren’t there, embedded as a miniature visitor in the stalks of those slender sprouts of corn, as they continued their growth from a seed into a mature plant, to observe firsthand the life cycle of a plant as it eventually produces its own seeds to perpetuate on for another season.

You weren’t there, in the fervently inventive mind of author J. K. Rowling, as she conjures up an entire world and culture, populated with a host of compelling characters and sinister villains, and spins an unfolding storyline of intrigue and adventure.

You weren’t there. But sometimes it seemed like you were.

As readers, we do far more than decipher words on a page. Ultimately, reading triggers a life of the mind, as we recreate for ourselves how things are, or were, or could be, even though we are not actually experiencing them “in the moment.” And sometimes, we even transcend the physical act we call reading – that conscious awareness that our eyes are processing lines of print – and we are transported in our minds to somewhere else, as if we are immersed in a live event. That bionic DVD player in our heads kicks in, and we feel as if “we were there.”

It is our imaginations that take us beyond those abstract symbols arrayed as visual information by someone who is employing language to help us “get it” – a story, an idea, an explanation, a depiction. It’s as if authors are saying, “You weren’t there, but if you follow what I am telling you, you can almost see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it.”

Yet if you ask many of our students “what do you see when you read,” they will respond as if this was a trick question. “Words, of course,” they will answer. Many students regard reading as mostly a word identification exercise, and as a result, their comprehension suffers. They struggle with picturing in their imaginations what an author is using language to convey.

The strategy

Students need practice eliciting sensory images, especially in response to written texts. Strategies that prompt students to ignite their imaginations as readers are fundamental to improving reading comprehension.

Step 1: Start with a variety of “imagination tune-ups.” Wilhelm (2004) recommends the following progression of visualization activities:

• Mental images of objects. First encourage students to become precise observers. Bring an interesting object to class, and ask students to examine it carefully, to handle it, to notice everything they can. A unique item might be especially effective. For example, a miniature stone reproduction of a gargoyle, a prominent feature of European cathedrals, would provide an opportunity to focus on an unfamiliar item, as well as serve as a prelude to reading more about these medieval landmarks.

Cue students to inspect the item from the perspective of a reporter, a person who perceives something with enough detail so that he or she can reliably describe it to others even though the item is no longer present. After sufficient viewing time, have students close their eyes and imagine the item, with as much specificity as they can. Students can then be asked to describe the item to a partner, or to quickly sketch the item from memory.

A variation of this activity involves pairing students and providing a different item for each partner to examine. Partners would not see each other’s items. Each student then attempts to assist his or her partner in imagining the unseen item by capitalizing on powers of observation.

• Mental images of the familiar. Next transition students to imagining objects that are not physically present but are commonplace elements of their lives. For example, you might ask students to imagine they are standing in a room in their homes. What one object captures their attention? Instruct them to zero in on that object and try to perceive it in great detail.

Again, have students practice with a partner translating their images into descriptive language. Model this process with a think-aloud: I am seeing a rather ordinary looking antique wooden chair that was painted light blue by my wife. The chair is too wobbly to sit in, and is smaller, like it is a child’s chair. It has turned curvy spindles in its back and round stubby legs. My wife has painted representations of some of the planets on a flat section on the back of the chair, including the Earth. On the seat she has brushed on a bright orange illustration of the sun. And so on . . .

• Mental images of scenarios. Extend practice from an emphasis on imagining particular objects to the unfolding of scenes in our “mind’s-eye.” Ask students to run action sequences in their imaginations, with all their senses alert. For example, ask students to imagine a basketball, then the basketball being dribbled, and hearing the sounds it makes while noticing how the basketball feels on their hands each time it bounces up to them. Then ask them to replay in their imaginations a short series of events on a basketball court, involving people in movement.

Step 2: Provide frequent opportunities for students to experiment with responding to author language to trigger mental images. Authors expect readers to exhibit an ability to connect what is stated in a text with their background knowledge, in order to infer what something looks like, sounds like, tastes like, smells like, feels like. Authors strive to select just the right words to help readers construct the mental images they are trying to communicate.

Wilhelm suggests using imagery-rich texts as short read-alouds to develop sensitivity to author language. Read a vividly written selection to your students, and pause periodically to comment on how you are imagining what the author is relaying in words. These think-alouds underscore that authors rely on readers to fire up their imaginations to breathe life into the words on the page.

After modeling, continue to pause, but now prompt the students to generate their own mental images. Occasionally, encourage students to quick-sketch what they are imagining, or to elaborate their images in a partner share.

In addition, lead students in discussions of text visuals provided by an author to supplement comprehension. In addition to language, authors sometimes embed visual information into the flow of a message. Authors recognize that at times telling may not be totally sufficient, and readers would be better able to use their imaginations if pictures, drawings, charts, or other visual displays are included. With texts lacking visuals, ask students to suggest the visuals they feel would aid readers in accessing their imaginations. Students can be asked to draw these visual extensions on sticky notes to be affixed to the page next to the appropriate text.

Step 3: As students become experienced with sharing how they imagine what they are reading, continue reinforcement of this facet of their comprehension:

• Eyewitness. Ask students to insert themselves into the text, as if they were actually eyewitnesses to what an author is telling them. Ask them to describe what they saw as eyewitness testimony or first-person accounts.
• First Impressions. Ask students to talk about their impressions of a character, a figure, an event, a scene, a process. Have them pinpoint the language that helped them form their impressions.
• Movie Clip. Ask students make decisions from the perspective of a movie director and select a segment of a text that is rich in mental imagery. The student “directors” then pitch to their studio how this material would appear if it were filmed.

Advantages

Comprehension involves animating the abstract language of written texts with life experiences. Imagination activities nurture readers who use visual, auditory, and other sensory connections to fashion personal mental images of an author’s message.

• Students who place inordinate attention on “reading the words” are prompted to enliven their reading by unleashing their imaginations.
• Students develop an eye for evocative language, which stimulates the development of increasingly more sophisticated mental images.
• Students read with a deeper engagement with a text, and they personalize their reading through their individual interpretations of how things might appear if they were experienced live.

Further Resources:

Wilhelm, J. (2004) Reading Is Seeing. Scholastic, New York.

Doug Buehl, WEAC member, Madison
Wisconsin State Reading Association.
drbuehl@sbcglobal.net

Reading Room archives

Posted December 10, 2007