Cantrell Carnes

READ Strategy
Apr. 19, 2017

Objective: Students will use visualization strategies to comprehend a text.

VA SOL 2.8 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional
texts.
e) Describe characters, setting, and important events in fiction and
poetry.

Materials:
Poem, Tree House by Shel Silverstein
Poem, Enter This Deserted House by Shel Silverstein
Dry erase board and markers
Paper
Pencil, crayons

Plan:
Explain to children that it is important for readers to create pictures in
their mind as they read. This is called visualization.
When you create pictures in your mind as you read, you let your
imagination create the story.
Creating an image in your mind helps you to remember what you have
read.
I will model by reading the poem Enter This Deserted House by Shel
Silverstein and use a dry erase board or sheet of paper to capture my
thinking. I will stop after every two lines to add to my drawing and
thinking.
Enter this deserted house
I will stop here to draw and explain that I am imagining a house where
the windows are broken and the shutters are falling off and the paint is
chipping off and there are spider webs everywhere.
But please walk softly as you do.
Frogs dwell here and crickets too.
I am imagining creaky floors as I walk and the sound of crickets
chirping and frogs croaking.
Aint no ceiling, only blue
Jays dwell here and sunbeams too.
Add bird nests to my drawing and explain that I am thinking the roof is
coming off so the birds can come in.
Highlight the words that helped me create my image on my paper
o Deserted
 o Softly
o Frogs and crickets
o No ceiling
o sunbeams
Now, I want you to visualize as I read a poem to you and I want you to
draw your thinking as I read.
Draw what you see as you hear the poem.
There are no right or wrong answers just draw what you see/think of
and then well write down your visualization at the end.
Begin reading the poem. Pause frequently to allow them to draw.

Tree House
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,

Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all
Lets go live in a tree house.

At the end if they have not already done this, give them time to
caption below their drawing what they have drawn.
Allow them to share their image at the end of the reading and explain
their visualization.
Questions to ask:
o What did you see in your mind?
o What did you visualize while I was reading the poem?
o Tell me about what your drawing shows of your
thinking?
o What did you find important/interesting in the poem?
o What words in the poem were important for creating
your visualization?

Reflection:
I completed this visualization strategy with three students, Haley, Katelyn,
and Erin, in a second-grade classroom. First, I introduced visualization as a
strategy that we use to comprehend what we read by creating a visual image in
our mind. I explained the importance of using this strategy and then began to
read the poem that I selected to model called, Enter This Deserted House by
Shel Silverstein. As I read, I drew on my white board to represent what I was
thinking and explained my thinking as well. The students suggested things that
they were imagining in their mind during this time as well. After I had
completed, I asked them what words they thought had really helped me draw
my picture and the one they really picked up on was deserted. I also explained
that softly gave me a feeling of it being kind of spooky, frogs and crickets
made me hear the sound of croaking and chirping, and no ceiling and
sunbeams made me visualize a roof that was falling apart.
Next, I gave them each a blank sheet of paper and asked them to sketch as I
read the poem, Tree House by Shel Silverstein. They took 5-10 minutes drawing
their thinking and then I asked them to explain what they imagined or
visualized. Haley explained that she made it in the forest surrounded by trees
because of the line saying, a secret you and me house, she also attached her
tree house to a nice sturdy tree branch and made a balcony for it. She also
explained that she has a tree house in her back yard which helped her visualize
to draw this picture so she made text-to-self connections here. Erin also made
her tree house in the forest hidden by the trees that surround it and on her
treehouse door is a sign that says, nobody allowed. The location and sign on
her tree house were also inspired by the line, a secret you and me house. She
flipped her paper over to draw the inside of her tree house where she put a
couch, window, and light saying that the line, cozy as can be house gave her
this mental image. She also admitted that she has a tree house at home and
that this helped her to visualize. Katelyn took longer drawing her picture and did
not seem to have as much previous knowledge of tree houses to work with. She
explained that she drew a big sturdy tree with a ladder going up to the door of
the tree house. She also drew a balcony with a little table on it and a swing
hanging off one of the branches of the trees. She did not talk as much about her
connection to the text and what lines helped her visualize indicating that she
may need more reinforcement for using visualization comprehension strategies.
Children are natural artists so this provided a very positive learning
experience which they were fully invested in. The more I research, the more
important I think it is to incorporate the arts into our curriculum to facilitate
learning. Children are more invested in learning when it is something they enjoy,
in this case drawing.
As far as teaching this lesson went, I sadly admit that having not kept up
with my art over the years my artistic talents have plummeted. This actually
worked to my benefit in being able to communicate to the students that
perfection in the art work is not the goal, but rather being able to communicate
our thinking and explain our drawing.