Over the past week I’ve been in several conversations about how important it is to allow children to think and respond on their own. Far too often parents and teachers feel the need to correct children’s thinking, rather than guiding them to learn better habits.
Usually when we ask children to respond to a question and we don’t get the response we’re looking for, it’s easier to tell them they’re wrong than it is to analyze how they came to their conclusion in the first place. This happens a lot when going through comprehension with children, and the end result is that we give them the answers rather than guiding their thinking in the right direction.
Critical thinking is a skill that develops over time, and children must be allowed to think for themselves. Prescribing formulas for writing, particularly creative writing, does not give them an edge. What it does is create a box for them to function in, when by its very nature creative writing should allow them to express themselves freely.
There are ways to guide children through thought processes without giving them the answers we’re looking for.
Here are three strategies you can use:
1. Focus on ways to find information, rather than on a specific formula for a response. Show children how to ask questions about what they’re reading by listing and modeling. What is the idea given here? What in the passage supports your conclusion?
2. Discuss the reading/writing connection and have children think about the author’s intention and reader’s understanding. Why were certain words used? How do you think readers would react to this?
3. Show children that there are different types of comprehension questions. There are those which require details from the passage, and ask for specific information that can be easily found through scanning. There are those which ask about meaning, and require some thinking about how ideas are connected. And there are those which require readers to go beyond what’s stated or indicated in the passage to come to their own conclusion.
The most important thing, however, is to have patience with your child when they’re giving responses, and resist the urge to tell them what to think.
Descriptive language is all about making words come alive. It’s a writer’s attempt to make you see, and feel, and smell, and hear, and taste the world he or she is describing to you. It’s about using vivid, sensory language. Of all the literary devices writers have at their disposal, it’s this one which gets me the most excited because this is what breathes life into stories.
This installment of our comprehension series takes a look at the different types of imagery and how understanding each type can increase reading comprehension skills. And just as with all the previous installments, this knowledge works with developing writing skills as well.
Using descriptive words helps writers paint a picture in readers’ minds, almost like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We all experience the world around us through our senses and emotions, so when writers provide such details, they are filling in bits and pieces of the world to help readers move beyond the pages into something more tangible.
The words we choose to describe our experiences say a lot about who we are and what we think. Remember, writing is communication and when a writer chooses one word over another, he or she is giving us information with that choice. For example, read the following sentences and think about the impact each makes on you.
* Wow, she has a tremendous amount of energy.
* Wow, she has a lot of energy.
Both sentences carry the same general meaning, but the use of the words “tremendous amount” takes readers to a different place, a different level of sophistication. Don’t you think or feel differently about the speakers?
Vivid language can convey what authors feel or believe about a thing without them having to say their thoughts outright. It also connects readers with authors by giving insight into the authors themselves.
The two types of descriptive words most people are familiar with are called adverbs and adjectives. Adverbs describe verbs, and adjectives describe nouns.
ADVERB: He drives carefully through the neighbourhood.
The word “adorable” describes the puppy.
The thing with adjectives and adverbs, however, is that their interpretation is subjective. More detailed descriptive language gives readers evidence rather than just the writer’s opinion.
“After coming to a complete stop at the Stop sign, he leaned forward and looked left, then right, before pressing on the gas pedal just enough to move the car forward at a snail’s pace. He peered through the window now and then, as if looking for someone or something.”
“With huge brown eyes, soft, golden-brown fur, and large floppy ears, there was so much to love about the puppy.”
Now we know why the writers made the claims they did. In comprehension exercises, questions such as “What words show that the man drove carefully?” and “How does the writer describe the puppy?” are common. There may also be
questions such as “Why do you think the man ‘peered through the window now and then’?” and “How do you think the writer feels about the puppy? Give a reason for your answer.”
In order to answer such questions, readers must form a mental picture of what’s happening in the passage and put themselves in the position of the writer. Understanding imagery helps with that.
Most people are familiar with the first five types of imagery which target the five senses. While they may not know the literary names, they know about sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. The last two are the more unfamiliar ones, and those are the ones that make writing exciting and engage audiences.
Movement is often described by giving details of what we see, so it’s technically an aspect of visual imagery. However, there are different considerations as we’re not simply describing stationary objects and must account for motion.
Organic Imagery is one that many people don’t think about as a form of imagery. It deals with physical sensations and emotions. Sometimes we group all under the category of ‘feelings’, but they are separate concepts. Physical sensations refer to experiences such as hunger, thirst, pain, and all their variations. Emotions refer to anger, sadness, happiness, fear, and all their variations.
Describing emotions and sensations can be challenging because these experiences are personal and often occur inside the body where others can’t see what’s happening. Using similes, metaphors, personification, and other literary devices help make these invisible experiences relatable.
When learning about descriptive language, a great place to start is building vocabulary of adjectives and adverbs. It’s important, however, to encounter the words in context so that the meaning and usage are clear. The best way to do that is by reading and discussing what was read, and the best way to get children excited about this type of language is for them to experience it.
This is where an integrated, multi-sensory approach makes a difference.
There are some children who are unable to visualize experiences easily, and some who aren’t able to do it at all. When you tell them “close your eyes and tell me what you see”, invariably they would respond “black” or “dancing light”. Their ‘mind’s eye’ needs guidance.
Bringing these abstract concepts of imagery into the physical world will help these children experience words and language in ways they’ve never been able to. And, children who can visualize words and ideas easily will have fun while making tangible connections.
Here are a few ideas to help you along:
1. Visual Imagery – use artwork to have children depict their understanding of words. 2. Auditory Imagery – have children make sounds and describe them. 3. Gustatory Imagery – do a taste test of a variety of flavors. 4. Tactile Imagery – invite a wildlife sanctuary or zoo to have children interact with the animals (also works for auditory and olfactory, as many animals make noises and have peculiar smells). 5. Olfactory Imagery – engage in a laboratory-style smell test, with both pleasant and unpleasant smells. 6. Kinesthetic Imagery – charades is one of the best games to explore movement. 7. Organic Imagery – art, music, and movement can all be incorporated here to help children find words to explain how they feel (emotions and sensations).
Even though definitions of literacy include reading and writing, most people focus on reading when they talk about improving literacy. Many literacy programs stop after getting participants reading and don’t move on to getting participants to express themselves beyond responding to what they’ve read.
It’s true that writing and reading are like two sides of the same coin, but it’s important to note that one focuses on receiving information while the other is about expressing ideas. So after reading is done, and the discussion is finished, it’s time to move on to the writing.
It’s true that when students do comprehension questions they have to write their responses, so technically it’s writing too, but creative writing is more than that. It’s about creating new content, sharing new ideas. And that’s the part that challenges many children.
So how do you move children from reading and understanding to expressing their own ideas?
Here are three suggestions.
1. Have the child compose their own story/article from the main idea of what they’ve read. For example, if they read an article about a famous person, talk to them about other famous people and have them write about someone they admire who is famous.
2. When reading, look at various aspects of how the writer presents ideas. Identify a few of these and have students practice them. For example, look at literary devices like metaphors, similes, and imagery, and have the child write a piece using the device highlighted.
3. Consider the vocabulary in the writing. After making sure the children understand the meaning of each word, have them select one of the words they find fascinating, different, or otherwise different (maybe they think the meaning is funny) and use that as a catalyst for creating a story.
There are other methods and options that you can try, but remember that your aim is to move beyond the content of the reading to the creation of new content.
I like to use hands-on experiences to teach these kinds of things. If you’re willing, you can use the opportunity of making a cake or any other multi-step recipe to teach the writing process. Making a cake is the easiest one, though, because changes in the order of the steps can affect the way the cake comes out. That’s an important concept when teaching the writing process.
PREWRITING
*Cake* First you have to decide what type of cake you want to make then gather and measure out your ingredients. It’s also helpful if you select a recipe to work with.
*Writing* When writing, you first have to come up with a topic to write on then brainstorm ideas. Selecting a recipe is like creating an outline. The format and structure would help you when you’re writing.
WRITING
*Cake* When making a cake, you need to mix the ingredients in a particular order in order to get a moist, fluffy end product. You also use utensils such as bowls, whisks, measuring spoons, and pans to get things just right.
*Writing* In writing, this can be likened to appropriate paragraphing, grammar, sentence structure and other mechanics that allow others to read your writing easily. Putting the information in the correct order (like the ingredients) also make for an end product that your readers will enjoy and benefit from.
EDITING
*Cake* Once the cake is cooled and trimmed, it’s ready. It’s already a good cake and can be eaten as is, but it will look nicer and be received better by audiences if it’s frosted. Before the final touches, the base frosting is done to even out the surface of the cake.
*Writing* It’s the same way editing affects writing. A piece might contain good details and well structured information, but then there are spelling errors and punctuation errors etc. that would make it less readable and less appealing to readers. Editing helps you remove all of that and makes writing easier to read.
REVISING
*Cake* Baking the cake and preparing for frosting are important steps in getting a great cake. The temperature and baking time make a difference in the quality of cake in the end. After baking and cooling, sometimes you’ll have to trim the edges in order to make the cake look its best.
*Writing* Content alone will not make great writing. You have to revise what was written to ensure that the information is presented in the right order and the right way for audiences. Sometimes, revising might mean moving things around, removing some things, or even adding things.
REWRITING
*Cake* Once the base is frosted, then the cake can be decorated and additional things added to make the cake look beautiful.
*Writing* Now you’re ready to present the final written piece. You must write it over to make it neat and presentable and blend in all the changes made during revising and editing. Readers will appreciate it.
ADDITIONAL CONCEPTS
1. Different people like different types of cake, so you have to know who you’re baking the cake for. You must think about your audience. This happens before making the cake, in the prewriting stage.
2. Not everyone is going to like your cake (your writing) and that’s ok.
3. Writing is a skill, just like making cake is a skill. If you practice and learn different techniques, you’ll become a better writer.
4. Everyone can make good cakes if they follow recipes and instructions carefully. Great cakes come from those who add a little of their own flare and who study cakes and how to make them better. It’s the same with writers. Good writing can be learned. Great writing takes practice.
5. You can use different types of cakes to talk about different kinds of writing – narrative, descriptive, and expository.
The reading-writing connection is so strong that it makes sense teaching reading comprehension alongside writing strategies. When we write, we are sharing information. Quite often, we get that information from reading. Reading is the best way to build vocabulary, and it allows writers to observe the skills of other writers. For many children, however, understanding what they read is a difficult task, resulting in frustration and distress.
Understanding what we read requires several skills that can be grouped under two headings: vocabulary comprehension, and text comprehension. While knowing what individual words mean is essential, it’s just as important to recognize that when words are combined they form relationships and greater meaning is created.
Over the next few weeks we will discuss reading comprehension in more detail, how it connects with writing, strategies for developing reading comprehension, and how to make reading comprehension more fun.
So, join in the discussion, ask questions, make comments.
