Sketching your way through the text
This strategy can further a student’s comprehension of a text in an alternate way. It is a break from the usual discussions or papers students come to expect. Many students are visual learners and by drawing important events, ideas, or characters from a piece of literature, the comprehension of the text will increase in these students. They will be able to visualize the element of the text they are focusing on, rather than trying to imagine it mentally. The students will also provide short descriptions of their drawing and how it relates to the piece of literature.
(Above) Students create a sequence of sketches to illustrate thoughts, steps, or stages of a process described in their reading.
(Above) Teachers and students can use templates or worksheets for this strategy; post-it notes, scratch-paper, and other freehand resources can also be applied to this strategy.
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While this strategy can be used with a variety of literature, a text that is sequential in nature is required for this strategy to be successful. Sketching Your Way Through the Text can also be modeled in various ways, but the best way to ensure student understanding is first for the teacher to do it. Students can then utilize the strategy is small groups as well as individually. When first introducing the strategy, the teacher should read the text aloud stopping at appropriate times to record major events. The teacher should go over what he/she will draw, why it is important, and what description will be applied to the drawing. Once students possess an understanding of the steps, they are able to individualize this strategy to suite their artistic abilities, note taking skills, and organizational desires. Picking out the most important events in a text and then drawing them and describing their significance helps students better understand concepts like cause and effect, character motivation, and main idea.
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