ERIC Number: EJ1365434
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0094-0771
EISSN: EISSN-2327-6223
Available Date: N/A
"It's a Radical Decision Not to Use Words": Partnering with Wordless Picture Books to Enhance Reading and Writing
Giorgis, Cyndi; Johnson, Nancy J.
Middle School Journal, v53 n4 p13-19 2022
In using wordless picture books, teachers enhance the reading experience while fostering, nurturing, and broadening students' reading and writing skills. Wordless picture books are accessible to "all" students. They encourage and require readers to slow down as they inhabit and comprehend the story told through art, symbolism, and images. Picture books often carry a stigma that they are for students in elementary grades and certainly not for young adolescents. However, many recent wordless picture books are multifaceted, thought-provoking, and galvanizing, making them perfect for an older audience. How can middle school educators bring these books into their classrooms in positive, meaningful, and inspiring ways? This article offers the rationale for partnering with wordless picture books to prompt creative writing, enhance vocabulary, increase background knowledge, foster comprehension, and elevate visual literacy. Coupled with recommended titles of wordless picture books for adolescents, an instructional strategy will demonstrate to students how to slow down, savor, and interpret both art and narrative storytelling.
Descriptors: Middle School Teachers, Picture Books, Creative Writing, Reading Instruction, Writing Instruction, Vocabulary Development, Reading Comprehension, Middle School Students, Visual Literacy, Educational Strategies
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A