As I was trying to help some students realize that seeing the pictures in your mind of what you are reading will truly help them understand the text, I was desperate for a concrete way to show them. I found the idea for this lesson online, but now I can't find where. At the suggestion of that website, I used the poem "My Neighbor's Dog is Purple" by Jack Prelutsky. A color copy is attached below.
my_neighbors_dog.docx |
After I read the first two stanzas (and actually while I reread it a second time), the students drew on the first side of their paper. They drew what they were picturing the dog to look like. Then I read the last stanza aloud. After I read this, they had to draw on the second side of the paper what they NOW pictured in their minds. Below is the chart we used, but just notebook paper or a white board would work too.
visualize.docx |
Next, because the science teachers were teaching about adaptations, I went with that topic to extend the visualization practice. I read the following information to the class (found here) about the Star Nosed Mole:
Star nosed moles are one of the most distinctive types of mammal. Their noses are hairless and ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles. The star has 11 appendages per side that vary in length from 1 to 4 mm. This species ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs between 35 and 75 g. Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylindrical body with heavily-built forelimbs, broad feet and large claws. Its hair is short, dense and coarser than that of other moles. The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown underneath. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter.
Students were then given time to turn and talk to a partner. Together, the drew what they saw in their minds for the Star Nosed Mole (the information was also displayed for them to look back on). Once they finished, we looked at what a real Star Nosed Mole looks like.
Source
Star nosed moles are one of the most distinctive types of mammal. Their noses are hairless and ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles. The star has 11 appendages per side that vary in length from 1 to 4 mm. This species ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs between 35 and 75 g. Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylindrical body with heavily-built forelimbs, broad feet and large claws. Its hair is short, dense and coarser than that of other moles. The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown underneath. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter.
Students were then given time to turn and talk to a partner. Together, the drew what they saw in their minds for the Star Nosed Mole (the information was also displayed for them to look back on). Once they finished, we looked at what a real Star Nosed Mole looks like.
Source
This next step was to tie the topic into the adaptations they were learning about in science. Each student was given the information about the Star Nosed Mole and needed two colors or highlighters. They made their key at the top and then highlighted which pieces of information were behavioral adaptations and which ones were physical adaptations.
From here, we created an anchor chart that helped us remember what it means to visualize.