Make a Movie in Your Mind
“By doing simple things like reading to your child, sharing your thinking about what you read, and telling your child stories, you can help him or her develop the foundation needed to become an avid reader. By using the 7 keys readers use, you can help him or her learn that reading is not a chore, but a lifetime adventure.”
Zimmermann and Hutchins, 7 Keys to Comprehension.
Key # 1: Create sensory images, or a “movie in your mind”
Sensory images are the ideas you ‘see, hear, touch, feel, and taste’ in your mind when you read. As you read, your mind organizes those images as the story unfolds, just like a movie. When that movie is unclear, or stops playing, the reader needs to realize that he or she might not understand what is being read, and needs to stop, reread, tackle trouble with words, or ask for help so that the movie can start rolling again.
Here are some questions you can ask when you read with your child to help with this strategy:
“What did you see when you read those words?”
“What words in the book helped you make that picture?”
“What do you know about already that helped you make this picture in your head?”
“Great! You put a post-it on a spot where you got confused because you couldn’t see what was going on-
What will you do to get back on track?”
“Now that you made a movie in your mind about what happened in this part, can you use that to predict what will happen next?”
Zimmermann and Hutchins, 7 Keys to Comprehension.
Key # 1: Create sensory images, or a “movie in your mind”
Sensory images are the ideas you ‘see, hear, touch, feel, and taste’ in your mind when you read. As you read, your mind organizes those images as the story unfolds, just like a movie. When that movie is unclear, or stops playing, the reader needs to realize that he or she might not understand what is being read, and needs to stop, reread, tackle trouble with words, or ask for help so that the movie can start rolling again.
Here are some questions you can ask when you read with your child to help with this strategy:
“What did you see when you read those words?”
“What words in the book helped you make that picture?”
“What do you know about already that helped you make this picture in your head?”
“Great! You put a post-it on a spot where you got confused because you couldn’t see what was going on-
What will you do to get back on track?”
“Now that you made a movie in your mind about what happened in this part, can you use that to predict what will happen next?”