In the article called Creating Mental Images – In the Beginning: Thinking Aloud the author speaks about creative reading of the texts and shares strategies used in the classroom. As explains the author the main goal of creating images in the head while reading is to create emotional connections between new material and a person who reads or listens to it. Personal attachment to the new material help pupils to remember things they read. New information will be useless if it does not touch emotional side of the pupils. Mental images are designed in order to help pupils to acquire new information. The author gives different advices which help to use the creative mental images in the classroom. “The lessons that follow show how I use a given text to deepen children’s understanding of the strategy of making mental images. Using poetry and picture books, children practice creating and adapting images in their minds, and make them concrete through artistic, dramatic, and written responses”(Creating Mental Images). Images for the class work are taken from the texts used for reading. There are several ways to create images. In different cases readers can turn to different sources which will help them to create mental images. As states the author: “Readers create images to form unique interpretations, clarify thinking, draw conclusions, and enhance understanding” (Creating Mental Images). The poems perfectly fit for the purpose of the lessons. Simple and understandable poems with good text structure are good choice for this kind of work. Work with creating mental images assumes both, individual and team work. First of all teacher reads poems aloud for several times. While listening pupils may choose which poem creates the best emotional appeal in their minds. As soon as each pupil chooses a poem for further work he or she can read and analyze the contents of the poems. This type of work may be followed by class discussion. Later pupils can share their experiences and images in small groups. It is good to gather students who analyze the same poem in one group. After work in small groups is finished it is possible to pass to the next stage of the work when pupils share their results with the classroom. Positive atmosphere and friendly and supportive attitude of the group and teacher are very important for the development of creative skills and imagination. The exercises in creating mental images are very effective for the development of imagination. “The experience of this kind of activity helps children anchor their words and give them meaning” (Creating Mental Images). Not only listening and sharing images with the group can be an effective method of creating mental images. Dramatizing is another effective way to create these images. Dramatization can be performed in small groups. After listening to the poem for several times pupils my create a small dramatization which would illustration the poem. Different groups can make different dramatizations for the same poem. Interpretation of the dramatization can become another way to create mental images. Development of imagination is a very important component of study process. In the article called Creating Mental Images the author not explores the importance of this method but also shares her experience of teaching pupils to work with mental images. I believe that this information is really helpful for all teachers who are not afraid to use creative approach in their work and want to teach their children to become imaginative and creative.
References
Creating Mental Images – In the Beginning: Thinking Aloud
