Title of Video Segment: Into the Book: Behind the Lesson, Visualizing
Running time: 9 minutes, 40 seconds
Synopsis of Segment: Visualizing … a class finds that they can learn to better experience a book through visualizing images and bringing in senses and emotions as they read.

DR. MICHAEL P. FORD: How do students use visualizing to get into the book? Let's get Behind the Lesson and see how teachers make this happen.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: Friends, can you tell me what careful readers do? What does a careful reader do, Mike?
     
STUDENT: Visualizes.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: What does that mean?
     
STUDENT: It means, like paint a picture in their mind.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: What else does a careful reader do? Mitchell?
     
STUDENT: Ask questions.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: When does a reader ask questions?
     
STUDENT: In the beginning of the story in the middle and at the end, so they have a reason to read on. Today, Mrs. Ingebritsen, our special reading teacher is going to be here. She's going to help us practice visualizing.
     
JEN INGEBRITSEN: Mrs. Legler and I are going to work together on an activity to show you what visualizing looks like when we do it. And then, we'll give you a chance to do it. We're going to use the story "Two Bad Ants."

KRISTIN LEGLAR: Mrs. Ingebritsen is going to read part of the story for me. I'm going to follow along. And when I get an image in my mind, or a picture in my mind, I'm going to put my thumb up. All right?

JEN INGEBRITSEN: "More than once, a line of ants stopped and anxiously listened for the sound of hungry spiders. But all they heard was the call of crickets echoing through the woods like distant thunder."

I saw when your thumb went up, Mrs. Legler.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: I bet you know why.
     
JEN INGEBRITSEN: I do.

KRISTIN LEGLAR: Friends, I can tell that my ants are getting more nervous. In my mind, they're pulling their ant legs in, and their ant antenna. Remember when I told you I stayed overnight in a tree house? And I told you that I was so scared because of the spiders? And in my mind right now, I see those ants looking for spiders. And the spiders are big.

How did we create these pictures in our mind? What do we take from the text to create the pictures? Heidi?
     
STUDENT: Words that can--words that are good enough to create it. And then, at the end, you'll have enough information to put the pictures together into a movie.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: What else did I do? What else do readers do to create pictures in their mind?

STUDENT: They think about what they know.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: When you're reading the words, what do you look for to create that picture in your mind?
     
STUDENT: Rich words.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: Rich words.

DR. FORD: What were your objectives for this lesson?
     
JEN INGEBRITSEN: We were working on visualizing. We wanted students to be able to use their senses when they read, to make connections based on their prior experiences and background knowledge, so that they could enjoy the text and make more meaningful connections.

KRISTIN LEGLAR: We're going to give you a chance to practice visualizing right now. We have "Two Bad Ants" on tape. I'm not giving you any books right now. I'm going to start the story out. And I want you to close your eyes.

JEN INGEBRITSEN: If you see something, hear something, feel something, taste something, have an emotion inside, put your thumb up.

AUDIO RECORDING: "She deemed it the most delicious food she had ever tasted. Nothing could make her happier than to have more, much more."

KRISTIN LEGLAR: I saw a lot of thumbs go up when the reader mentioned the nest was a happy place. Tell us about that picture in your mind, Hunter.

STUDENT: The ants are cheering really loud.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: Yes?
     
STUDENT: I thought the same as Hunter.

KRISTIN LEGLAR: You did? Sometimes images are the same. Did anyone have a different image in their mind? Go ahead.
     
STUDENT: That the other ants carried the mother ant on top of them when they carried her.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: In like a celebration? That's a neat image. I did not get that one.
     
DR. FORD: We watched you move through your class. Both of you had clipboards with you. What were you assessing and monitoring with your students?
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: I was looking to see if the students were able to form a mentaL image in their mind. And if they were able to tell me how they formed that image. What jumped out at them from the text. I also was looking to find out if all the images were critical for their understanding, helping them realize that, sure, there are a lot of images that form in your mind, but they're not all critical.

DR. FORD: Tell me a little bit about the actual form, itself.

JEN INGEBRITSEN: Well, the questions are along the side. And the individual student names are along the top. It's a nice way to keep track in who you still have to cover, to make notes about learning styles. When I asked a student why you visualize when you read, one student said it was more fun. Another student said, "It helps me understand, and it's a better, easier way to think."
     
Now, you're going to get a chance to do some reading and some visualizing. We're going to get you a Post-It note so you can write your connection to the five senses. And so that we can get an idea that you've got a pretty good understanding about how to visualize and how to pull those rich words from the text. Okay?

Who would like to share?

KRISTIN LEGLAR: Hunter? You had "swiftly." Where are you going to put that?
     
STUDENT: Under "hear."

KRISTIN LEGLAR:  How does "swiftly" go under "hear"?
     
STUDENT: Because I can hear the ants telling the other ants.

KRISTIN LEGLAR:  And they're telling them "quickly"? Are they talking out loud in your picture, or are they whispering?
     
STUDENT: Talking out loud.

KRISTIN LEGLAR: Does anybody have a picture in their mind of the ants whispering?

JEN INGEBRITSEN: We just have to act this out. Can we? I can just see it in my mind. Everybody ready? We're the ants. Go, spread the news. We found the crystals. (all whispering) Nice job. Great. And that's one way that you can share your visualizations, too, is act them out.
     
DR. FORD: People might be interested in knowing what you've done prior to this lesson in order to help your students have that much information about comprehension strategies.
     
KRISTIN LEGLAR: The strategies were introduced during my read-aloud part of the day. And from there, we went into practicing. I would name the strategy and I would say, okay, this is what a careful reader does, and this is what we're going to practice today. And I make use of the entire day. It's not just during reading time. It's during science. It's during social studies. It's during math, when we're working on story problems. The strategies have to be taught throughout the day.

JEN INGEBRITSEN: You're going to sit with a partner, shoulder to shoulder, read a couple of pages. Your partner is going to put their thumb up when they have a visualization. And then, you can use some of the questions that are on this card to help you ask your partner some questions. The person who is doing the visualizing is going to write down on the Post-It notes, just like you did, some of the words that brought those pictures to their mind.
     
STUDENT: Long shadows stretched over the entrance...

STUDENT: Every bend leading them deeper into the dark forest.
     
JEN INGEBRITSEN: Okay, I'm going to stop you right there. Hunter, I didn't see your thumb go up while Bradley was reading. Did you not get any pictures in your mind? You didn't? Sometimes, when we're reading, if we're not getting any pictures, we have to stop and say, "Bradley, could we start over?" Because you want to be seeing some pictures on every page. And a good reader thinks, "Am I seeing pictures?" If you're not seeing pictures, ask yourself why.

STUDENT: Can you connect the words to your own experiences?
     
STUDENT: 'Cause when my dad and I went camping, we would see fireflies, and my brother and I would try to catch some.
     
STUDENT: Cool.
     
STUDENT: What sounds do you hear?
     
STUDENT: Um, like a whistling of the wind. And thin, little cracks crawling up the wall, like crackling when you're walking.
     
STUDENT: Write down "crackle."

DR. FORD: What about you, what informs your thinking as a lifelong learner in this profession?
     
JEN INGEBRITSEN: Pulling from the people who are the experts, and taking from them what is you as a teacher, taking from them what fits into your day and your routine and your teaching style.

KRISTIN LEGLAR: You have to keep up with what's current. I graduated from undergrad 15 years ago. A lot has changed. You've got to read. It has to be a part of who you are. And you need to find someone that you can connect with. You need to join professional reading groups. You need to be part of the state reading association. You need to find workshops that you can go to.

DR. FORD: It was a pleasure being in your classroom today. It was very apparent that you do inform your thinking by staying current in the field. Thank you.