When readers listen to or read a text, they create pictures in their mind or make a mind movie. This movie constantly changes to match the details of the text. When they visualize what is happening in the story, they remember more of what they read or hear.

If you see readers who . . .

• lack understanding of text they have read and reread.
• struggle to stay engaged with text.

Making a picture or mental image assists readers in understanding what they read by anchoring images in their mind based on the details in the text and their prior knowledge.

Identify the details that help you make pictures in your mind. Make a mind movie of these details by putting yourself in the story or text and continually adjusting the images as you read.

When teaching students to make pictures in their mind before, during, and after reading, we start by explaining how pictures help them remember what they are reading

• by thinking about what they know about the text before they read,
• by using sensory details to create mental pictures, and
• by looking back at the pictures in their brains after the story to remember what has happened.

We then model how we make pictures in our mind, and ask students to do the same during our read-aloud, with partners, and independently.

Today we are learning to make a picture or mental image because we want to understand what the author is writing about. We want to imagine we can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste what the writer is describing.

Suggested language:

• Which details helped create a picture in your mind?
• Before you begin the story, make a picture in your mind of what you have seen before that may be in the selection.
• Can you see yourself in this selection?
• Take the information I am reading and make it into a movie. Pretend you are at the theater and watching the story.

Possible ways to differentiate instruction:

• If students have a difficult time making or seeing pictures in their minds, we say, “If you could see a picture in your mind, what would it look like?” This simple rewording helps students make the transition between how they think they create pictures and actually creating a picture.
• Break the selection into smaller pieces. Have students describe or draw the image from the shorter selections. Do this for a few chunks of text and then put it together.
• Read a selection of text and ask the student what it reminds them of. Often, using prior knowledge can activate the mind to make mental images through the power of connection.

Reconsider materials, setting, instruction, and cognitive processes.

These strategies may provide support before, during, and after teaching this strategy:

• Infer and Support with Evidence
• Back Up and Reread
• Use Prior Knowledge to Predict and Connect with Text