| Little bookworm mom
Reading picture books with children every night before bed is the most enjoyable moment for us. Last night, we read the picture book "Drive Away the Little Rabbits in the Night", and my daughter said to me happily: "Mom, you have read the book alive!" I seemed to see the images of the animals after they lost the night, everyone was hot and dry, listless, and felt the joy of the animals after the night was regained. ”
Listening to my daughter's words, I was touched by surprise and relief. Judging from my daughter's performance, I know that by reading picture books, I have helped children construct sensory images.
What is sensory imagery?
Sensory images, like movies projected in the human brain, can make reading content three-dimensional. In the book "7 Core Skills of Reading", it is mentioned that when you read a poem, read a novel or browse a story, the corresponding picture should appear in your mind, and certain sights, tastes, smells, hearing, touch, and emotions will also arise. The way information is delivered to you through the senses is called the visualization of information or the creation of sensory images, and it can trigger a series of memories and emotions.
Sensory images: picture, taste, texture, sound and sensation, etc., are important factors that make reading vivid, colorful, interesting and memorable.
How can a child be judged to be able to construct sensory images?
For many parents, it is difficult to determine whether a child will be able to construct sensory images. The book "7 Core Skills of Reading" also gives a judgment method, which parents can refer to.
If your child asks you to read to him, or if he keeps urging you to read it after opening it, he may already be able to construct sensory images.
If you stop and ask your child what he thinks of the story, and he can describe the details in detail and grasp the main idea of the story, or he will laugh where he laughs, where he cries. Well, he should already be visualizing the information.
If the child stops to predict the direction of the following, says something like "I think it's next..." or can read it aloud with emotion, then the child already has a picture in his mind.
If you ask the child about the personality and encounters of the characters in the book, and he can answer correctly, and even add branches and leaves to the existing plot, then he may have a three-dimensional image in his mind that is richer than the original text.
If the child feels that listening to books and reading is very boring, cannot convey the things read and heard in his own language, is indifferent to the development of the storyline, and cannot say the character characteristics, story background or main events, then the child is unable to construct sensory images.
How can picture books help children construct sensory images?
I enjoy reading picture books with my children, many of which have fascinating plots that capture the hearts of readers of all ages, and reading picture books with children can help children build sensory images. I often watch illustrations and texts while discussing the "movies" in my mind with my children, and use picture books to let children see my unique sensory reactions to words and illustrations.
How can picture books help children construct sensory images? Children of different ages, the method is not the same, how to operate, you can refer to the following methods.
(1) Preschool reading
For preschoolers, we encourage parent-child reading every day and reading picture books with our children. Before my daughter was six years old, I would read the pictures in the book with her and tell her what I "saw", "smelled" through these pictures, "tasted" what I felt. At the same time, I will ask her, what about you? Then ask your child to verbalize her thoughts.
I also often read wordless books with my children, and I will tell her what message these pictures convey to her, and what kind of thoughts and feelings she has in her heart.
For example, in the picture book "Drive Away the Little Rabbit in the Night", there is such a picture, the little rabbit does not want to sleep, in order to drive away the night, it goes home to find the best cookie box, which only has a cookie left, holding the cookie box out of the night.....
Reading this, I will ask my daughter, "Baby, guess what the little bunny is going to do?" What happens next? The daughter would say from her imagination, "I think it should go and send cookies to the night, let it eat enough to go home." ”
I smiled and said, "Come, let's see what we'll see and hear on the next page." "When I read 'Snap', the rabbit put the night color into the cookie box... I stopped again and asked my daughter, "Baby, the night is locked up, will it be sad?" What happens next? ”
This form of dialogue is an excellent way to encourage preschoolers to create sensory images.
(2) Beginner reading
Discussing with your child while reading picture books can help children create sensory images outside of illustrations. For example, when reading "Li Na: Be a Better Self", there is a description of Li Na's life in sports school:
But in sports school, the happiest thing is that the body always has a companion. Once, during a lunch break, she and her friends were playing hide-and-seek, and accidentally fell from the second floor, with soft tissue contusions. The team doctor asked her to go home and rest, not to train for a while. She was so happy that she thought, now she can lie at home drinking ice water and watching TV every day!
This passage contains a large number of sensory images, and if you stop to parse them one by one, the integrity of the text will be destroyed. In this case, we can pick the most picturesque words or phrases and describe the pictures that appear in their minds to the child.
We can relive sensory images while recalling shared experiences with our children, and in doing so, we can make children realize that each reader is not unique. We need to make sure that the child has the "movie projector" in his brain so that he can understand the text and experience the joy of reading.
(3) Advanced reading
Constructing sensory images is especially important for children who begin to read longer works, as this helps them to remember and understand complex story lines, grasp the synopsis more accurately, and evaluate plots, characters, motivations, and events based on the images and feelings generated by words.
At this stage, we can read aloud (or take turns) with the child and discuss the images formed in each other's minds, which can enhance the child's ability to construct sensory images.
When listening to a parent talk about his or her thought process, the child will understand that there can be more than one understanding of what he is reading. Slowly, he discovers the charm of words and falls deeply in love with them.