COMPREHENSION STRATEGY

IMAGERY & CONTEXT

By using these strategies together you are able to activate both your verbal memory and your visual spatial memory simultaneously which activates different parts of your brain and helps you remember the information quickly and easily.

It is important that when connecting a visual representation to spoken words, the visual representations is directly connected to the individual so they can make Text-to-Self Connections. In other words the image and the context needs to be familiar and meaningful to the person trying to remember information. By forming a picture in once mind about what we hear, we are able to retain information longer and understand information better.

Help your child practice making pictures in their mind based on what they hear

1. Begin by having them describe every day familiar objects in great detail (Example: the park, their bycicle, their pet, their favorite jacket)

2. Next, closing their eyes and creating a mental image of the object they just described in detail

3. Once this process becomes internalized then practice visualizing a simple sentence, then a paragraph, and keep moving on to maybe a chapter in a book, etc.)

This process activates both sides of the brain and it allows your child to make pictures in their head as they read thus helping them stay engaged and focus.