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Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 Time: 6:20 PM
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• Privacy Policy Some kids have trouble with reading comprehension. There can be many reas
• Submission Guidelines main causes of reading comprehension problems is that students do not create
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In my educational therapy practice, I often listen to students read. Some stude
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but many do not. When your child has little or no difficulty sounding out the
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comprehension difficulty, the problem may be that he or she is not skillful wit
• Character Education does have trouble sounding out words, he may still have difficulty with compr
• Classroom Researchers have noticed that students are not as adept at making pictures in t
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as they were years ago. Perhaps the explosion of visual images all around us
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visual images from television, movies, magazines, and billboards. They may
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generating their own images.
• Homework and Study Visualization is used by top athletes and performers as an effective tool for po
Skills athletes who practice their sport only “on the field” do not reach the same leve
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practicing “on the field” also practice their sport “in their mind.”
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• Report Cards The brain is highly adept at using visual information. In fact, more brain area
• School Improvement sense. The brain is also very good at using spatial information. These abilitie
• Social Skills millennia as a survival mechanism. We are highly adept visual and spatial thi
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• Standardized Testing The “anchoring visualizations” strategy teaches students to create visual imag
• Suicide Prevention particular spot in the room. What’s so amazing about this technique is that stu
Sponsors and spatial understanding, and the strategy can be used when students are invo
independent reading to significantly increase students’ visualization ability an
Here’s how the “anchoring visualizations” technique works:
As students listen or read, they use their visualization ability to create “picture
information. These images should include rich detail because more vivid ima
The student directs his or her attention to a particular spot in the room, for exa
 picture on the wall.
The spot has now become a place to anchor the visualizations created while re
story or textbook. The spot is the visual and spatial storing place associated w
remembered.
To recall an important fact from the story, simply have the student look at the
• 43 users online. Applying the “anchoring visualizations” technique
Since it will be Halloween soon, let’s apply this technique to the story, “Little
story at the elementary level, the technique works for any information, at any
The story begins as Little Red Riding Hood is asked by her mother to take som
Little Red Riding Hood so much she has given her a lovely red cape with a ho
For this part of the story, a student can choose a place in the room, let’s say th
part of the story, have your child look at the TV set and create a vivid image o
old is she, what color is her hair, how long is the cape, does she have her hood
eyes, what is she going to carry the food in, what shape is the container...etc.
child how to create detailed images.
For the next part of the story, have your child choose another location, such as
section of the story and encourage your child to make vivid images by using q
life.
In our example, this technique was applied to an elementary-level story, partic
Riding Hood is well-known. But as I mentioned, it also works for middle sch
I’ve used this approach to teach kids about DNA, the story line in Romeo and
material. It is an approach that works on any content, for learners of all ages,
space combined with visual input, visual imagery, and language, making it a m
sensory techniques work better because they engage more than one part of the
What are the characteristics of “vivid images”?
Use your questioning to help your child create memorable images. What mak
—images should stimulate emotion (think of a crying man holding a limp chil
images are unusual (try a blue dog). Encourage your child to include other as
and especially for kids of all ages—is the image gross! Yes, I said gross (thin
very powerful for memory!

About the Author

Dr. Kari Miller is the Director of Miller Educational Excellence, an education

informative and inspiring collection of articles, “Success Strategies for Studen
ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disabilities” can be downloaded here .She is the
blogtalk radio shows: Special Kid School Talk and Education Revolution
To contact Dr. Miller:
Website: http://www.millereducationalexcellence.com
 Email: klmiller555@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 310-280-9813

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