Reading+Between+The+Pictures

In one of the articles we read about the students communicating via email across the country they discussed the “global” communication of the internet. When reading this article I made a connection to that because they were challenged to communicate with people in other countries. This article pointed out that this “new literacy” required readers to interpret visuals and graphics and opened up a new world to bilingual students. In order to read and interpret graphic novels, students not only have to pay attention to the usual literacy elements of character, plot, and dialogue, they also have to consider visual elements, such as color, shading, panel layout, perspective, and even lettering style (Schwarz, 2006). Using pictures and graphics is a perfect way to immerse ESL students into English, but it is also like a “universal” language connecting us all. “Becoming a reader, then, is a matter of becoming a member of what Smith (1987) Called decades ago “the literacy club.” This inclusion entails adopting an identity that is recognizable to others and that marks that person as a member of the group.” (P.189) This quote reminded me of one of the first articles we read when we discussed the definition of literate and the purpose of education. The previous articles mentioned that educators were trying to help students achieve functional literacy skills. I was wondering how we can go from the pictures and graphics and move into words in order to help our second language learners become functionally literate and participate in communities. Functional could be so vague, because with [|signs] all around our communities in more than one language some Spanish speakers are able to “function” without knowing how to read English.