Chapter 8

This chapter was all about how to use imagination to build upon the learning of all students.  One of the particular sections that really caught my attention was the use of comics in the classroom.  Many of my students particularily enjoy reading comics and checking out these types of materials in the library.  My students enjoy comics because they are fairly easy to read, short and to the point.  What I didn't realize was that comics can be used to spark the imagination and build language skills.  "While on the topic of visual images, one cannot neglect the use of comics and cartoons as tools to teach English" (Diaz-Rico, pg. 211).  In order to activate the imagination teachers need to be engaging before they lose students attention.  According to an article on the web, "Comics, Cary notes, with their emphasis on engaging content and an expanded use of visual material, are an especially effective medium in the context of brain-based teaching, which emphasizes hands-on, manipulative-based activities" (http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev105.shtml).  I would also argue that almost any activities can be used with the use of comics that can be a great excercise for the imagination.  Comics are an often incomplete story which end with a punch line and causes the reader to come to the conclusion of what happened next on his or her own.  This is why comics can be such a great teaching tool.  If working on a writing assignment, a teacher can easily introduce the topic with a comic.  He or she can ask the students to write what they think happened next.  He or she could also ask the students to rewrite the comic and explain why it is so humorous.  These types of activities activate the imagination.  The other great thing about comics is that they are so visual in nature which helps students read words that they might otherwise not be able to read by using the pictures as a form of help to understand what is going on.  For English language learners the visuals help them read and understand what is going on in comics, and they build upon their imagination wanting to learn more rather than straining to understand a lecture.

Michelle Greco wrote about another great tool used to activate the imagination, drama.  Drama involves acting which is another way of older people playing pretend.  Yet this is a great way to tap into what people say when they are experiencing certain emotions.  This teaches the English learner how to read a script better and how to read into what others say in order to convey the right mood on the stage.  This is an infinitely valuable tool to use because drama is all about learning to communicate and to make it believable to the audience and this cannot be done without imagination.  In Joe Tapia's blog, he wrote that he liked to use Readers Theater with his students in order to help them learn to read.  His key was that the students enjoyed the process.  It is because they are actively engaged because their minds are predicting and thinking about how to respond in certain ways read and rehearse text.  I can think of no better way to engage an imagination than through some sort of drama activity.  This works well as long as students participate.