LOOKING BEYOND THE LITERAL
USING NON-PRINT TEXTS TO TEACH
CRITICAL THINKING AND READING SKILLS
Rita McDermott
2009
What is non-print text?
photographs, posters, art
reproductions, advertisements,
cartoons, and stills or clips from
film or stage productions
“Same Song” by Pat Mora
While my sixteen year-old son sleeps,
My twelve year-old daughter
Stumbles into the bathroom at six a.m.
Literal Questions:
Plugs in the curling iron
What does the girl do?
Squeezes into faded jeans
What does the boy do?
Curls her hair carefully
What details stand out?
Strokes Aztec Blue shadow on her eyelids
Smoothes Frosted Mauve blusher on her cheeks Who is the speaker?
Outlines her mouth in Neon Pink
Peers into the mirror, mirror on the wall
Beyond the Literal:
Frowns at her face, her eyes, her skin
How are the boy and girl similar? What is
Not fair.
the speaker’s tone, or attitude towards
At night this daughter
Stumbles off to bed at nine
what is happening?
Eyes half-shut while my son
What motivates the boy and girl?
Jogs a mile in the cold dark
What is the theme of the poem?
Then lifts weights in the garage
Curls and bench presses
Expanding biceps, triceps, pectorals,
One-handed push-ups, one hundred sit-ups
Peers into that mirror, mirror and frowns too.
Girl at the Mirror and The Champ
Norman Rockwell
Literal Questions:
What is the girl doing?
What is the boy doing?
What details stand out?
Beyond the Literal:
How are the boy and girl similar?
What motivates the boy? girl?
What message is each picture trying to
express?
What is the tone of each picture?
By the end of this workshop, you should
be able to answer…
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What is non-print text?
What functions can non-print text serve?
What skills/strategies can we teach using non-print
text?
What terminology can we use to help students “read”
non-print text?
What do lessons using non-print text look like?
What resources are available to help me implement
more non-print text in my classroom?
How can I modify the lessons and ideas from this
presentation to fit my content and grade level?
What functions can non-print text serve?
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Activate Background Knowledge
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Motivation
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Use as part of a warm-up to build student interest.
Scaffolding
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Activate students’ background knowledge before beginning a new topic
(i.e. non-print text from a certain time period, event, person)
Use non-print text to model before moving to print text.
Use non-print text for skills practice.
Enrichment/Extension
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Compare the “big ideas” in a non-print text to that in a print text.
Have students create or find their own non-print text to match the
“big ideas” in a print text.
What thinking skills can we teach using
non-print text?
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Analyzing subtleties
Avoiding
over‐simplifications
Clarifying conclusions
Developing intellectual
perseverance
Developing reasoning skills
Distinguishing the relevant
from the irrelevant
Making connections
Providing Proof
Using context clues (videos)
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Exploring thoughts and
underlying feelings
Noting significant similarities
and differences
Thinking independently
Transferring insights into new
contexts
What reading skills can we teach with
non-print text?
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Making inferences
Identifying tone
Identifying author’s purpose
Identifying theme
Comparing/contrasting
Critiquing style
Characterizing
Symbolism
Predicting
Evaluating effectiveness
Analyzing the contributions of setting
Drawing and supporting conclusions
Analyzing political and historical influences
Details to think about when analyzing
non-print…
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Color
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Balance
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Posture? Hands? Angle of head?
Facial expressions
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Is there symmetry? What is opposite of the focal point?
Body Language
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Who is wearing what? What colors dominate?
Do those colors have symbolic meaning?
What are their mouths, eyes, and eyebrows doing?
Clothing
Lines & Shapes
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Are there sharp lines? Natural wavy lines?
Details to think about when analyzing
non-print…
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Focal Point
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Objects
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What else is present besides the focal point?
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Is anything left out that you thought would be there?
Placement of objects & people
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To what are your eyes drawn?
What is in the foreground? Background?
What is next to what?
Repetition
Lighting
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What is in the dark? What is in the light?
Additional Considerations for Video
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Camera Angle
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Centered? Birds Eye View? From a particular character?
Special Effects
Are certain areas or characters blurred?
 Is anything in slow motion or fast forward?
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Music
Movement of camera
Frame –
Close ups to emphasize emotion or certain objects?
 Wide angle to emphasize setting?
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INFERENCES
Reminder: Inference = Support from the text + Knowledge of human nature.
What do you see? (literal)
Who owns these? (inference)
PROVE IT!
(TEXT SUPPORT AND
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE)
What do you see? (literal)
Who lives here? (inference)
PROVE IT! (TEXT SUPPORT AND PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE)
Picture # _______
What is your immediate reaction to this picture? Why?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
What details do you see in this picture? (literal)
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
What would you title this picture? (do not use a literal title)
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Write down 1 reason why you feel this is an appropriate title. (inference)
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Graphic Organizers
Chart for analyzing one text, print
or non-print
Details from My
text
Experience
My
Inference
The tone of this picture is best described as
A. detached C. ridiculous
B. insecure D. threatening
Which conclusion is best supported by the ideas
found in “The Flowers” and the picture?
A. Children, especially girls, should not explore alone.
B. Difficult experiences can have positive results.
C. Childhood innocence can disappear in a moment.
D. Violence can occur in the most peaceful places.
Choose which picture best communicates the ideas
represented in the story, “The Flowers”. Support your
conclusion with details from both the story and the picture.
Write a response that explains
whether the photograph
communicates ideas that are
similar to or different from the
ideas found in the story, “The
Flowers”.
Video Clips as Text
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Present a 2-5 minute video clip.
Option to give a brief literal comprehension
listening quiz.
Use the clip to work on whatever reading or thinking
skill you are targeting – main idea, characterization,
drawing conclusions, providing support, using context
clues, vocabulary, and so on.
Replay the clip as you would ask the students to
return to the text for support.
Option to have students use video clip as a speaking
grade, role playing.
Bonus of Video Clips as Texts for
Language Learners
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Opportunity to hear other accents, voices, paces, etc.
Opportunity to hear “real world” language use –
 regular pace of conversations, idioms, groups of native
speakers, rhythm of speech patterns, fluency,
pronunciation
Role playing at the pace of clip helps students improve
speaking skills.
Video Friday Rubric – 1 -10 point scale each
Accuracy of Lines
Pronunciation of Words
Intonation and Expression
Fluency
Appropriate Pace & Volume
Son: I look so much _____1___ than everyone else.
Mom: Enjoy it while you can.
Daughter: Mom…it’s time.
Mom: Can this wait ‘til we get home?
Daughter: Mom. Pull over. Tell him the __2__. Tell him how old he is.
Mom: He knows how old he is.
Daughter: But other kids make fun of him because of how young he looks. Nobody
___3___ him. They call him “The Narc” behind his back.
Son: They do?
Mom: What’s a narc?
Daughter: A _______4_______.
Mom: Well, what’s wrong with that?
Son: C’mon you guys. It’s no big deal. I’m twelve. She skipped me a __5___. Big deal.
I’m a year younger. They’re 13, I’m
twelve…………………………………………………….aren’t I?
Mom: I also put you in first grade when you were five, and I __6___ told you.
Son: So I’m how old?
Mom: You’re eleven.
Son: Eleven?!?!
“Reading” the Video Clip – Almost Famous
Make and support your inferences to answer the following questions.
1. Where is his dad?
2. How old is the sister?
3. What decade is it?
4. Although a ‘narc’ is literally a narcotics officer, what does it most likely mean in the context the other
kids use it?
5. When the boy says “this explains so much,” to what is he most likely referring?
6. How does the daughter feel towards her mother?
7. Would the mother and daughter agree that “honesty is the best policy?”
Consider this:
1. Is honesty always the best policy?
2. How would you feel if you were the boy?
3. In what ways was it better for the boy not to know?
4. How might adolescence be a “marketing tool”?
5. How are the mother and daughter similar?
6. Does age matter?
7. What does “who needs a crowd” have to do with
waiting for puberty?
“Reading” the Video Clip – Four Christmases
1. What is Stan’s TONE towards the holiday season?
2. What does he do or say to create that tone?
3. What is Eric’s TONE as he speaks?
4. Support your claim.
5. Kate says, “not if you tell them you are doing charity work.” What is charity? (Context clues)
6. What is the MAIN IDEA of this clip?
a. Christmas
b. Everyone should spend time with family at Christmas.
c. Families
d. The most interesting conversations at work have sarcasm and controversy.
e. Charity Work f. It’s okay to lie to your family to have a vacation.
g. Many people feel obligated to spend holidays with family even if they don’t enjoy it, while
some find ways to get out of family functions.
7. Explain your choice. (Providing proof. Justifying Conclusions. Noting Significant Details.)
Bonus: What does it mean, “you can’t spell families without lies.”
“Reading” the Clip – What Women Want
1. Which of the following statements did NOT have the intonation of
a question?
a.You smoke cigars
b.You know your office is looking really snazzy
c.Honey
d.He has a daughter
2. They might find Nick’s idea too retro. They might hear _________
and think ______________.
3. What can you infer about the relationship between Nick and his
daughter?
4. What is the tone of Nick on the phone with his daughter?
5. What time is his daughter going to be home?
6. How old is his daughter’s boyfriend?
7. What is the prom mostly about?
8. Where is Nick’s daughter’s mom?
9. Where is Nick going when he leaves Darcy’s office?
Romeo & Juliet
Compare the idea of love presented in Marc Chagall’s
“The Walk” to that in Romeo & Juliet.
Consider what the style of the painting, the positioning
of the people, the setting (with particular regards to
the spatial relationship between the people and the
town), and the colors imply about how the artist
views love.
When considering how the idea of love is represented
in the play, you may consider either Shakespeare’s
overall view, theme, or presentation of love, or how
a particular character , such as Romeo, Juliet, or
Friar Laurence, views love throughout the play or at
a particular time.
Remember to spend an equal amount of
time/evidence/detail on the ideas in painting and
play.
Romeo and Juliet Photography Book
The object of this assignment is to match the big idea, tone, and mood from Shakespearean quotes to modern
photographs. You should choose two striking quotes from Romeo & Juliet and match them with two photographs,
each quote/photo pair making up one page of a bound photo journal. Your photos may be from the internet,
books, or personal snapshot collections. They do not have to match the events in the quote, although many may;
more importantly, the photos must reflect the same idea as the quote.
You will also identify two themes illustrated in the play. Remember, themes are messages about the way the world
works. Start by identifying a topic of the text, such as family, trust, friendship, etc., and then figuring out what the
author is saying about that topic, such as “Friendship is important for overcoming obstacles.”
Ordinarily, for a project created in college or for a company, you would need to cite where you acquired all your
pictures; however, for this project, you only need to cite two sources of your pictures, as I want you to get more
practice citing, but I do not want that to be the focus of this project.
Grading:
Each quote and photograph pair is worth five points.
Does the photo represent the quote well?
2 x 5 = 10
Does it illustrate the big idea?
Each theme and photograph pair is worth ten points.
2 x 10 = 20
Is the theme statement accurate? Does the photo represent the quote well?
Each photograph citation is worth two points.
2 x 5 = 10
Suggestions:
- Enter the big idea of the photo (such as “hope”) and “photographs” into the image browser.
- Flip through/ Borrow some of the National Geographic magazines in the classroom library. You may cut out or photocopy pictures.
- Search the professional photographer work on www.corbis.com.
Literature Specific Questions
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Present students with photographs of 3 different
people for them to choose which one best communicates
the same attitude as a character.
Present students with photographs of 3 different houses,
rooms, settings for them to choose which one best
communicates the same mood as the text’s setting.
Compare a writer’s style (word choice, sentence length
and structure, use of figurative language…) to a
painter’s style (use of color, texture, lines…). Are they
both whimsical? formal?
Other Ideas
Previously pictured: Colombia:
The only risk is wanting to stay
advertisement.
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Evaluate author’s purpose, effectiveness, intended audience,
and bias in advertisements, posters, and political cartoons.
Create or evaluate advertisement campaigns for certain
places (perhaps in social studies class and certain for science topics)
Evaluate how an ad campaign should be changed to target a
different audience.
The following advertisements are selected from
several campaigns aimed at increasing seat belt
use among teen drivers. Write an essay arguing
which ad campaign is most effective.
First, consider the lives and concerns of teenage
drivers. Then, introduce the problem and
summarize two of the posters. Analyze the
content and tools each uses to try to relate to
teenagers, as well as the primary emotional
appeal of each. Compare the strengths and
weaknesses of each campaign. Finally, explain
which ad is most effective and why.
Choose a text. Create three questions you could use in your classroom
for a topic, skill, or objective you will be working on shortly.
Some pics removed that also appear on
the first slide…