As teachers, we know that showing a movie helps
students to get a feeling for what they read. But effective
readers also are able to generate images for
themselves as they read. Guided Imagery (Gambrell,
Kapinus, & Wilson, 1987) is a strategy that helps trigger
visualization for students as they read and learn.
For many students, textbooks are an endless parade
of terms and facts. Helping students visualize what
they are reading brings the material to life and makes
it more meaningful. Guided Imagery can be used either
to prepare students for a reading or to deepen
their understanding after they have read. For example,
although most students in a social studies class could
readily visualize many of the hardships experienced
by the pioneers traveling west across the U.S. Great
Plains, Guided Imagery could help introduce the textbook
passage. However, students in a science class
would first need to read a passage on photosynthesis
to acquire some basic knowledge before they could
successfully visualize the process inside a plant.