Using Picture Books to Teach QAR (Question-Answer Relationship) ROE11 Fall Classic Regional Institute Charleston High School October 9, 2009 Linda Reven Denise Reid Eastern Illinois University

Picture - QAR (Cortese, 2003) This strategy provides a “venue outside the printed text for practicing cognitive tasks that are critical to reading comprehension” (p. 375). This technique “can reduce the cognitive linguistic burden on students by extricating processing demands from text” (p. 376).

Picture-QAR Strategy In the Book… “Right There” - students must note information that is depicted outright in a single illustration “Think and Search” - requires the students to draw conclusions from information depicted across several illustrations In my Head… “Author (Artist) and You” - the students’ prior knowledge base must be combined with information the author/illustrator provides “On My Own” - the information is drawn exclusively from the students’ prior knowledge

P-QAR: In the Book Sitting Ducks (Bedard, 1998) Right There What is the setting in this picture? (factory) What is the alligator doing? (punching the time clock) Think and Search How does the duck’s feelings about the waiter in the diner change? Why? (he is excited and then alarmed; the waiter is really an alligator with a duck puppet) Why does the duck give the alligator a ticket? (he wants the alligator to go to Florida too)

P-QAR: In My Head Sitting Ducks (Bedard, 1998) Author/Artist and You How do you think the duck feels when the waiter in the restaurant shows them the daily special? Why? (very uncomfortable, because the daily special is “duck soup”) What do the ducks seem to be doing? Why? (exercising in order to get “in shape” to fly south) On Your Own In this picture, the egg fell off the assembly line. Why do you think this happened? (many possible answers) Why do you think the alligator put the duck in his lunch pail? (many possible answers)

Applying QARs to Pictures… This strategy involving visual literacy provides a means for: – practicing the task demands that are associated with answering comprehension questions while – enhancing the students’ metacognitive awareness of the sources of information available to the reader relative to those questions.

Thought Balloons In this activity, students write thought balloons for individual characters, responding to specific situations in the text. Students are assigned a specific illustration or passage from the story and are asked to write a first- person thought balloon for a specific character that clearly describes his/her feelings and thoughts at that point in the story. Students then read aloud the thought balloons expressively. Ask students to compare and contrast their thoughts and discuss why they believe the characters would react in that way.

Sketch-to-Stretch (McLaughlin & Allen, 2002) Sketch-to-Stretch requires students to create, represent, and share personal meanings for a narrative or expository text. After reading or listening to text, students sketch what the text means to them. Form groups of 3-5 students. Each person shares his/her sketch. Other group members give their interpretation of the sketch. Once everyone has shared the artist shares his/her interpretation.

Jabberwocky Jabberwocky, one of the most celebrated nonsense poems in the English language. The poem first appeared in 1872 in Lewis Carroll’s classic Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Since then its mysterious and lyrical lines have delighted readers of all ages.