If you’ve had a student that reads so well that you wish they could get into AP course right from middle school but hardly comprehends any of what is read, this technique might help you: anchoring visualization. Think about all the times you’ve read a book–what goes on inside your mind? You visualize what you’re reading! It’s no surprise that there may be some children who have difficulties visualizing imagery in their heads. Because of that, reading comprehension suffers tremendously. It’s amazing to know that something as simple as visualizing a picture in your head can be the difference with understanding and not understanding what you’ve read; it’s true.
Anchoring visualization is the ability to stabilize an environment for a child to adequately practice imagining pictures in his or her head. Think of it as a focal point–such as a chair, picture on the wall, a square on the carpet or something like that. Whenever you think of something, generally your eyes go to one spot in your vision and don’t move. You don’t notice it, though, usually. Teaching that exact same thing to a child will help the mind focus on an image; and before long, it’ll become automatic. It’s a step-by-step procedure, though. As the child reads, have him or her focus on his or anchor, whatever it may be, and then ask the child to think of the image pertaining to what he or she has read. Once the image has been conjured, have the child read further on.
With practice and perseverance, a child can learn not only to read well, but comprehend well, using the anchoring of visualizations.