Not having the official VTS materials for K-2, I selected this image for a first time VTS with second grade. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with 100% participation, and much 'Awwwww-ing' when I announced that we were finished. (What a great feeling!)I received mostly inventory type responses with very little narrative. I'm wondering, is this typical of a first time second grade session, or was it due to my image selection?
First, let me way that you nailed it with this image! It contains people, including children, doing things that your second graders can identify with. It is colorful and "realistic." It suggests a variety of narratives and it contains ambiguity. Why is the figure at right center lifting her hand? Why is the figure at left center smiling in her direction? What might the relationships be between the people shown? Why is does the figure at far right have her head covered and why is she dressed in white when the other individuals are colorfully dressed, embellished, and accessorized? Why is she leaning in to the scene. What exists beyong the frame and what might be happening there? Lots of "juicy" questions to answer! Nonetheless, you observed that your students were list-makers this time and couldn't get beyond that. I think that when this happenes, it is okay to nudge them out of it. You might paraphrase question one by saying, "You've done a wonderful job naming things in the picture, but what might be happening in the picture? What do you think is going on with these people?
ReplyDeleteI think this kind of paraphrase maintians the integrity and intent of question one while prodding students to venture into narrative and interpretations. What do you think? (And anyone reading this, feel free to chime in!)
What a great feeling, indeed! What other content area or instructional method can claim 100% participation? I think NCLB really missed the mark. Had it trained VTS teachers and implemented the strategy widely instead of focusing on high-stakes testing, I think we'd be in a much better place in American education with higher performing and more engaged students. My opinon, of course!
Your experiences and observations are wise and thought-provoking! It's 11:10pm but I'm energized to go out and VTS with some second graders!!! LOL!
VTSed this image today with the second class of second grade. This group developed a few different dialogs, and several students were linking their responses to what had been stated previously. When we returned to the inventory taking I tried the "What's going on here?" prompt and it proved to be a quite effective means of yielding interpretation.
ReplyDelete