Reading Isn’t Making a Movie in Your Mind

When we’re teaching kids to read, it’s common to tell them to use the text to make a movie in their mind. The idea is to get them to vividly imagine what the author is describing. Beginner readers have picture books, which give them images to match the text, but once students move on to chapter books, they’re left on their own to craft images. “Make the movie in your mind” bridges the gap. But once kids get to middle school and high school, this instruction no longer works.

Secondary-school texts are complex in their language’s structure, vocabulary, and substance. Authors are no longer simply describing scenes and progressing plots. At this level, they’re offering thought-provoking ideas. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts,” Marcus Aurelius writes. There’s nothing to picture here, no movie to make. In this case, readers need to form meaning out of the text without primarily relying on images. 

At Zinc, we believe in giving students detailed guidance on what to do while they read complex texts, so that when they get to a line like Aurelius’ above, they have strategies for comprehension. Our Reading Ignition program teaches these tactics at each student’s level and offers lots of practice. Try a sample Reading Ignition exercise here.

Want to learn more about why not to teach the “make a movie in your mind” strategy to middle and high schoolers? Check out Zinc’s founder, Matt Bardin, discussing this topic on The Literacy Advocate podcast here.