Using graphic designs in the classroom can be very beneficial. Students are overwhelmed by seeing many texts each day and therefore may not know what information they should focus on. A graphic design would jump out from the rest of the text and catch their eye. In the article, Why Teachers Should Care About Typography by Mercer Hall and Patricia Russac, the authors state that certain learning styles may cause students to have trouble reading to texts that are very word heavy. Theu go on to say that this may be true for students with IEPs. I have students in my classroom who have IEPs and I believe that this is true for them. Therefore, when giving a reading assignment teachers, like myself, can use a graphic design to help reinforce the main points.
Graphic designs could also be created by students. Students could be more creative while using a graphic design than they could when writing a traditional report or slide show. If a student created a graphic design using Google Drawing they would be able to easily share it with their teacher, parents, and classmates. Google Drawings could also allow multiple students to collaborate on the same graphic in order to complete a group project. In the article, 8 Examples of Incorporating Infographics in Middle School Classrooms by Jonna Mae Magno, she suggests that not only could graphics replace reports but they could also be used as games, visual aids, or presentation tools. Therefore, graphic design could be used in any classroom!
At the start of the school year, I always teach a unit on character traits. I feel that I could easily incorporate graphic design into this unit. I could create a graphic for the characters that are in my read alouds. After I have modeled this a couple of times, I could have my students create a graphic about a character in a book that they read. As the unit progressed they could add text to their graphics to describe the character’s traits.
Katherine,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great point about our students being so overwhelmed by the amount of text they see every day! It makes it even more important that we find ways to make learning stand out and easier to process.
I think it is a great idea to do some type of character infographic. Students could easily add on to it as they progress in a novel or unit!
Katherine,
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea, to have your students create a graphic on a character they read in a book. I think this will give them a way to remember with a visual.
Hi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that many students can become overwhelmed by the amount of text/information they see every day. While there are some students who may be able to handle it, there are many others who cannot. Infographics are a great way to help all learners. I like your idea of having students create an infographic within your character traits unit. I am thinking of creating one showing the different procedures/expectations with the various art materials in my classroom (for example how to clean a paint brush or store unfinished clay projects) .