Blending Methods Part 2: Analyzing Children's Literature

This workshop has become one of my favorites to teach and has evolved into a framing activity for the multilieracies unit (my baby). The goal of this workshop is to open student perspectives to multimodality through analysis of children's picturebooks. Using frameworks from Dawnene Hassett and Frank Serafini, students are guided to consider a variety of ways in which meaning is communicated through reader engagement with the text. 

In the past, I have taught this workshop in a face-to-face setting where students partner up and work through the steps collaboratively. At a later point, we use their findings as a launching point to multimodal composition and thinking like designers. We then transition this understanding from the familiarity of the printed text world to that of the digital text world in order to examine how writers/designers make intentional choices throughout the digital writing process.

Moving to a blended format enabled me to capitalize on two particular shifts for this workshop:

(1) UW-Madison houses the Collaborative Children's Book Center (in our very building actually) with access to extremely knowledgeable librarians and an amazing array of literature. Keeping the idea of 'place' in mind, I decided to forego a face-to-face class and instead encourage students to complete their workshop at the CCBC. As a result, a much wider range of books were included in the analysis assignment than I have seen in the past.

(2) In order to demonstrate the cohesion of word and image in picturebooks, a distinguishing feature Serafini contrasts to storybooks, I began building a library of video examples. In the videos, I first read the picturebooks without sharing the pictures so the audience can develop their own visual interpretation of the story. I follow this by sharing the images alongside corresponding text from the book. Listening to the story this second time while viewing the images offers a transformative experience where the meaning communicated beyond the written word becomes paramount to comprehending the book.  

For example, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Laura Numeroff) moves beyond the straightforward description of what the mouse is doing as the main character of the boy is introduced. The images show his growing exhaustion over time as he cleans up after and responds to the needs of the mouse. Without the images, this entire perspective is lost.

Another example I just came across last week is This is Not My Hat (John Klassen). Reading the text alone describes the story of a fish who stole a hat from a much bigger fish-and managed to get away with it. However, the images tell a very different story as they often contradict the printed word to show what is really happening. Let's just say the little fish...is not so lucky. 

I love this new take on opening the workshop, and every time I read my son a book now, I can't stop thinking about what great examples they would make. I have so many more videos to get started on, and I hope moving forward that I can engage students in creating and sharing their own samples too! ​

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