Comprehension Strategy Instruction for Multimodal Texts in Science

Abstract

This article highlights examples from a middle-school science teacher's instruction using multimodal texts. Its importance lies in reconciling narrowed definitions of reading (and hence reading instruction) with the need to develop students' critical awareness as they engage with multiple sign systems, or semiotic resources, used for constructing meaning. After a brief introduction to the multimodal nature of scientific texts, the authors ground their discussion of comprehension strategy instruction in a vignette that shows the students and their teacher examining their school's attempt to prevent further soil erosion on the campus grounds. The article also provides examples of how multimodal text instruction in science can lead to making connections to other texts, such as the photographs and maps of America's Dustbowl in the 1930s. Although not without its limitations, comprehension strategy instruction for multimodal texts offers students choices in how they will represent content that matters to them.