Explain how information from multiple representations of a topic contribute to understanding of the topic (Inclusive Big Idea #7)

Reading Literature

Grade 7: English Language Arts

Inclusive Big Idea #7: Explain how information from multiple representations of a topic contribute to understanding of the topic

Standard: Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). RL.7.7

• Anchor Text: Use anchor texts like The Giver by Lois Lowry, and the corresponding film The Giver (2014). Ask students to compare and contrast what they noticed about the two formats and explain how each format offered something new to the story. Learn more about accessing grade-level text in this TIP Sheet.
• Venn Diagram Study: To create a deeper understanding of the difference between how a story is presented in two different contexts, read a story and then view a movie based on the story. Compare the experience of the two different ways by completing a Venn diagram. Learn more about graphic organizers in this TIP Sheet.
• Grand Conversations: To delve deeper into the differences between stories presented in text and those presented on film, read or listen to a book or chapter of a book that has had a movie made from it. Next, have a conversation about the similarities and differences. Questions to consider asking include:
  • What happens in the book that doesn’t happen in the film?
  • Are the characters you read about in the story represented as you envisioned in the film?
  • How does the film help you understand the feelings/thoughts of the character?
  • What version most impacted your understanding of the theme?
• Act It Out: Students can participate in role playing/performing the texts that they have read. After, they can discuss what aspects of the story they were able to convey through their performance and what they found challenging. 

For example, one possible barrier is if information is presented in only one way, such as text or audio.

Ideas to reduce this barrier could include:

• offer alternatives to text such as objects, partial objects, tactual representations
• allow students to develop their own examples by writing or dictating a story and then making a collage of it through pictures
• model AAC use throughout the lesson
• follow accessibility standards (NIMAS, DAISY, etc.) when creating digital text

Use these Inclusive Strategies to help reduce barriers.

• What are "Story Elements"?
  • Story elements are, essentially, the parts of a story. These elements develop the actions or events in the story in a logical way to enable readers to easily follow the text.
  • Students can compare the presentations of a story through different media, such as illustration or words.
• What are Some Essential Elements?
  • characters- the individuals in the story
  • setting- the location and time period where the story takes place
  • plot- what happens in the story and should a clear beginning, middle, and end
  • conflict- the problem in the story; the plot in a story should be centered on the conflict
  • resolution- the solution to the problem or conflict
• How Can I Incorporate Multimedia Storytelling?
  • Readers can gather information about a story through multiple forms of media. 
    • Text: The words in a story describe characters, settings, and events.
    • Illustrations: Represent story elements through drawings, pictures, or other forms of artistic representations.
    • Audio: Uses sound effects, music, or lyrics to help convey information about the story.
    • Dramatic performance:  A play of film representing the events of the story, characters are represented by actors and costumes, settings must be recreated by scenery.

Common Student Misconceptions

• Story Elements: Students often miss aspects of story elements when summarizing a text. In addition, some texts are considered “inconsiderate” texts and do not provide enough to allow students to fully understand all story elements and must fill in the gaps with prior experiences and personal preferences, leading to problems with comprehension.
• Characteristics of Different Media: Stories can present the same information in different ways from other media. While stories use words to describe aspects of characters, settings, or events, these elements can be represented visually through other media.

Everyday Connections

• At the Library: Review the schedule of your local library or theater to see if they will be presenting a live version of one of your required texts. Take your students to see the show and compare and contrast the performance to the reading of the text. 

Sixth Grade: Explain how information from multiple representations of a topic contribute to understanding of topic (RL 7)

Seventh Grade: Compare and contrast elements of text (RL 9)

Eighth Grade: Explain how information from multiple representations of a topic contribute to understanding of the topic (RL 7)