Making Content Comprehensible and Retrievable with Pictorial Input Charts

The Pictorial Input Chart is a GLAD strategy that takes content-specific information and creates a visual representation of the information, making it more comprehensible for all students and especially our Multilingual Learners.

This strategy is based on research done by Marcia Brechtel, and Linnea Haley, and Brain and Memory research conducted by Costa, Wolfe, Kovalik, Rico, Gardner, and UCI. The information taught and learned using this strategy makes content knowledge retrievable later because of the use of patterns, information chunking, color- and shape-coding, neurological imprinting, and repetition.

The Purpose:

Teaching grade-level content with the Pictorial Input Chart has three main purposes. The first is to teach categorical schema as it relates to the topic of study. In this chart, you'll notice both color and shape coding, this is to help our brains organize information into clear categories. These categories are broad enough to be applied to other content area examples, which means that transfer of knowledge and metacognition are activated. Another purpose of using the Pictorial Input Chart is to teach vocabulary visually. Many times when we are teaching new concepts, vocabulary gets lost in the content. Using a Pictorial Input Chart enables educators to highlight key terms and make connections to the overall concept. The third purpose of Pictorial Input Charts is neurological imprinting. Because this chart is built in front of students and processed later with picture and word cards, students cannot only learn new skills and information but they can store and quickly access this newly learned information in their long-term memory.

If you are teaching a full GLAD unit, you will use this strategy in conjunction with the Graphic Organizer Input Chart. The Graphic Organizer Input Chart (GOIC)gives an overall view of a course of study. For example, a GOIC could list the six kingdoms of organisms while a Pictorial Input Chart will zoom in on a specific organism and the schema that surrounds it. It is important to note that this strategy can be taught without the support of a GOIC and is still effective in teaching content, organization, vocabulary, and aids in neurological imprinting.

The Process:

Because the goal of the Pictorial Input Chart is to make content comprehensible and retrievable, you'll want to build this chart with and in front of students, with students seated close to the chart (I like to bring my students to the carpet space at the back of the room, where I teach both science and social studies). To do this successfully, I pencil in the content of the chart first and then trace the pencil lines with colored markers while teaching the chart to students. This enables you to focus on the verbal content you'll teach students while physically building the corresponding visual support.

While I'm teaching this chart, I'll also use what Be GLAD coins the "7 Hip Pocket Tools" -- this link will bring you to another post about how to incorporate these tools into your daily teaching and "Hot Tips" for implementation. Below are the most impactful Hip Pocket Tools to use in conjunction with this strategy:

1. 10/2 Discussions – like a turn and talk this time allows students to discuss newly taught material. Provide instruction for no more than 10 minutes and then allow students to verbally process newly learned information.

2. “Say it with me” and “Read it with me” – having students repeat the language that is new or challenging increases their engagement in the content and provides opportunities to learn tricky pronunciation. This will also lower the affective filter in your classroom, making it a brave space for trying new things. You'll want to do this for each keyword that is on the chart.

3. Total Physical Response (TPR)—this is as simple as adding a gesture to provide a visual representation with key vocabulary and academic language. Brain science tells us that incorporating gestures helps our brains make new neuropathways.

4. Sketch or Visual – along the same idea of TPR, the more modalities we can present new content with, the more likely students are to remember and comprehend new material. This also honors different forms of intelligence.

5. Color and Shape Coding – this is a great way to organize and connect ideas into categories or show relationships. This is another way to make learning multimodal and honors different forms of intelligence. In this strategy, each chunk of information should have its own color and shape. This is to distinguish between categories and aid in neurological imprinting.

Because this strategy makes visual rather complicated information, it is a good idea to build the chart with students in chunks, utilizing color and shape coding, and to build the chart over multiple sessions. This may take a week to a week and a half.

Reviewing and Processing Information

Once you have taught the chart in its entirety, the next step is to process the newly learned information with both word and picture cards.

Word Card and Picture Card Review is done to review key academic vocabulary, reinforce categorization skills, and build relationships between concepts. You'll want to prepare a word card for any vocabulary that is essential to understanding the content. Prepare these word cards on brightly colored cardstock paper and add a sketch when possible. Picture cards should match the content that was presented on the chart. You'll want to use high-resolution photos to provide students with realistic visuals.

As you get ready to process the chart, you'll bring your students back to the learning space where the chart was initially created and pass out the word and picture cards. Not all students will receive a word or picture card as we don't want to overuse this strategy. Remember: we are only highlighting the most important words and concepts. After passing out cards, give students a 10/2 so they can solve the words and match the pictures to the correct categories on the chart, with the support of their peers. Then, begin reviewing the information on the chart. As you say keywords and phrases, students will add the word and picture cards directly to the chart. This is an interactive review of the material that has been taught in previous days.

Be GLAD has a great resource video for doing Pictorial Input Charts and processing this newly learned information, for primary grades.

Extension Activities

ELD Oral Review

This extension activity can be done while students are working independently and is a way to review material with students that may qualify for Multilingual Learners Services or students that need additional support learning new material.

When conducting an ELD Oral Review, the teacher will select a small group of students and bring

them in front of the chart. Together, the small group will review the information that was taught in the Pictorial Input Chart. This review allows for more individualized practice and review for identified students. Orally, the teacher will ask students varying levels of questions, based on their English proficiency levels. The teacher will begin with Level 1 Questions and move up or down based on student language proficiency. Regardless of the level of question, the teacher will use metacognitive strategies to support learning by asking students to "prove it!" or touch the part of the chart that supports their thinking. I've created a handy chart to use when running an ELD Oral Review group which can be accessed here.

Learning Log

One of the most effective ways for students to retrieve information after it was taught is through

a Learning Log. Learning logs are similar to diaries or journals where students record their reflections about newly learned material. The teacher should model how to take notes on the learning log. Some options include writing a bulleted list of newly learned information, writing full sentences about newly learned information, noting questions that students still have, or sketching and labeling the Pictorial Input Chart. You can download a copy of my Learning Log here.