Standard 7: Multimodal Literacy

Students will acquire, refine, and share knowledge through a variety of written, oral, visual, digital, non-verbal, and interactive texts. 

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will interact with multimodal (combination of words, images, sound, color, animation, video, and styles of print) texts.
• Students will compare and contrast the effectiveness of the media used. 
• Students will generate insightful questions about the text. 
• Students will be able to answer questions about the “text”. 
• Students will be able to answer questions about the “text”.

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

Defining Multimodal Literacy by Dr. Craig Hill (video)

edutopia.org: evaluating written, oral, visual, and interactive text (website)

• A multimodal text combines two or more variations of communication through either linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, or spatial means.

• Examples of multimodal texts include picture books, web pages with audio or video, or a live performance of a play.

• Multimodal does not mean multimedia. Multimodal engage multiple modes of communication.

• Ultimately, students are providing analysis of the multimodal texts, but first, they should summarize without judgment.

• Students should practice evaluating the use of non-verbal elements that may affect the impact of the intended message.

• Many times, students glean meaning from messages based on non-verbal elements without even realizing it.  Messages delivered verbally are still considered text, as well as the non-verbal elements of the media such as graphics, images, color choices, music choices, etc.

• Analysis of all elements of media (including background images and text) should be taken into account.

• A literal question is one that can be easily answered by locating information within the text.

• Example: Who is depicted in the text? What is the setting in this text?

• An interpretive question involves close reading and drawing conclusions based upon the reader’s interpretation of the information in the text.

• These are not answered with opinions; rather, they require the understanding of clues within the text.

• Example: What is the author’s purpose?

• An applied question is predominantly an opinion question usually connected to the real world. These questions can be difficult to assess since there is not a right or wrong answer, but the students need to have textual support for their opinion.

• Examples: What impact does this text have in your life? How would this text be different if an audio component were added?

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.