“Most of us
are bombarded by persuasive imagery while
not exactly schooled in visual literacy a
lot of this messaging skips right past the
messaging filter and goes directly into our
Shaw, founder of
Bag New Notes)
NYT's New Visual Literacy Daily Activity:
What's Going On In This Picture?
Every day, we see and are exposed to hundreds perhaps thousands of images that pass
through our radar screens. Unfortunately, not many of us
know how to "read images."
Many of our students don't question media: they believe everything they see--including
digitally altered images seen in the media.
One of the ways to teach critical thinking and "media literacy"
is to start with the still image. Because of the Internet,
it is easier than ever to
access these images. Here are some recommended sites:
Your school's arts educator is a perfect partner in
understanding the concepts of visual literacy. Your students can
start with paintings and then move onto other images, such as
Because mobile phones now incorporate cameras, and due to the size
and cost of digital cameras, it is easier than ever for students
to take photographs and incorporate images into their projects.
This web site is a resource and is designed to provide the K-12
educator ideas, readings, lesson plans and other valuable tools
for classroom instruction.
Click on the links in the left hand column to access those
Visual resources online: Digital images of primary materials on
public Web sites
(C&RL News, May 2008)
For additional resources, see
Vis Lit & 21st Century
Visual Literacy Issue
Vis Lit Resources on the Web
Visual Literacy Internet Resources
Recent Trends in
Media Use in Schools