Abstract of

First Person
Picturing Meaning

Tom Romano

Teachers can help students develop mental picture-making skills by reading aloud to them. But they must do more than read fluently: Teachers must orally interpret texts. The voice is an instrument to aid meaning making. By projecting the voice, varying the pitch, altering reading speed, inserting strategic pauses, and enunciating words, teachers can make written language live. To become strong readers, students must learn to complete such transactions when they read silently, and teachers' skilled oral interpretations can support that development and demonstrate possibilities for how written voices might sound.

Abstract from Romano, T. (2006, February). Picturing Meaning. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(5), 374–377. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.49.5.1