The meaning, characteristics, and applicability of visual literacy for early childhood teaching are examined, and concrete suggestions for introducing photography to the young child are offered along with specific camera-related activities. (MP)

Discusses the advantages of using photographs in history instruction and suggests questions teachers can ask to help students analyze photographs. (SJL)

Suggests that aspects of children's early representational drawing ability may provide evidence for feature marking in nonlinguistic symbol systems. Reports results of a study of the drawings of kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade children. (RH)

A playful series of activities using the "Yellow Pages" as a resource. (Editor)

Addresses the need for reading skills to sustain everyday life in the United States: definitions, the history of literate society, visual literacy as a first step to reading ability, the basic reading skills, and the use of the arts as a motivation towards reading. (JD)

A series of tests of dimensional understanding showed that there was a hierarchical sequence, with three year olds able to handle less complex tasks than four year olds. (Editor)

A Birmingham (England) Museum and Art Gallery program helped visitors view hidden objects in artworks and understand how museum representations depict and interpret culture. More informal learning opportunities were developed as a result of the program. (SK)

Addresses a "critical" or "reflective" visual literacy. Situates visual representations and their interpretation (the construction of meaning) within a context that raises questions about benefit and power. Explores four main topics: the image as text; analysis and meaning construction; visual literacy as a liberatory practice;…

Defines new literacies and explores their place in school curricula. Contends that what is missing is a method of reading and understanding the new languages of media that would enable educators to produce meaning that enhances lives and rejects the oppression that privileges some students and denies other students' voice. (PM)

Notes that new literacies use computer graphics to tell a story, demonstrate a theory, or support a definition. Offers a functionality framework for assessing the value of computer graphics for early literacy learning. Provides ideas for determining the value of CD-ROM software and websites. Concludes that graphics that give text meaning or…

Attempts to bring composition studies into a more thoroughgoing discussion of the place of visual literacy in the writing classroom. Argues that throughout the history of writing instruction in the United States the terms of debate typical in discussions of visual literacy and the teaching of writing have limited the kinds of assignments educators…

Discussion of visual media and television literacy focuses on a course that was developed to improve the visual literacy of 12- and 13-year-old students in the United Kingdom. Testing for the experimental and control groups is explained, and implications for the development of television literacy are suggested. (23 references) (LRW)

Argues that the use of visuals specifically designed to complement printed instruction can significantly improve student achievement of certain types of educational objectives, but that visualization itself represents only a mild rehearsal strategy which will not always optimize student achievement of the more complex levels of learning. (RS)