Why is Visualization Important in the Reading Game?
The practice of visualization develops reading skills because it engages the specific part of the brain linked to long-term memory and converts text into mental images, thereby dramatically improving comprehension and retention.
The Mechanism: How Visualization Works
Visualization, defined as seeing pictures of what is heard and read in the imagination or mind's eye, is considered a foundational skill for learning. The underlying reason visualization is effective is related to how the brain processes and stores information.
- 1Accessing Long-Term Memory: When an individual looks up (a physical action that correlates with the mental act of picturing), the information is processed by the occipital lobe in the back of the brain. This is the "seeing part of the brain" that connects information with long-term memory.
- 2Bypassing Short-Term Memory: Without visualization, students who are reading or hearing information often connect over to the temporal lobe (the hearing part of the brain), which is linked to short-term memory. If information is not transferred to the imagination, it literally goes "in one ear and out the other".
- 3Active Engagement: Visualization ensures the brain is engaged. If a child is not picturing what they read, they are more likely to be bored and distracted.
This technique of learning visualization must be taught step-by-step; simply telling a student to visualize is not enough. Our app automates this process.
Specific Reading Skills Developed Through Visualization
Comprehension & Understanding
Visualization teaches children to turn words on the page into pictures in their mind so they can genuinely understand and remember what they read. Doing these exercises dramatically improves reading comprehension. One student reportedly achieved three years of progress in reading comprehension in just three months after completing a visualization program.
Memory & Recall
Students who visualize while reading have better recall than those who do not. Making pictures and movies in the imagination is the method the brain uses to remember what it hears and reads long-term.
Reading Enjoyment and Confidence: Learning to visualize makes reading easier and more enjoyable. This foundational skill allows students to feel "smart, capable, and confident," thereby boosting self-esteem. When students gain confidence, it makes a significant difference in all their schoolwork.
Spelling: Visualization skills can help students master tricky spelling words. This technique assists with memorizing sight words because seeing things in the imagination makes them easier to remember.
Visualization is Critical in the Modern World
The sources suggest that visualization training is particularly critical for today's students due to modern media consumption habits.
The abundance of screens, social media, and video games means that children are constantly being fed visual information, resulting in them losing the ability to visualize the way older generations did. This creates a serious problem with reading comprehension as they age. Research shows that seven out of ten children now need this crucial learning skill, a significant increase from three out of ten previously reported when the creators of Picture This! were in college.
This focus on visualization has been found to be especially effective for children struggling with reading comprehension, memory, attention, and learning challenges such as dyslexia and ADHD.
Help Your Child Fall in Love with Reading
Picture This! teaches visualization step-by-step so children can genuinely understand—and enjoy—what they read.
