Stimulating Critical Thinking with Wordless Books

Ohio Reading Teacher, Fall 2003-Spring 2004 by Smith, Gail G

In today's classrooms, wordless books - those in which the story is told only through a series of pictures - often provide a meaningful context for enhancing students' oral and written communication skills. The typical process involves individual students, or small groups of students, dictating sentences or captions for each of the pictures in the book. However, students in grades K-3 can also begin to learn difficult critical thinking skills when wordless books are used (Wason-Ellam, 1989). This article will suggest ways that teachers of young students can use wordless books to begin to develop their students' critical thinking skills. Specifically, the article will describe a model for using wordless books to promote an understanding of character and develop critical thinking, and also provide suggested wordless books to use along with the model. The article will also suggest adaptations for older students.

Advantages of Using Wordless Books

Wordless books, because of their lack of written text, create in students a desire to use language and communication skills (Fields & Spangler, 2000; Norton, 1999). Through dictating or writing the text to accompany the pictures, young students begin to understand that stories are told in a sequence, that the plot is related to the sequence and to the pictures, and that stories or text are read left to right (Huck, Hepler, Hickman, & Kiefer, 2001; Tomlinson & Brown, 2002). Using wordless books provides an engaging context for verbal interaction and for demonstration of the written components of communication.

Norton (1999) notes that the vivid detail of some wordless books invites observation and promotes the use of equally vivid vocabulary words. Yellin and Blake (1994) note that:

such books give students the opportunity to use knowledge about story structure gained from listening to stories to create a story of their own. These books help students develop inference skills since the entire story develops from whatever the child can 'read' in the pictures, (p. 195)

Furthermore, wordless books are advantageous to use when students of mixed reading levels are combined because the ability to read printed text is not a factor (Ellis & Preston, 1984; Galda & Cullinan, 2002). Similarly, because multiple responses are often appropriate and encouraged, students of different cultural and language backgrounds can participate equally in discussing a wordless book (Cassady, 1998; Perry, 1997). Early (1991) notes that using wordless books with English second language learners "encourage students to produce longer, more detailed, coherent, and cohesive texts" (p. 250) because the intact story structure provided through the pictures allows second language learners to focus on their linguistic competence rather than on the creation of the story structure. There is rarely a wrong answer. Thus, all students can succeed. This makes them an ideal tool for today's inclusive classrooms.

Most wordless books are brief. This brevity often supports a more in-depth analysis of specific story elements such as plot, setting, characterization, and point of view. In wordless books, students must think about the nature of the story element and how the pictures depict that element. Because the author's words can not provide easy clues, recognition of the specific traits encompassing story elements must begin with scrutinizing the pictures and then discussing the results. Galda and Cullinan (2002) posit that "because the story line depends entirely upon the illustrations, students become much more aware of the details in the pictures" (p. 108). Glazer (2000) adds that "...body language and facial expressions are emphasized" (p. 232). Scrutiny of the pictures and corresponding discussion provide a basis for the development of critical thinking and character analysis.

As noted previously, the activities described in this article develop critical thinking and an understanding of characterization with young students and can be done with many of the wordless books available. While one specific wordless book is featured in the explanation for the development of characterization, other wordless books can be used and are listed in Figure 1.

Developing Characterization with Wordless Books

In the book Sunshine (1983), by Jan Omerod, a little girl wakes up before her mother and father. The book follows the little girl's movements from the time she wakes up, rubs her eyes and yawns, until she is dressed and leaving the house, hand-in-hand with her mother. The pictures in the story depict three characters: the child's mother and father, and of course, the little girl. The simplicity in number of characters, the familiarity of the setting, its relationship to everyday life, and the numerous illustrations make the choice of this book appropriate for use in developing concepts related to characterization. The model described below and summarized in Figure 2 suggests a way characterization and critical thinking might be approached with young students.