This is a fairly simple handout, but it needs to be in order for my students to comprehend the directions. Visuals like these are extremely important to students as they are learning how to read. I would love to have feedback on how to make the design a little more elaborate.
Shaun, I definitely know the importance of having these directions visible for little ones! I had to make some like these to serve as reminders especially for my preK and Kindergarten kiddos. Since most of my students did not speak English, however, I used images/symbols to represent each step or direction they needed to be following. (Like for criss cross applesauce you could have a picture maybe of just a child's legs sitting on the carpet. For voices off, I used a picture of lips, crossed out.) Do you think images, next to the words, help your students? I think having both pics and words might help them with dual-coding, and better retention. I also used BIG numbers next to the words, so their little eyes would easily be guided through the series of directions. These are just ideas that I found helped me out during my few years teaching. Only you know though what is best for your kids. Also, is this a picture of a boy scout? It might be better is you used a picture of a child that doesn't have an obvious affiliation to a specific organization, so that more students can relate to it. What about a real photo of a child sitting criss-cross-applesauce? And, of course, kids love color, so I personally think your poster will look better if it was in color!
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the sitting boy. I knew right away what your poster was for without reading it! I also like Raleigh's idea about having pictures next to the words. I like the simplicity of your poster. However, the chunks of blue make it seem busier than it actually is. I think it would look great if you just had one large blue box for all of your steps. I also think it would look great if you made the "How to Sit" bold so it stood out. Otherwise, I think you did a great job of using white space and it looks good.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was to have pictures next to words, which after reading both Raleigh and Katie's post, they mention the same. I think it'd be neat and effective for younger ones to have like a picture of eyes next to the first step, a close up of hands in lap, and so on. Maybe if you added more color instead of just using the blue, the poster would also be more appealing to the little ones. The color also might make each step stick out more as separate steps. I do like the use of the big picture of the boy sitting, knowing that kids love pictures! I think you have a good start, just needs to be jazzed up a bit! Good job of analyzing your audience's needs and incorporating them!
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