Abstract

This study describes a group of seventh graders’ experiences in learning to make and share meaning about literature through the creation of visual representations. This interpretatives trategy, known as “sketch-to-stretch,” involves learners in creating symbols, pictures, and other non-linguistic signs to signify ideas generated through reading. Over the course of a school year these students used sign systems from art, mathematics, and language to express their knowledge individually and collectively. The focus of the study was to investigate the evolution of sketching in two classes and to explore how these tools helped students enrich their understanding of literature and of literacy itself. The data were analyzed by both the teacher-researchearn d the students. The study supports teachingp ractices that provide opportunities for students of all ages to make and share meaning through multiple sign systems.