Chapter 1: Teaching Multimodal Practices To Multilingual Elementary Students Through Picture Books

Picture books play a central role in literacy education in today’s elementary classrooms. Usually the entry point for young readers into the field of literacy, picture books are an important part of culture and a noteworthy instrument of socialization (Painter, Martin, & Unsworth, 2013). They are one of the first texts to which children are introduced and continue to be significant in reading and writing instruction throughout upper grades. Rich with verbal storylines and visual elements, picture books create a unique multimodal, meaning-making experience for readers. Stakeholders in education have recognized the importance of this literary genre, and as early as kindergarten, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ask students to describe the relationship between pictures and the story in which they appear (National Governors’ Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010).