Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art®

Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art® is a multimodal, evidence-based approach to literacy learning that uses simple crayon resist art techniques and the study of quality picture books to teach the art of writing. Treating words and pictures as equal languages for developing and recording ideas, Picturing Writing has been proven effective for a wide range of learners, including Title I students, Special Education students, and English Learners. Research has also documented significant gains in writing for boys, who tend to lag behind girls in writing scores across the nation.

Picturing Writing uses specially designed brainstorming sheets to help students access rich descriptive language through reading their pictures. This engaging, language-rich approach to teaching writing is aligned with English Language Arts Standards and can be used to teach a variety of genres, including descriptive writing, poetry, narrative, research-based poetry, research-based narrative, informational text, and opinion pieces. Picturing Writing can be easily integrated across the science and social studies curriculum and is aligned with S.E.L. Competencies.

When I paint first, it helps me so I can see every detail that’s there so I can write about it. – Sammie, grade 5

When I find the right words, my picture comes alive. – Evan, grade 5

Picturing Writing Units of Study

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top