Examining the effect of a picturebook reading intervention on younger school age children with different reading skills and vividness of visual imagery
Veronika Čigarská 1 *
More Detail
1 University of Presov, Faculty of Education, Slovakia
* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of an intervention program designed to enhance the comprehension and interpretation of verbal-visual narratives, commonly known as picturebooks, among younger school-age pupils. The qualitative research explores how picturebooks influence comprehension in pupils with varying levels of visual imagery vividness, reading imagination, and reading comprehension skills. The study was conducted with a sample of 3rd-grade pupils (n = 25) using content analysis, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and the intervention program. The intervention program aimed to assess the effectiveness of picturebooks for pupils with diverse reading abilities and visual imagery strengths while proposing strategies for their educational application. The findings indicate that picturebooks not only increased interest in reading but also improved text comprehension in less experienced readers and those with lower vividness of visual imagery. Additionally, they facilitated the construction of more complex mental models in more proficient readers.

Keywords

References

  • Amalia, S., Na, A., & Zharkasih, E. (2020). Investigating the effect of picture story book on grade ten pupils’. Reading Comprehension Ability. Lingua, 16(2), 80-90. https://doi.org/10.34005/LINGUA.V16I2.608
  • Andričíková, M. (2017). Keď to, čo vidíme, vlastne nie je to, čo vidíme [When what we see is not actually what we see]. IBBY Inštitút Bratislava.
  • Boerma, I. (2016). Reading pictures for story comprehension requires mental imagery skills. Fronties in Psychology, 7, 1630. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01630
  • Breitfeld, E., Potter, C. E., & Lew-Williams, C. (2021). Children simultaneously learn multiple dimensions of information during shared book reading. Journal of Cognitive Development, 22(5), 744-766. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2021.1939353
  • Chen, M., & Huang, Y.-C. (2023). Analysis on the role of picture books in children's cognitive development education. Educational Administration:Theory and Practice, 30(1), 125-140. https://doi.org/10.52152/kuey.v30i1.767
  • Chen, H., Lyu, D., & Zhu, L. (2023). The effectiveness of social-themed picture book reading in promoting children’s prosocial behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1569925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1569925
  • Chica, C. & Marsol, M. (2022). Obor a čas [The Giant's Time]. Brak.
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. Routledge.
  • Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage.
  • Čačka, O. (1999). Psychologie dítete od narození až do předpubertálního období [Psychology of the child from birth to the pre-pubertal period]. Sursum.
  • Gal Drzewiecka, I., & Lešková, D. (2018). K problematike textovo-obrazovej metafory v obrazovej knihe [On the problem of text-image metaphor in a picturebook]. World literature studies, 10(3), 142-155.
  • Gal Drzewiecka, I. (2019). Rekonštrukcia mentálnej dimenzie príbehu v recepcii textovo-obrazových naratívov (na príklade obrazových kníh O. Lavieho a W. Erlbrucha Medveď, ktorý tam nebol a S. Tana Stratená vec) [Reconstructing the mental dimension of narrative in the reception of text-image narratives (on the example of O. Lavie and W. Erlbruch's picturebooks The Bear Who Wasn't There and S. Tan's The Lost Thing)]. O Dieťati, Jazyku, Literatúre: Časopis pre Otázky Rozvíjania Komunikačnej a Literárnej Kompetencie, 7(2), 32-45.
  • Gambrell, L., & Jawitz, P. (1993). Mental imagery, text illustrations and children story comprehension and recall. Reading Research, 28, 264-276. https://doi.org/10.2307/747998
  • Gavora, P. (2006). Sprievodca metodológiou kvalitatívneho výskumu [A guide to qualitative research methodology]. Regent.
  • Gavora, P. (2010) Elektronická učebnica pedagogického výskumu [Electronic Textbook of Educational Research]. Univerzita Komenského.
  • Gunawan, A., & Suhardi, S. (2019). Thematic-integrative-based pictorial book for improving the understanding reading skills of elementary school students. Jurnal Prima Edukasia, 7(2), 150-161. https://doi.org/10.21831/jpe.v7i2.14993
  • Hartati, E., Nasucha, M., & Kusrina, T. (2025). Development of sociocultural-based reflective picture book media to improve social skills and reading interest. Journal of English Language and Education, 10(1), 167-187. https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v10i1.655
  • Hibbing, A., & Rankin-Erickson, J. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers. The Reading Teacher, 56(8), 758-770.
  • Hovland, H. & Kove, T. (2013). Johannes Jensen má pocit, že je iný [Johannes Jensen Feels Different]. Premedia.
  • Kintsch, W. & van Dijk, T. (1978). Toward a model of text comprehension and production. Psychological Review, 85(5), 363-394. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.85.5.363
  • Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. Routledge.
  • Kümmerling-Meibauer, B., & Meibauer, J. (2013). Towards a cognitive theory of picturebooks. International Research in Children’s Literature, 6(2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.3366/ircl.2013.0095
  • Kümmerling-Meibauer, B., Ommundsen, Å., & Haaland, G. (2022). Exploring challenging picturebooks in education. Routledge.
  • Liptáková, S., & Lipták, F. (2012). Dierožrút. [The Hole Gobbler]. Slovart.
  • Lohfink, G. (2015). Struggling readers „noticing” to make meaning of picture books. The Open Communication Journal, 9(1), 12-22. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874916X01509010012
  • Macurová, K. (2018). Blcha Teo [Theo The Flea]. Albatros.
  • Mayer, R. (2001). Multimedia learning. Cambridge University Press.
  • Mullis, I. V. S., von Davier, M., Foy, P., Fishbein, B., Reynolds, K., & Wry, E. (2023). PIRLS 2021 International Results in Reading. TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center.
  • Narey, M. J. (2021). Multimodal perspectives of language, literacy, and learning in early childhood: The creative and critical arts. Springer.
  • Níkleva, D. G., & Rodríguez-Muñoz, F. J. (2022). Effects of a visual literacy programme for the improvement of reading comprehension in primary and secondary school pupils. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 22(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2022.22.1.394
  • OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education. https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en.
  • Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Pantaleo, S. (2021). Student Meaning-Making of an Allegorical Picturebook in Social Studies. The Social Studies, 112(5), 217-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2021.1896464
  • Pantaleo, S. (2023). Young children, wordless picturebooks, and inferencing. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 47(2), 125-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44020-023-00053-3
  • Sadoski, M., & Paivio, A. (2013). Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203801932
  • Schüler, A., Arndt, J., & Scheiter, K. (2015). Processing multimedia material: does integration of text and pictures result in a single or two interconnected mental representations? Learning and Instruction, 35, 62-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2014.09.005
  • Serafini, F. (2011). Expanding perspectives for comprehending visual images in multimodal texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(5), 342-350. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.54.5.4
  • Serafini, F. (2013). Reading the visual: an introduction to teaching multimodal literacy. Teachers College Press.
  • Serafini, F., Moses, L., Kachorsky, D., & Rylak, D. (2020). Incorporating multimodal literacies into classroom-based reading assessment. Reading Teacher, 74(3), 285-296. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1948
  • Sheveland, D. E. (1992). Development of sheveland vividness of imagery questionnaire in grades 3–6 (ED352634). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED352634
  • Silverman, D. (2005). Ako robiť kvalitatívny výskum [How to conduct qualitative research]. Ikar.
  • Sipe, L. (2001). Picturebooks as aesthetics objects. Literacy, Teaching and Learning, 6(1), 23-42.
  • Sipe, L. (2008). Storytime: Children’s literary understanding in the classroom. Teacher’s College Press.
  • Smith, T. (2013). The vibrant triangle: The relationship between the picture and book, the adult reader and the child listener. Bookbird. A journal of International Childrenʼs Literature, 51(2), 65-70. https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2013.0031
  • Suryaningsih, F., Utaminingsih, S., Kanzunnudin, M., & Pratama, H. (2024). Development of picture story books based on living in harmony for improving students’ reading comprehension Skills. Studies in Technology and Education, 3(3), 9-18. https://doi.org/10.55687/ste.v3i3.113
  • van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Routledge.
  • van Velzen, J. (2019). (Quasi-) experimental research on teaching and the issue of assigning teachers: Towards a qualitatively driven mixed methods (quasi-) experimental design. Research in the School, 26(1), 25-34.
  • Vendel, E. & Tolman, M. (2021). Lišiačik [The Little Fox]. Stonožka.
  • Yamamoto, L. (2017). Stína [Stína]. Knižná dielňa.
  • Zwaan, R. A., & Radvansky, G. A. (1998). Situation models in language comprehension and memory. Psychological Bulletin, 123(2), 162-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.123.2.162

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.