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Not long ago, I walked around a middle school classroom and made note of decorations on students鈥� binders. The girls, in particular, had drawings and magazine cut-outs depicting the actors from the Twilight series movies. Later I noticed the same types of images decorating student lockers. I marveled at the popularity of the books, and as a reading teacher, I was delighted to see kids interested in reading. I was impressed by how connected they felt to characters in a story. Then I realized something. The students may not feel connected to the characters, but to the actors playing the characters.
I鈥檓 reminded of that today because, even though I鈥檓 fighting it for all I鈥檓 worth, I鈥檓 losing my own personal image of my favorite character from series. I鈥檓 losing Katniss. I鈥檓 trying to hold on to the protagonist I鈥檝e known for over two years. I鈥檝e tensed every muscle through her battles. I鈥檝e had nightmares over her struggles. And now I鈥檓 trying to hold on to how I鈥檝e pictured her, but I鈥檓 losing 鈥� because she鈥檚 gradually being replaced in my head by an actress.
As a reading teacher, I encourage my students to visualize the descriptions in the books they read鈥攚hat my principal calls 鈥渢he movies in their heads.鈥� While reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I could see Katniss. She became a friend during those books鈥攐ne I felt I actually knew, one I missed when I put the books down.
But now that a major studio is making a movie based on The Hunger Games, I鈥檓 inundated with pictures of Jennifer Lawrence, the beautiful and talented actress playing Katniss. My Katniss is not quite so beautiful. Instead, she鈥檚 tough. She鈥檚 dirty. And she doesn鈥檛 have pouty lips as perfectly shaped as the bow she carries. In short, Jennifer Lawrence doesn鈥檛 look anything like the Katniss of my imagination.
I worry about our students鈥� imaginations dying out, becoming extinct from lack of use (like we鈥檝e been warned about our pinky toes). I鈥檝e asked students about the novels, which many have read. Do they have their own version of the character Edward or do they default to Robert Pattinson, the actor who plays Edward in the movie? They enthusiastically shout that Pattinson is their Edward. Who needs an imagination when the media so conveniently supplies the details? And just think of it: Is there anyone in the world who doesn鈥檛 see the actor Daniel Radcliffe when they hear the words 鈥淗arry Potter鈥�?
As teachers, we must make an explicit effort to design lessons that foster our students鈥� imaginations:
鈥� We have to model the transformation from the author鈥檚 description to the reader鈥檚 idea of what that world looks, sounds, and feels like: 鈥淗ow is Katniss described by the author? What does she look like to you? Let me tell you how I pictured her when I read it 鈥� .鈥� If we鈥檙e lucky, every student鈥檚 rendition is a little different, every imagination taking the author鈥檚 words in slightly different directions. Hopefully, we can get ahead of the movies and video games, and ahead of the music videos that interpret the songs for our students so they don鈥檛 even have to bother. Hopefully, we can teach them first to think and imagine for themselves.
鈥� Besides modeling for students by sharing our own thoughts and images, it is also important for students to be exposed to genres that veer away from the world they know: fairy tales, fantasy novels such as and , and dystopian novels that are all the rage now like , , and, yes, The Hunger Games.
鈥� Read-alouds can be good for the imagination, too, since they prevent students from rushing through the author鈥檚 words at breakneck speed (or, for younger students, focusing too much on the illustrations in the book). By asking students to listen, we can give them time to craft those 鈥渕ovies in their heads.鈥�
鈥� And it鈥檚 critical that we give students the opportunity to write their own fantasy stories and to talk about the things they imagine.
There are things we can do in our personal lives, too, to prepare children to love imaginative acts, including the act of reading. As parents, it鈥檚 important that we allow time for play. There are so many opportunities for our children these days鈥攆rom soccer to basketball to ballroom dance鈥攖hat they can be overscheduled until there鈥檚 no time to 鈥渏ust pretend.鈥� We can encourage play by taking part in it. There鈥檚 nothing more fun than being 鈥渢he patient鈥� in a pretend doctor鈥檚 office, a 鈥渃ustomer鈥� in a pretend restaurant, or a 鈥渟tudent鈥� to a 5-year-old teacher.
Hopefully, that 5-year-old will grow up to be the kind of reader who has already made many 鈥渕ovies in her head鈥� before she sees her favorite characters (her own Katniss or Edward) on the big screen.
