Ninth‐Grade Students’ Use of Graphical Representations in Social Studies Writing

Abstract

Graphical representations are frequently used but normally not explicitly taught in social studies. The authors explore how to utilize the often unused potential of disciplinary graphical representations in student writing by offering insight into a Norwegian ninth‐grade classroom where students were scaffolded to use such representations. The authors scrutinized how these students invented connections between modes as they combined and transformed different representations in their texts. The authors found high density but not necessarily critical use of visuals. Texts designed with spatial and linear structures integrated visuals and verbal differently. The students’ main challenges concerned cohesion, redundancy, and utilization of modal affordances to communicate their message to a particular audience. To build students’ graphical literacy in social studies over time, the authors recommend overt instruction with model texts, critically framed with an emphasis on affordances and functions, and giving students opportunities to use this knowledge in a social studies practice.

(Info)Graphically Inclined: A framework of infographic learning

“…Thacker et al (2019) discussed how elementary social studies teachers might engage their students in studying and creating infographics. Others have proposed infographic or graphical representation lessons in middle and high school as a way to present research or writing (Staurseth & Haland, 2019; Yearta et al, 2018). We build on the existing scholarship to offer infographic instruction, mentor texts, and examples that could be used by elementary and middle‐grade teachers.…”

“…Lamb et al (2014) observed that “a strong infographic depicts multiple layers of related information and data, often densely, displaying deep interrelationships among variables and ideas” (p. 27). Teachers and students can examine how these multiple layers work together to convey meaning and critically deconstruct model infographics (Lamb et al, 2014; Staurseth & Haland, 2019; Yearta et al, 2018). Table 1 includes the guiding questions that may be used when analyzing infographics.…”

“…As with traditional writing, using mentor texts can be extremely helpful as students begin their own infographic creations (Dorfman & Cappelli, 2009; Fletcher, 2011). Staurseth and Haland (2019) noted that it is important to provide a range of visually dominant and print‐dominant mentor texts, as these examples will likely influence how students construct and design their own products. Teachers might show students how to create an infographic like the example in Figure 2 that was modeled after infographics in Animals by the Numbers (Jenkins, 2016).…”

“…Infographic instruction has been implemented in recent years, often in science courses at the middle school, high school, or university level (Davidson, 2014;Fowler, 2015;Gebre, 2018;Lamb et al, 2014;Saunders, Horrell, & Murray, 2018). Additional scholarship includes infographic comprehension and composition within a ninth-grade social studies class studying migration (Staurseth & Haland, 2019) and language arts students making connections between To Kill a Mockingbird and contemporary social justice issues (Yearta et al, 2018). There is less scholarship, however, on infographic instruction at the elementary level (e.g., Thacker, Stoddard, & van Hover, 2019).…”