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Running head: PICTURE BOOKS AND READING COMPREHENSION

Picture Books and Reading Comprehension in the Middle School Classroom:

A Comparative Study of Picture Books’ Potential Benefits

Madison H. Taylor

Franciscan University
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Picture Books and Reading Comprehension: A Comparative Study of Picture Books’

Potential Benefits

Introduction

Ever since I was little, books have always been a huge part of my life. I have read many

different types of books including series, text-only, and picture books. I have always been

fascinated by picture books and the beautiful graphics they contain. Picture books have helped

me comprehend stories better compared to text-only. The pictures they contain add depth and life

to the words on the page. As the words on the page tell the actual story, the pictures follow along

for support and provide students with visual details. Picture books are always thought of being

used in the early childhood setting- which is where they are used the most. But they are also used

in the middle school classroom. I always wondered what purposes illustrations in books served.

There has to be more to it than just including them for fun. Picture books must serve a purpose in

the classroom. I wanted to experiment on what the benefits are of using picture books in middle

school classrooms and how students’ comprehension is affected. Picture books can be a great

instructional tool for teachers of adolescents (Senokossoff, 2013). There are many different types

of picture books being made today, especially for the older grades. Picture books are a familiar

and well-loved tool for teaching reading. (Senokossoff, 2013).

Purpose

A continuing problem for educators in the classroom is implementing different types of

text to help improve reading comprehension for students. Images with text are thought to be used

in the early childhood setting, but they can also be used in the middle and high school settings.

There are many ways a student can benefit from reading visual texts. I want to find out if texts
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with images improve comprehension, rather than books with full text. Through research, I plan

to answer the question: what are the benefits of using picture books in the middle school

classroom, and how are students’ comprehension affected?

One of the goals I hope to accomplish is to work with a range of students to see if picture

books and text with images have a deeper effect on comprehension rather than plain texts. I also

hope to hear students explain to me why images better their comprehension or why they don’t. I

want to conduct an experiment on middle school students. Each student is given a text with

images and a text without. After reading both, I will then interview each student and conduct a

series of questions. I will ask them which text they comprehended better? What do they

like/dislike about each text? Which one was easier to read and why is that?

I think that my research will show that picture books and texts with images do improve

comprehension. I predict that the students in the experiment will choose text with images over

plain text. Through my evidence, I hope to show that students successfully comprehend texts

with images while also improving on other techniques such as prior knowledge, critical thinking,

and analyzing. I also hope to show that images help students connect the texts they are reading

with other texts, to make connections in order to get a deeper understanding of the material they

read.

Review of Literature

When it comes to reading books in the classroom, picture books aren’t the first to come

in mind regarding reading comprehension. Lubis (2018) conducted an experimental study

focusing on how picture books can help improve reading comprehension. The researcher worked

with a single student named Daniel, who is a non-reader. The experiment was conducted in the
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child’s own personal room and sometimes at the library or his classroom at school. The

methodology used for this experimental study was completed in four sessions. Each session

lasted exactly thirty minutes. The child was presented with six different types of wordless picture

books. They are The Flower Man and Anno’s Journey by Marie Rippel, Frog, Where Are You

by Mercer Mayer, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier, and

Red Sled by Lita Judge. The child then chose one book to read aloud while the researcher

observed. During the reading, Daniel was asked some questions and comments on the book he

was reading. All of his answers and discussions were recorded. The purpose of this experiment

was to see if picture books lead to better student comprehension and reading skills. The

researcher’s findings indicated that the child made sense of the stories by analyzing the visual

texts and assigned different meanings to different stories. Picture books also sparked four

different strategies that Daniel used to understand the readings. First, he used his prior

knowledge and experiences to relate to the different signs and plots in each story. Second, he

used intertextuality, meaning he referred to different texts to make sense of the one that he was

reading now. Third, he modeled active, playful behaviors. This means that Daniel responded to

the stories playfully, using sounds and facial expressions to express his understanding of

different scenes and his feelings towards the characters. Lastly, Daniel modeled multiple

perspective taking. That is, he showed his ability of understanding the characters different

perspectives by using dialogue. He did it from a third person point of view, but it was consistent.

Results indicate that reading does not start with words. As shown in this experiment, a non-

reader was able to comprehend stories without text. Picture books give children the opportunity

to create the story on their own and to incorporate their own understanding of the world to

different texts.
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The author of this article clearly demonstrated on how picture books can help with

reading comprehension. The study was put together and performed very well. Everything was

nicely organized, from the abstract, methodology, and findings. The experiment itself was

explained very well and included all of the necessary steps and information needed. One

confusing element was the conclusion. It seemed as if the author included a lot of unnecessary

information to make it confusing to understand. It can be read, after re-reading the paragraph two

to three times. If the conclusion was cut down then it would be much easier to read and process.

This article is relevant being that it’s an experimental study focusing on picture books and how

they can improve reading comprehension and understanding. This study was conducted

professionally and ended with positive results. This experiment could have been replicated

differently to be done on a group of students instead of one, to give data on a different variety of

readers and how they comprehend picture books differently. Overall, this article was very useful

and provided essential information on picture books and reading comprehension.

Picture books can be a valuable resource for teaching reading and to build students’

comprehension skills. Roslina (2017) conducted an experiment to investigate the effects of

picture books on reading comprehension and to clarify students’ thoughts on the use of picture

books in the reading classroom. The experiment was conducted on thirty students picked

randomly. The students were split up into two groups, one the experimental group and the other

the control group. The data was collected by administering a test. A pre-test was given to

measure students’ prior knowledge before the experiment, and a post-test was given at the end.

Interviews with a series of questions were also conducted at the end to get students’ perception

of picture books. After taking the pre-test, students were given picture books to read and analyze.

After having completed the book, students then took the post-test and were interviewed
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individually. Researchers findings confirmed that both groups scores improved. Pictures in

books present connections with students’ minds. This results in students comprehending the text

much easier than books that contain only text. Pictures help students comprehend words in the

text. Researchers concluded that picture story books affect students’ reading comprehension and

that their perceptions toward the use of picture books are positive. Not only does their

comprehension improve, but picture books also stimulate students’ prior knowledge and

encourages their attitude and morality. Picture story books can stimulate students’ imagination,

motivation, and creativity. They can develop capacity for self-assessment and critical thinking

skills, while most importantly creating a learning community in the classroom.

The author created a clear picture of how picture books can help improve student’s

reading comprehension. There were plenty of tables and graphs included that clearly displayed

positive results. While reading this article, some aspects of the methodology were unclear. The

data tables containing the rate percentage of the control and experimental groups were difficult to

read. The scores and how they were converted into percentage rates seemed overwhelming. This

article is relevant for my project because it states clearly that picture books do affect students’

comprehension and gives them a positive perception of books. Real-life data collected from

students is also included to provide solid support for the article’s conclusion. To help improve

this experimental study, researchers could have included the titles of the picture books read by

the participating students. That way, any educator who read the article could try the same picture

books in their classroom to see if they would get the same results as the study did. This article

was rich in solid content and research. It was very interesting to read and included thorough

research.
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While picture books are usually thought of being used in the early childhood classroom,

they also can be beneficial in middle school classrooms. Murphy (2009) explains how picture

books can be used to engage middle school students. There are several concrete reasons that

picture books are beneficial to students. First, they are short enough to be read in one class

period. Students have time after they read the book to discuss their thoughts and what details

they comprehended. Second, picture books include unique pictures that students enjoy looking

at. The pictures are colorful and appealing to the eye. Third, picture book texts include words

that are carefully chosen. Fourth, picture books are simple enough for all students to read. These

books are also great tools for English language learners to comprehend the English language.

Picture books can easily be integrated into other subjects for students to make connections, and

provides opportunities to improve oral communication. A case-study was completed on a group

of seventh graders who just completed a lesson in Social Studies focused on the Holocaust. A

pile of different picture books about the Holocaust was put out for the students to read. After

reading them, students commented on the unique illustrations and how the images brought new

insights to their minds. They were eager to read more picture books while also learning new

vocabulary and knowledge. The author’s conclusion is that picture books are effective teaching

tools in middle school classrooms. Aside from enhancing vocabulary, they also promote

independent reading and diversity in the classroom. Picture books also increased student insight

and interest in reading.

The author did a great job on providing solid examples on how picture books can help

middle school students. The information was organized and easy to comprehend. The article

itself was well written and included academic language. One aspect that was difficult to follow

was the methodology. It was hard to distinguish the type used in the case study. The author could
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have been clearer on the steps included, but after reading it a couple of times it could be

distinguished. This article is relevant for my research project because it involves middle school

students. My action research is focused on picture books for middle school comprehension. This

article also included many examples of books to be used in the middle school classroom for any

teacher’s reference. One suggestion for further improvement would be the integration of personal

interviews with the students that participated in the study. Reading students’ own personal

thoughts on picture books would provide necessary support for the use of picture books in

middle school. Overall, the article included valuable information that supports the use of picture

books for middle school students.

Picture books are defined by what they don’t contain: words. They are also called

visually rendered narratives. Serafini (2014) explains the possibilities that picture books can

bring to the classroom. These possibilities include sequential thinking, a sense of story, visual

discrimination and inferential thinking. In a case study, the author worked with a high school

teacher using the picture books Flotsam by Wiener and The Arrival by Tan. These books offered

her class a risk-free opportunity to share and discuss the visual and narrative conventions that

would help with reading of other texts. Students also gain practice of analyzing facial

expressions, gestures, settings, events, actions and motives since all of these can be extracted by

images and not text. Picture books aren’t just for young children, they are also for older readers.

Certain picture books such as Mirror by Baker can evoke social issues for middle and high

school students to discuss with their peers and teacher. The author concluded that the quality of

picture books continues to improve and evolve. Building up the skills to be able to make sense of

visual images is essential for comprehension and development in reading. Picture books allow
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students to construct diverse interpretations. With visual text, students can analyze and

reconsider their initial responses to texts they read and think with a whole new mindset.

The article is structured well. Throughout its body the author pulled specific sentences

out of the text and made them a larger font with bold color. These sentences stood out and

catches the eye, as they are important and essential to the meaning of the article. Again, the

methodology in this article was difficult to follow. It did mention that the study was done with a

high school teacher and his/her class, but there weren’t very many details to follow. The grade

level and a description of what students were chosen to participate in the study could have been

included for readers to better understand the procedure. This article is relevant because it

explains how picture books can benefit older students and how they can be used in the

classroom. Picture books are also defined in the article to give a clear definition for readers to

understand. Suggestions for further research would be to include pictures of the participating

class in the study. These pictures showing student involvement with picture books can add depth

and meaning to the article. Overall, this article was rich in information and explained how

picture books can be beneficial for older students.

Methodology
Participants
The participants for this study were two 6th grade boys and two 6th grade girls. All of

them reading at the advanced level. I will call the boys Group A and the girls Group B,

respectively. All participants are independent readers and are able to analyze images. Students

are enrolled at a local middle school located in Harrison County. These students were selected

out of convenience because they are close in location and their teacher allowed me to come in
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and do research on them. They serve as a convenience sample and do not represent the general

population.

Assessment

The assessment was conducted in a separate classroom containing only the participants

and myself. Each student was given a grade level picture book and a book that contains text only.

The picture book selected was Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir

Nelson. The text-only book was The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak. These books were

chosen because they are at the appropriate lexile level for all participants and they were brief

enough to be read in one sitting. Students were given the text only book first. After they finished,

I conducted a comprehension interview with both groups. Each student was interviewed

separately in each group. Group A was interviewed first and Group B followed. The interview

consisted of five comprehension questions and students giving me summaries of each book. The

questions consisted of: Which book did you like better and what are your reasons for choosing

it? Did the pictures in the picture book help you better comprehend the story, and if so why or

why not? Which book was easier to understand? What did you like/dislike about each book?

Which do you prefer to read more of? After interviewing each student in Group A, I then moved

on to Group B and repeated the same process with the same questions. After collecting responses

and data from the group interviews, I thanked the students for participating and returned them to

class.

Teacher Interview

Because the students’ teacher has many years of teaching experience especially in the

reading classroom, I wanted to interview her on her opinion of the use of picture books in the
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middle school classroom. I wanted to know if she used picture books in her own classroom and

for what reason. If not and she believes in text only books, what was her reason for that? For the

sake of time and her busy school schedule, I sent the questions via email so she could have

plenty of time to give an adequate and thoughtful response.

Observation

As students were reading the books, I watched their body language to see if I could tell

which book they liked better. They appeared focused and sharp on their reading. I noticed that as

they read the picture books, their facial expressions changed. They looked as if they truly

enjoyed reading the picture book. They examined the pictures very closely. Students seemed to

enjoy reading the text-only book as well, but their facial expressions and body language seemed

to favor the picture book.

Findings

My findings in my research led to clear results about the use of picture books in the

middle school classroom. Participants in both groups that I interviewed clearly indicated that

they preferred the picture book over the text-only book. The images included in the picture book

did in fact help students comprehend the story better than they would have with text-only.

Students indicated to me with the text-only book, it was difficult for them to keep track of the

plot of the story. It was a good book to read, but they lost interest halfway through it. It was also

difficult to picture the plot in their minds. If they had a set of visuals to go along with the text,

they would understand the text better. All students did comprehend the text-only selection, but

upon interviewing each group, I noticed an inconsistent flow of them describing the plot of the

story to me. Students were describing mostly the same plot, but the details were contrasting with
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one another. The contrasts were minor, but every student comprehended the text differently. The

picture book provided multiple benefits to students. Students enjoyed reading the text

corresponding with the pictures in the book. The pictures added a physical sense of life to the

story. Each group indicated to me that they appreciated the incorporation of the pictures in the

book. The pictures helped them create a visual sequence of the plot in their minds. They

comprehended the text better because the pictures described visually what the text was saying.

The picture book gave students a clear image of the plot of the story, which boosted their

comprehension. Both groups described to me that “it was much easier to read the story along

with pictures”. If the text itself confused or mislead students, they had the pictures to sort of lean

on to understand what was happening. With text-only, if students misunderstood a paragraph or

page, they wouldn’t have a second source to lean on for comprehension. Pictures aren’t the most

reliable source when it comes to providing a clear message- as many students can describe the

same picture differently. But at least with picture books students have the addition of helpful

images instead of the text by itself, which confuses students in the first place. Students

experienced more enjoyment with the picture books. The pictures made the book more creative

and physically appealing. Students preferred to read more picture books over text-only books.

They enjoyed reading them, and they comprehended them much easier. Overall, picture books

benefitted these students by having improved comprehension skills, added enjoyment to their

reading experience, provided helpful visual aids, and provided a consistent plot.

Upon interviewing the students, I also provided questions to their teacher to get her

thoughts on picture books. She agreed that picture books should be used in the middle school

classroom and also in the high school grades. She does believe that images do improve student

comprehension from a professional view. She has used picture books in her classroom and has
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seen an improvement in her students’ comprehension skills. Improvements of comprehension

include them responding to questions about the text quickly, providing descriptive details of the

story, offering their takeaways/insights, and wanting to discuss the book with their classmates

compared to a text-only book. Text-only books tend to mislead students and leave them confused

if they don’t follow closely. She told me that her students usually are bored/uninterested with

text-only books. She does believe in using picture books daily. The reading textbook that is used

in her school district includes pictures, which students enjoy being incorporated. She also noted

to mention that picture books should not be thought of being used just for children, but also

adolescents and young adults. There are many picture books out there that are mature and ranked

as high-level books for upperclassmen use. Overall, this teacher was in support of the use of

picture books in the middle school classroom. She does believe that they do help with student

comprehension, as she uses them in her own classroom and will continue to do.

Recommendations

Based on my findings, I highly recommend that teachers use picture books in their

middle school classrooms. Students enjoy reading them, while they also help with reading

comprehension. They are a great tool for English Language Learners. The pictures included in

picture books created a visual sequence for the students I interviewed. If the text did not make

sense, then the images made up for some of the details that were lost. The teacher that I

interviewed encouraged the use of picture books, as she uses them in her own classroom. Her

students enjoyed discussing the text and see how the pictures correspond with the text. As many

middle school students read more informational than visual text, it is important that students still

be exposed to images. Teachers can contribute to this easily, as one simple way is to include

some images in informational text. My research was limited, as it was only focused on middle
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school students. I only did my research on four students, two in each group. As they all favored

the picture book over text-only, that does not mean that all children prefer picture books. In one

of my literature reviews, it clearly states that students experienced no benefits from picture

books. The students who read the picture books did not like them any better than text-only

books. They found no improvement in comprehension or enjoyment. But, the majority of my

literature reviews do support the use of picture books. Students’ reading comprehension skills

have increased by the incorporation of pictures in books. Implications for further research are

finding if picture books are used in the high school setting. Do they benefit teenagers and young

adults in college? The majority of text read in high school and college is informational text. I

think it will be difficult to motivate older students to read picture books. I also think that since

technology is an important aspect in the classroom, that teachers need to find ways to incorporate

virtual picture books and images into students reading. Students should be exposed to picture

books throughout all grades, as they do help improve comprehension and cognitive skills.
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References

Lubis, R. (2018). The progress of students reading comprehension through wordless picture

books. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(1), 48-52.

Roslina, P. (2017). The effect of picture story books on students’ reading comprehension.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(2), 213-221.

Murphy, Patricia. (2009). Using picture books to engage middle school students. Middle School

Journal, 4(2), 20-24.

Serafini, Frank. (2014). Exploring wordless picture books. The Reading Teacher, 68(1), 24-26.

Senokossoff, G. (2013). Using picture books with adolescent readers to enhance literary

instruction. Reading Horizons, 52(3), 211-232.

Aggleton, J. (2016). What is the use of a book without pictures? An exploration of the impact of

illustrations on reading experience in A Monster Calls. Children’s Literature in Education,

48(2), 230-44.

Reutzel, D., R, Cooter, R., B. (2012). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the

difference. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Appendix A
Student Comprehension Interview

Group:
Date:
Book:

1. Which book did you like better? What are your reasons of choosing it?

2. Did the pictures in the picture book help you better understand the story? If so, why is

that? If not, why?

3. Which book was easier to read and understand?

4. What did you like/dislike about each book?

5. Which book do you prefer to read more of, picture books or books that are text-only?

What are the reasons for your choice?

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Appendix B
Teacher Interview Questions

1. What are your thoughts on picture books being used in the middle school classroom?

2. Do you believe in pictures and images improving students’ reading comprehension? If so,

why or why not?

3. Do you use picture books in your own classroom?

4. Do you think adolescents would enjoy reading picture books more than text-only books?

5. How often would you use picture books in your classroom? Would it be a daily

occurrence or would they be used once in a while?

6. Do you believe in the use of picture books in the upper level grades or should they be

used solely in the earlier grades?