What is visual literacy, and how can it be integrated into literacy instruction?

• A. Focusing solely on printed words
• B. Understanding and interpreting visual elements (charts, graphs, maps) to extract meaning; integrate through multimodal texts
• C. Visuals are distractions
• D. Only teaching drawing skills

Answer: (C)

Visual literacy means reading and interpreting visual information—charts, graphs, maps, photographs, diagrams, and other images—to understand meaning. In literacy instruction, visuals aren’t distractions; they are essential tools that help students comprehend ideas, see relationships, and communicate ideas effectively. To integrate visuals, use multimodal texts that combine words with images, and model how visuals contribute to meaning: what the visual shows, what it emphasizes, how it connects to the written text, and what conclusions or inferences the visuals support. Have students describe visuals in their own words, justify their interpretations with evidence from both visuals and text, compare visuals across sources, and even create their own visuals to represent key ideas. While focusing only on printed words misses how visuals aid understanding, and treating visuals as distractions or teaching only drawing skills misses the broader literacy that comes from reading and analyzing images.