During Week 3 of Term, Primary students participated in Visual Literacy workshops facilitated by Ms Natalya Hawrylak from The Literature Centre in Fremantle.

The interactive sessions comprised of reading story books with students while investigating the illustrations through Ms Hawrylak’s careful questioning, active movements and vocal expressions.

The visual nature of these sessions appealed to the young students. Year 3 student, Archer Kidd said, “I enjoyed solving the mysteries, and it made you think.”

Medha Kadaparalla, another Year 3 student, also enjoyed the session saying, “I liked when she told the story with actions, and it helped us learn new things.”

With the sessions focusing on the illustrations of the books to tell the stories, students who do not necessarily read as much are more engaged. “Students remember the images and then the story as they build a connection to the story. In such a visual world, ‘Visual Literacy’ plays an important part in understanding what does the image in front of us mean,” said Ms Hawrylak.

When asked what she looked forward to most with these sessions, Ms Hawrylak said, “It’s that ‘light bulb’ moment when students start to put all the clues together, and then they realise what is happening, and what is going to come next. They love spotting the differences that each student saw or did not see. When they start to put those clues together, it is such a special moment.”

“A lot of people do not realise how much goes into a picture book, and how in-depth authors and illustrators think the picture through. It’s a total art you wouldn’t believe!”