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ERIC Number: ED228610
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1982-Dec
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Right Brain: An Active Partner in Written Literacy.
Stahl-Gemake, Josephine; And Others
The human brain is composed of two interdependent systems, the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. While the left brain analyzes sequentially the phonemes of our language and names or reads words, the right brain produces the images, feelings, and associations connected with the words. Current educational systems, however, are doing little to use and nurture the potential strengths of right hemisphere involvement in learning. Curricula that stress the "3 R's" educate only one half of the brain, but children whose predominate cognitive style is right hemispheric need nonverbal visual-spatial strategies as part of their reading and writing training. A graphic configuration called a "web," a visual-spatial network with nodes and emanating lines representing the connections among ideas in our mind, has been developed to provide reading and writing activities that integrate the processing power of both hemispheres. Webs have been used to help students visualize how new information fits into their existing cognitive framework, to promote prediction of story events, to serve as advanced organizers for disabled readers, and to provide a means to build vocabulary. (JL)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Guides - Classroom - Teacher; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A