This article explores the ways in which transmediation (Suhor, 1984), the translation of meaning from one sign system into another, can support students in developing their confidence and capabilities as readers. The author, a 10th grade English teacher, details a literature workshop (Blau, 2003) unit in which students worked collaboratively to develop reading strategies, utilizing the arts as a central means of comprehending text. This approach to reading instruction, refined over the course of three years, mixes art-making with metacognitive reading comprehension strategies as students create a variety of informal and formal multimodal texts in response to literature. By creating artistic renderings of their readings, students gained windows into their own reading processes and the reading processes of their peers. The author argues that infusing multimodal elements into reading instruction can support students in becoming aware of their own transactional reading processes and empower them to tackle challenging texts.