CCSS: Close Reading Through Infographics

I start many mornings surfing to some Twitter inspired link like this http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2013/4/26/the-importance-of-childhood-education.html

Since I am in a "close reading" frame of mind these days, I read the infographics a little more closely than I normally read.  I admit, I usually skim and scan and often miss many details - even in emails.  I suspect many readers (of all ages) do the same!   Then, I decided I needed to write about close reading and CCSS so I will call this Close Reading Part II

And then, in the quiet of the early morning, energized by fresh coffee, I had a bit of an "ahha" moment.  Infographics is certainly not a "traditional" text format but it really does support close reading as it makes you want to read and reread to clarify thinking, main ideas and details.  It might play a big part as we move towards the CCSS as readers and writers across all content areas!

So then, I looked into  understanding infographics a bit more closely over at Wikipedia and found "infographics  can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends. The process of creating infographics can be referred to as data visualization, information design, or information architecture." 

I then looked into creating a infographics at this site http://infogr.am/  and over here http://visual.ly/   I bookmarked and decided to follow Randy Krum, who appears to be a guru in this field.  While I must admit it's appears to be a scary new visual literacy, I am going to give it a try (after my cut back on technology week)!  I suspect kids will take to it like ducks to water!