Abstract
In this article, I present a young student’s (age 6) multimodal reading of an Incredible Hulk comic book in order illustrate the concept of a semiotic resource complex and explore its role in emergent reading. I define a semiotic resource complex as a conglomeration of individual semiotic resources that have been brought into relation with one another through the process of making meaning. This article illustrates how Jeremy used and accessed several different types of semiotic reading resources from multiple modes, assembling these in the construction of semiotic resource complex that enabled his interpretation of the comic. This look at how semiotic resource complexes play a role in multimodal reading processes lends insight into how students create meanings multimodally as they read, the role that teachers can play in facilitating this process - as well as pedagogical considerations related to maximising students’ meaning making potential while reading through the synergistic combination of resources from multiple modes.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Azripe, E. & Styles, M. (2003). Children reading pictures: Interpreting visual texts. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Bezemer, J. & Mavers, D. (2011). Multimodal transcription as academic practice: A social semiotic perspective. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14(3), 191–206.
Bjorkvall, A. & Englbom, C. (2010). Young children’s exploration of semiotic resources during unofficial computer activities in the classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10(3), 271–293.
Bromley, H. (2000). ‘Never be without a Beano!’: Comics, children and literacy. In H. Anderson & M. Styles (Eds.), Teaching through texts: Promoting literacy through popular and literary texts in the primary classroom (pp. 29–42). London: Routledge.
Bromley, H. (2003). Putting yourself in the picture: a question of talk. In E. Azripe & M. Styles (Eds.), Children reading pictures: Interpreting visual texts (pp. 147–163). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Burn, A. & Parker, D. (2003). Tiger’s big plan: Multimodality and the moving image. In C. Jewitt & G. Kress (Eds.), Multimodal literacy (pp. 56–72). New York: Peter Lang.
Callow, J. (2006). Images, politics, and multiliteracies: Using a visual metalanguage. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 29(1), 7–12.
Chan, E. & Unsworth, L. (2011). Image-language interaction in online reading environments: Challenges for students’ reading comprehension. The Australian Educational Researcher, 38(2), 181–202.
Chandler, P. (2010). Not always as it first seems: Thoughts on reading a 3D multimodal text. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 18(1), 11–18.
Crawford, P. & Hade, D. (2000). Inside the picture, outside the frame: Semiotics and the reading of wordless picture books. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 15(1), 66–80.
Daly, A. & Unsworth, L. (2011). Analysis and comprehension of multimodal texts. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 34(1), 61–80.
Dyson, A.H. (2003). Popular literacies and the ‘all’ children: Rethinking literacy development in contemporary childhoods. Language Arts, 81(2), 100–109.
Firestone, W.A. & Herriott, R. (1984). Multisite qualitative policy research: Some design and implementation issues. In D.M. Fetterman (Ed.), Ethnography in educational evaluation (pp. 63–88). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Flewitt, R. (2006). Using video to investigate preschool classroom interaction: Education research assumptions and methodological practices. Visual Communication, 5(1), 25–50.
Glesne, C. (1999). Becoming qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
Heath, C., Hindmarth, J. & Luff, P. (2010). Video in qualitative research: Analysing social interaction in everyday life. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Jewitt, C. (2007). A multimodal perspective on textuality and contexts. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 15(3), 275–289. London: Taylor & Francis.
Jewitt, C. & Oyama, R. (2001). Visual meaning: A social semiotic approach. In T. van Leeuwen & C. Jewitt (Eds.), Handbook of visual analysis (pp. 134–156). London: Sage.
Kress, G. (1997). Before writing: Rethinking paths to literacy. New York: Routledge.
Kress, G. (2003a). Interpretation or design: from the world told to the world shown. In M. Styles & E. Bearne (Eds.), Art, narrative, and childhoood. Stoke on Trent, UK: Trentham Books, pp. 137–152.
Kress, G. (2003b). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge.
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. London: Routledge.
Mackey, M. (2003). ‘The most thinking book:’ Attention, performance and the picturebook. In M. Styles & E. Bearne (Eds.), Art, narrative, and childhood (pp. 101–113). Stoke on Trent, UK: Trentham Books.
Marvel Comics. (2005). The Abomination! Marvel Age Hulk 4. New York: Marvel Comics.
Mavers, D. (2007). Semiotic resourcefulness: A young child’s email exchange as design. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 7(2), 155–176.
Mavers, D. (2009). Student text-making as semiotic work. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 9(2), 141–155.
Mavers, D. (2011). Children’s drawing and writing: The remarkable in the unremarkable. London: Routledge.
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: The invisible art. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press.
Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mills, K. (2011). ‘I’m making it different to the book’: Transmediation in young children’s multimodal and digital texts. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(3), 56–65.
Pahl, K. (2001). Texts as artefacts crossing sites: map making at home and school. Literacy, 9(2), 41–155.
Pahl, K. (2003). Children’s text-making at home: Transforming meaning across modes. In. C. Jewitt & G. Kress (Eds.), Multimodal literacy (pp. 139–154). New York: Peter Lang.
Pahl, K. (2009). Interactions, intersections, and improvisations: Studying the multimodal texts and classroom talk of six to seven-year-olds. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(2), 188–210.
Ranker, J. (2006). ‘There’s fire magic, electric magic, ice magic, or poison magic’: The world of video games and Adrian’s compositions about Gauntlet Legends. Language Arts, 84(1), 21–33.
Ranker, J. (2007a). Designing meaning with multiple media sources: A case study of an eight-year-old student’s writing processes. Research in the Teaching of English, 41(4), 402–434.
Ranker, J. (2007b). Using comic books as read-alouds: Insights on reading instruction from an English as a second language classroom. The Reading Teacher, 61(4), 296–305.
Ranker, J. (2009). Redesigning and transforming: The role of semiotic import in young students’ uses of composing resources while learning to write in English as an additional language. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(3), 319–347.
Siegel, M. (1995). More than words: The generative power of transmediation for learning. Canadian Journal of Education, 20(4), 455–475.
Stake, R. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Styles. M. & Bearne, E. (Eds.). (2003). Art, narrative, and childhood. Stoke on Trent, UK: Trentham Books.
Unsworth, L. & Cleirigh, C. (2009). Multimodality and reading: the construction of meaning through image-text interaction. In C. Jewitt (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of multimodal analysis (pp. 151–163). London: Routledge.
van Leeuwen, T. (2005). Introducing social semiotics. New York: Routledge.
Vasquez, V. (2003). What Pokemon can teach us about learning and literacy. Language Arts, 81(2), 118–125.
Walsh, M. (2006). The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 29(1), 24–37.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ranker, J. The role of semiotic resource complexes in emergent multimodal reading processes: Insights from a young student’s reading of a comic book. AJLL 37, 151–160 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03651944
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03651944