Which aids students in constructing meaning from unfamiliar text?

Visual clues can be very helpful in aiding students to construct meaning from unfamiliar texts. These clues include illustrations, photographs, charts, and other graphical elements present in the text. They provide contextual information that often complements the written word and can help learners make inferences about the text's subject matter. For students encountering new or complex topics, visual clues can serve as a bridge to understanding, helping them to visualize concepts that may be difficult to grasp through text alone.

In contrast, while other options, such as context clues, graphic organizers, and listening activities, also play a role in helping students understand text, they operate in different ways. Context clues rely on the surrounding text to provide hints about meanings of words or ideas, graphic organizers assist in organizing thoughts and summarizing information, and listening activities focus on auditory comprehension rather than text-based understanding. Each of these tools is valuable in literacy development, but visual clues uniquely complement textual information, enhancing comprehension for those engaging with unfamiliar content.