Transmediation in the Language Arts Classroom: Creating Contexts for Analysis and Ambiguity

When a language arts curriculum provided students with the opportunity to translate meaning across sign systems (that is, from poetry to dance), numerous benefits were noted. Transmediation, the translation of meaning from one sign system to another, led students to analyze compositional structures and to enhance their use of academic language across disciplines. Excerpts of teacher and student conversation around multiple artistic modalities and discussion of student written work are included in the findings presented.