Cognitive Strategies for Multimodal Interpretive Reading: A Recursive Model and Pilot Study with Upper-Secondary Students

Today’s students routinely encounter texts that combine words, images, colour and layout, such as infographics, advertisements and political cartoons, yet they are seldom taught explicitly how to interpret and evaluate them. This study offers a practical response: CoRE-M, a classroom model that gives students five clear reading strategies and a way to monitor their own thinking as they read. The model also connects reading to analytical writing, so that interpretation feeds directly into what students write. A small pilot in an upper-secondary English classroom explores how workable the model is, how students respond to different kinds of text, and whether it helps them notice where image and words disagree. The aim is a teachable approach that other teachers can try, and a firmer basis for a larger study.