How Visualizing & Verbalizing Helps Children Succeed in Math, Science & Beyond

When children learn language, the focus often goes to letters, sounds, vocabulary and grammar. But beneath all of that lies a more powerful skill:

The ability to visualise ideas.

Visualizing & Verbalizing® (V&V) helps children build mental imagery for what they hear and read — and this imagery becomes a thinking tool not just for language, but for every academic subject.

Imagery Makes Learning Stick

A child can decode every word in a sentence like:

“The submarine slowly sank deeper into the ocean.”

but without imagery, the meaning disappears instantly.

V&V trains students to picture:

·        The action

·        The sequence

·        The relationships

·        The cause and effect

The brain now has something to hold onto — a movie, not just text.

Why Imagery Improves Math

Math is full of relationships, not just numbers.

With V&V, children can visualise:

·        Number lines

·        Shapes and measurement

·        Fractions as pieces of a whole

·        Story problems as real scenarios

·        Steps of a procedure

This turns math into something logical and visual, not confusing or abstract.

Why Imagery Helps in Science Too

Science is built on processes and changes.

Children imagine:

·        Planets rotating around the sun

·        Water evaporating and condensing

·        Seeds growing roots and leaves

·        Energy pushing or pulling objects

Once they see the idea, they can understand and explain it.

What V&V Looks Like in Sessions

Students build imagery step-by-step:

1.      One sentence → a simple picture

2.      Multiple sentences → a scene

3.      Paragraphs → a sequence of events

4.      Stories → big-picture meaning

They describe:

·        Colours

·        Actions

·        Position

·        Emotions

·        Relationships

Therapists prompt with questions like:

·        “What do you picture?”

·        “What does it look like?”

·        “How do you know?”

Over time, prompts fade — independent visual thinking takes over.

A Confidence-Building Approach

Children who once avoided reading or couldn’t explain ideas begin to:

·        Participate more

·        Remember what they learn

·        Express thoughts clearly

·        Approach challenges flexibly

Every successful image is a small win that builds motivation.

The Big Outcome

When a child can see their thoughts:

·        Reading comprehension improves

·        Writing becomes more detailed

·        Math makes sense

·        Science becomes real

·        School becomes less stressful

Visualizing & Verbalizing doesn’t just improve language —it transforms how a child learns.

📌 To learn more about V&V and whether it’s right for your child, reach out to Total Communication and book a consultation.