The role of semiotic resource complexes in emergent multimodal reading processes: Insights from a young student’s reading of a comic book

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.