It is important to remember that space helps organize information on the page so students can focus attention on specific information. Lohr, 2008, tells us that "space can direct the eye to important information by chunking and separating instructional elements" (p 272). Using two separate smart art graphics, where each one representing a different meal, has helped me to chunk the information for students. In addition, the space between the squares within the meal has chunked the nutritional information even further.
This image fits on a 8.5 x 11 inch paper and will be printed for students to compare and contrast in a discussion with peers using the nutrient and calories per day data at the bottom of the image. While some of the text seems small, it is very easy to read once printed out. I'm still torn about how to align the per day calorie and nutrient information at the bottom of the image. Currently I have it center aligned. (fixed that and put it at the top of the page instead of at the bottom.)
My original image had colorful food and drink graphics with a black and white square beneath it. My reviewer felt it would be neat to give the healthy meal a green color for "go" and the unhealthy meal and red color for "stop". I had to agree once I used the green and red fill colors for the squares. Not only does it have visual appeal, but hopefully will direct students to choosing which meal is the best for a healthy body.
Lohr, L.L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ:Pearson
