Build vocabulary by using photos in your classroom in your classroom. This is a great way to develop and increase reading comprehension skills because it helps to build background knowledge! Using photos from various seasons, activities, or topics, to help students to connect to new information as they read.
Why Real-Life Visuals Work
There are many ways to incorporate real-life photos into your classroom. Students love looking at visuals and especially love them if they are new or interesting. Sometimes the interest comes from the fact that they recognize or connect to something in the picture. This makes for great conversations!
We know that oral language is important for vocabulary development, building background knowledge, and developing and increasing reading comprehension. Use photos with students of all ages of students. They support the development of strong observation skills and self-awareness in students. That skill-building through photos also helps in science!
How to Use Photos in Lessons
There are so many ways to use a real image to engage your students in learning and discussion. It can be difficult to tell sometimes when you are getting to know your students which ones require more background knowledge and vocabulary support. Over time, this becomes more obvious as students develop reading skills. Every student in your classroom will benefit from this approach because you will have some who need it to develop or increase reading comprehension and some who are already fluent and need to expand their vocabulary and deepen their comprehension as texts get more difficult. These students can also use these images to infer meaning.
Use a photo of the day once a day or twice a week with added activities that help students apply what they are learning to deepen comprehension. You can use any pictures but if you are short on time I have created it all for you in this winter or spring set.
However you choose to use a picture of the day in your classroom, the options for use and differentiation for your students are vast. Have you ever used photos in your classroom? If you have, share some ways you used them. For more spring ideas, visit this book review blog post and pick up a free printable.
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