One of the skills that is key to most aspects of literary analysis is inferencing skills. And trying to add that skills practice into any ELA class as much as possible is always a goal! Here’s an option using images to practice inferencing skills with your secondary ELA students.
Focused Skill Practice
I embed inferencing skills practice everywhere in English courses from grade 9 all the way through grade 12. It might start as an introduction to the skill in grade 9 but practicing and refining the skill in later grades is also important.
If you need an ‘easy’ way to focus on this skill on any class day – bell ringer, minds on, mini-lesson – then look no further than this quick image reveal activity.
Image Reveal Activity – How To
Show students an image (it can either in print or on screen) and part of the image is covered. Then ask students two questions:
- What is happening in this photo?
- How do you know?
Students study the image and use clues to infer what’s happening. This can be done as a mini think-pair-share, a jot note on a stick note, or even just mentally without documenting.
This might look/sound like comments about:
- the bright lights
- what might be a structure around the top of the man but it’s open air
- the position of his arms
- where he appears to be looking
- the shirt he’s wearing in terms of style.
And then students who might have some knowledge of sports, particularly soccer/football, might infer that this is a soccer player in a stadium about to kick a ball.
For some this might be a tough leap. For others with background knowledge it wouldn’t be. And that’s the thing with inferencing! Background knowledge plays a significant role here but so too does observation and asking the right questions and this is where I try to focus the practice for this particular skill. Again with the two simple questions: what is happening? how do you know?
Try to vary the photo options from easy to difficult and have students build their way up. The image above might be a mid-level option depending on your students (you know them best so decide accordingly).
Image creation – how to
These photo reveal activities are an easy way to practice. Plus, I love the hunt for images. You can type random words into free photo source sites such as Pixabay or Unsplash or even Canva for educators, if you have access (it’s FREE check it out!). Look up keywords such as “drama” or “comedy” or “funny image” to unearth options. Then you can glance through and see what might work if part of the image is hidden.
To hide the images you can add them to two sequential slides in programs such as Canva, PowerPoint, or Google Slides, and then overlay the first image with a filled-in shape to hide a specific part of the image before revealing it on the next slide.
To help you out, download a slideshow with FOUR READY-MADE IMAGES, including the one above, for you to use in your classroom. They range from easy to difficult so you can see where your students are in their skill set at any time of year. This could even be used as a diagnostic at the start of a course.
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