Did you know that visual literacy is an extremely important component of developing strong reading skills?
Our readers live in an increasingly visual world, so being able to study, read and explore images with a critical lens is more important that ever! Visual literacy is closely connected to critical thinking, a skill which we can develop in many playful ways. Incorporating opportunities to develop visual literacy across our curricular instruction is important, and consistency helps!
It's been a while since I have shared any of my little visual literacy challenges.
These are a great way to get your class *playfully* thinking about pictures, making connections and thinking critically and creatively - whilst obviously incorporating some imaginative drawing too.
While these activities can of course be carried out independently, the best learning connected to these challenges is found within the talk and discussion that emerges from the children, such as:
justifying what they can see
sharing what they have drawn
explaining their choices
comparing the creations with friends
presenting their creation to the class
Extend the playfulness:
Pair the children and invite them to sit back to back. Pass out the visual literacy activity page and ask the children to complete the picture. When finished, they then turn, talk, compare, discuss and reflect with their partner. Are there any differences or similarities in what the children drew or saw?
Print the challenge on A3 paper and invite the children to complete the challenge in pairs or small groups!
Download the latest pack (includes 20 challenges):
If you are new to my website, you might like to download previous visual literacy packs: