Using pictures to aid learning is a terrific way to help students make connections and pick up more vocabulary to improve content learning. Elementary students aren’t the only ones who will benefit from this, as students of all ages will find help in using pictures to learn new material. These types of activities are especially helpful for insecure students or those who need access to intervention. Check out these 23 picture activities and help your students improve their learning methods today!
1. Object to Picture Matching
Especially helpful for elementary-aged students, matching pictures to objects is a helpful way to build vocabulary and visual skills. Students will gain problem-solving skills as they use reasoning to make the correct matches as the image pairs with a small object of the same thing.
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2. Photo Event Ordering
If you want to use a pre-made or make your own, this photo event sequencing activity is great for helping students make sense of something through photos or pictures. Creation of this picture activity can be as simple as printing out pictures in a sequence or even printing out photos from real life. Real photos from their own lives will help students make more solid connections.
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3. Photo Puzzle
Create enjoyable experiences as students learn to put together a puzzle of their own! You can print a picture and let them color it in or even use a family photograph. You can make the cuts to create the puzzle and let students reassemble these jumbled images.
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4. Guess the Picture
Whether you have elementary-aged or adolescent students, this will be helpful because students will see the photograph in smaller parts and they will be able to connect the word with the picture. Extend an invitation to students to make guesses as more of the photo is revealed.
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5. Look-and-Find Activity
This look-and-find activity is fun for students as they will get to be super sleuths! They are tasked with looking for the picture and matching words, as you describe it. They can then cover each item as they find it. This is a great way to expose elementary or middle school students to a ton of new vocabulary!
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6. Picture Sorts
Another great intervention method for students who struggle with vocabulary is to use sort cards. You can provide pictures and have them sort them into appropriate categories. You can use this as an introduction to new words or use it as a fast-paced activity to review and practice vocabulary already covered.
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7. Picture Matching
Another great intervention activity is this sentence-matching task. Students will match the sentence with the image by gluing a correlating picture down.
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8. Clothespin Picture Cards
Simply print and laminate these clothespin cards. The cards display a picture and a choice of three words. Students must clip the clothespin to the matching word. The outcome measures student recognition of verbs or other words used to describe the picture.
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9. WH Word Cards
Easy to print and laminate, these cards are great for encouraging oral language. This task will increase fluent language use as you and students ask and answer questions and use picture clues as an aid.
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10. True/False Picture Find
In this activity, students must answer questions based on the given image. These simple questions are perfect for students with disabilities, language barriers, or even autistic children. You could also show incomplete images and have students describe what is missing.
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11. DIY Picture Dictionary
Providing or allowing students to create their own picture dictionaries can be very helpful for students with disabilities or language barriers. It’s then easier for them to make connections by seeing the word and picture pairs.
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12. Vocabulary Picture Puzzles
Students with disabilities or language barriers will love this game! This is a puzzle game that requires students to match the word with the picture. Providing a word wall with pictures is also a helpful tool for struggling learners.
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13. Read Aloud Picture Cards
When doing a read-aloud with your students, including picture cards! These are diverse and even feature disabled children and children from differing backgrounds. These picture cards will help with vocabulary introductions and provide an easy-to-organize follow-up study of new words.
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14. Describing A Photo
If you are using intervention literature, this activity may be helpful. Include a picture that goes along with your current content and talk about the setting, action, and other important vocabularies. Have students write about the photo and describe what they see and can imagine.
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15. Same and Different Activity
When teaching new concepts, like antonyms, it’s helpful to use visual aids like picture cards. Having students match the cards to their antonyms is good for building vocabulary.
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16. Memory Match Game
Playing a memory match game with pictures is another good way to help build vocabulary recognition. This is an effective intervention strategy to use when reinforcing vocabulary terms and using pictures to help students make connections.
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17. Alphabet Books
This alphabet book activity is a great way to use a collage of images. You can provide a letter for each page and students can add pictures with the same beginning sound. This is good practice for students who are emergent readers, have intellectual disabilities, or struggle with language barriers.
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18. Verb Review
When teaching the parts of speech, you may find it helpful to use a review like this one. Use pictures to show the action of verbs. Students with intellectual disabilities or students who need more practice may enjoy using this.
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19. Lego Building Picture Cards
Rainy day materials, like this resource, are perfect for students learning how to recognize items in a picture. Students can build what they see using blocks or Lego. This fun activity is great for a bilingual or monolingual class.
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20. Picture Synonyms
If you have a student who needs practice with vocabulary, this activity is perfect! Simply provide photos or pictures that have the same meaning and let students match them. English teachers will find this helpful for learning new vocabulary terms.
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21. Rhyming Picture Cards
These rhyming picture cards are great for helping students build their vocabulary and phonemic awareness. These are great to use in the general education classroom or within an intervention program with students who suffer from intellectual disabilities.
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22. Letter Matching Picture Cards
When young English learners are becoming more familiar with sounds, this matching game provides wonderful practice. Using a systematic review of the letters and their sounds, students will become more familiar with the beginning sounds of words. This matching game has them match the picture to the beginning sound. This could also be done in a virtual setting and may need video modeling from you first.
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23. Word Card Bingo
Word card bingo is a great way to include a game in learning. This helps students relate personal experiences to the new vocabulary that they are learning from the pictures. You can play the game of bingo after the vocabulary has been learned.
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