Understanding Images

Year Level

Foundation (Kindergarten)

Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

6 students

Unit

Exploring Informative Texts Lesson 2 of 30

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Lesson Overview

WALT (We Are Learning To)

Connect images to text to help us understand information better.

Success Criteria

• Students can successfully match images to related pieces of text.
• Students engage with tactile images to support understanding.
• Students who wish to extend their learning can create a simple collage of images related to a text.

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Australian Curriculum Links

Literacy Foundation: Literature and Literacy Strand

• Recognise that texts are made up of words and images that can convey meaning together (AC9EFLR01 - Engage with different types of texts for enjoyment and learning).
• Use images and text to make meaning and understand information (AC9EFLR02 - Build meaning from texts using pictures and words).
• Respond to and interpret images in texts (AC9EFLI06 - Engage with and respond to different types of text including images and written words).
• Explore how images support the message in informative texts.

These align with the Foundation Year level of the Australian Curriculum v9 for English, focusing on students becoming early readers and viewers by exploring text and images, understanding their combined meanings, and engaging with multimodal literacy modes.

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Learning Intentions

• To understand that images in texts add information and meaning.
• To practise matching pictures to words or sentences that describe them.
• To develop visual literacy skills alongside early reading capabilities.

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Resources

• Picture cards related to a simple informative text (e.g., animals, colours, weather).
• A simple printed informative text with tactile elements like raised or textured images.
• Image-rich books or digital slides suited for Foundation students.
• Art materials: paper, glue, scissors, magazines or printed images for collage.
• Large matching board or wall space.

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Gather students on a mat for a group discussion.
• Show a short, simple informative text (could be a page about animals or a familiar environment like the park).
• Model “thinking aloud” about what the images tell us about the words and what the words tell us about the images.
• Use tactile images: invite students to touch and explore raised or textured images related to the text.
• WALT and Success Criteria shared verbally and displayed visually with images.

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2. Matching Activity (15 minutes)

• Provide each student with a set of image cards and sentences or phrases from the text.
• Working in pairs, students match the images to the sentences or information they think belongs together.
• Teacher circulates, supporting students with verbal prompts and questions such as:
• "Can you find the picture that shows this sentence?"
• "What does this picture tell you about the words?"
• For dyslexia-friendly support, use image-rich, simple text and read sentences aloud while students point to matching images.

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3. Group Discussion (5 minutes)

• Bring the group back together.
• Invite students to share some matches they made and explain why they think the image and text go together.
• Highlight and reinforce how images help us understand stories and information better.

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4. Extension Activity – Collage Making (10 minutes)

• For students who finish early or demonstrate readiness for extension:
• Give access to art materials and magazines or printed pictures.
• Ask them to select images to create a collage related to the topic of the initial text.
• Encourage them to describe their collage either verbally or through teacher’s scribing.
• Extension allows creative synthesis of text-image connections.

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5. Wrap-Up and Reflection (5 minutes)

• Recap the key learning point: images tell part of the story or information just like words do.
• Ask students to show one image they liked and say something about it.
• Encourage use of simple sentences or phrases from the text they learned.

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Differentiation

• Use tactile and textured images throughout to support sensory learners and students with special needs.
• Provide verbal reading or teacher read-aloud for students with early literacy difficulties.
• Use paired work and adult support to scaffold understanding.
• For advanced learners, offer the collage extension and encourage descriptive language use.

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Dyslexia-Friendly Strategies

• Use image-rich teaching resources with clear, simple font.
• Provide multi-sensory input: images to link with words; tactile materials to support touch.
• Short, simple sentences read aloud.
• Consistent and clear layout with plenty of white space and colours to separate activities.

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Assessment (Informal, formative)

• Observation of students matching images and text during activities.
• Listen to student explanations during sharing time to assess understanding of picture-text relationship.
• Review extension activity results for comprehension and creativity in linking images to text.

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This lesson aligns specifically with the Australian Curriculum’s approaches for Foundation students learning to read and view texts using image and word combinations, helping develop foundational literacy skills through multimodal learning experiences. It also incorporates tactile and dyslexia-friendly adaptations to maximise access and engagement for all learners. This plan supports the teacher’s brief perfectly by focusing on connecting images to text, using sensory supports, and including extension and differentiation options.