Visual Literacy Worksheets to Spark Critical Thinking

It’s true what they say – a picture tells a thousand words. While images are frequently used as accompaniments to written text, it’s also important to remember that they can tell stories all on their own. That’s why being able to interpret and make meaning from images is such an important skill.

This set of 5 visual literacy worksheets has been created by our team to give your students practice ‘reading’ images. Each worksheet features an image and a series of questions. These encourage students to look beyond the obvious and think critically about what’s really happening in the picture. They’ll analyse visual elements like gaze, angle, salience and shot, as well as the subject’s body language and facial expressions, to infer the story behind the image.

This resource downloads as an easy-print PDF or editable Google Slides file. 

Read on to learn more about using this resource in your literacy lessons!

Creative Ways to Use These Visual Literacy Worksheets 

This set of visual literacy worksheets can be used in a variety of ways to engage your students. Here are some ideas for extending your students’ learning while using this resource: 

• Group Detective Challenge –  Liven up the activity by turning it into a mystery game. Place the students in small groups, then ask them to work together to solve the mystery of what’s happening in the image using visual cues as evidence.
• Silent Conversation/Gallery Walk – Place the worksheets around the classroom at different tables. Have students walk to each station, responding to the question prompts by placing sticky notes around each worksheet. 
• Freezer Frame Drama Activity –  After analysing the image, have the students work in small groups to create freeze frames of what they think happened directly before or directly after each image was taken.

Download This Visual Literacy Worksheets PDF

Accessing your visual literacy worksheets PDF is quick and easy! 

Use the Download button above to access your preferred version of these visual literacy worksheets. (Note: If you choose the Google Slides file, you will be prompted to make a copy of it on your personal drive before opening.)

This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a teacher and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Resources to Complement These Visual Literacy Worksheets

Are you looking for more visual literacy resources to use in your English lessons? Click below for a great sample of teacher-made, curriculum-aligned activities!

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