A Digital Resource for Visual Literacy Analysis

Today’s world is saturated by images, which makes teaching our students how to read these texts all the more important.

To help your students practice this critical skill, the Teach Starter team has created this comprehensive visual literacy analysis slide deck. The resource features 20 high-quality, diverse images, each accompanied by four thoughtfully crafted questions. These questions prompt students to think deeply about the story behind the image and how visual elements like gaze, angle, color, layout and salience help shape meaning.

Some of the questions your students will encounter in this slide deck include:

• What does the positioning of the people in the image tell you about their relationship? 
• What might have happened just before this photo was taken?
• What path do your eyes follow when you look at the image?
• What do you see first when you look at this image?
• How might the people be feeling, and what clues in the image make you think this? 

This resource downloads as a Microsoft PowerPoint or editable Google Slides file. 

Read on to learn more about using this visual literacy resource with your students.

Analysis of Visual Literacy: Activities for Your Classroom

This slide deck opens up a wide range of possibilities for incorporating analysis of visual literacy into your teaching program. While the slides can be used in direct instruction, they also lend themselves well to creative, student-led learning experiences. Try using the resource in the following ways:

• Visual Warm-Up Activity – Start each day or week by projecting a new image and discussing the four questions as a class. This builds a habit of critical viewing.
• Drama Integration – Ask students to choose an image and create a short performance piece that brings the story behind the image to life.
• Art Appreciation and Creation – After analyzing the image, students can create their own artwork inspired by it, intentionally applying similar visual techniques.

These versatile applications help keep learning fresh, engaging and relevant across multiple curriculum areas.

Download to Teach Visual Literacy Analysis

Use the Download button above to access your preferred version of this visual literacy analysis slide deck. (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 makes visual literacy accessible and engaging for elementary school classrooms, while also saving teachers time with ready-to-use content.

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

More Visual Literacy Resources From Teach Starter

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

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Visual Text Techniques Teaching Slides

Teach your students about visual text techniques with this engaging presentation, which features elements like layout, gaze, salience, angle and shot.

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Visual Literacy Worksheets

Enhance critical thinking with visual literacy worksheets that guide students to analyze images, infer meaning and explore how pictures tell powerful stories.

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Visual Narrative Worksheets

Download these visual narrative worksheets that help students create and analyze their own stories using sets of images.