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Diagrams That Explain

A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on using images — diagrams, maps and photographs — to clarify what a text is saying.

Diagrams That Explain is a free 40-minute Grade 2 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.2.7 — explain what a diagram adds that the words alone do not. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 2
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
RI.2.7

Grade 2 · Reading: Informational Text

RI.2.7

Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.

Objective

Students will be able to explain what a diagram, map or photograph adds to a text and use it to answer a question the words alone do not answer.

Students are successful when they can

  • Answers a question using only the diagram: "Which layer of fur is next to the skin?"
  • Explains what the image shows that the words do not: "The diagram shows where the blubber is."
  • Says what a diagram would need to label for a given text.

What you need

  • Text "How a Polar Bear Stays Warm" with a labeled diagram of the layers (guard hairs, underfur, blubber, black skin)
  • A simple map of a town with a lifeboat station and a beach
  • Blank diagram outline of a camel for labeling
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — words or picture?

5 min
  1. Describe the classroom door in words only: "It is near the corner, by the coat pegs, on the left." Then point to it.
  2. Ask: "Which was quicker to understand — my words or my pointing?" Fish for "pointing, you could see it."
  3. Say that images in information books do the pointing for us.

Teach — what does the picture add?

13 min
  1. Read: "A polar bear has two layers of fur. Under its skin is a thick layer of fat called blubber. Its skin is black." Ask: "Can you picture where everything is?" Most cannot.
  2. Show the diagram: outer guard hairs, underfur, black skin, blubber underneath. Ask: "Now which layer is closest to the cold air?" (Guard hairs.) "Where is the blubber?" (Under the skin.)
  3. Ask: "What did the diagram tell us that the words did not?" Fish for "the order of the layers" and "how thick the blubber is."
  4. Show the map of the town. Read: "The lifeboat station is near the beach." Ask: "How near? Which way?" Use the map: it is right next to the slipway at the end of the beach.
  5. Show a photo of a lifeboat crew in yellow drysuits. Ask: "What can you see that the text did not say?" (The suits are bright yellow, there are helmets.)
  6. Sum up: a diagram shows parts and where they are; a map shows where places are; a photo shows what something really looks like.
“After you read the words, look at the picture and ask: what does this show me that the words did not?”

Guided practice — label the camel

12 min
  1. Read: "A camel has a hump that stores fat. Its long eyelashes keep sand out of its eyes. Its wide, flat feet stop it sinking in the sand."
  2. Pairs label the blank camel outline with hump, eyelashes and feet, and write two to three words under each saying what it does.
  3. Ask: "What would a reader understand better from your diagram than from the sentences?" Fish for "where the hump is" and "how wide the feet are."
  4. Share two diagrams. Check labels point to the right part with a line.
“Every label needs a line to the exact part. Check it points to the right place.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable. One sheet asks what an image would add to a text; the other asks what a diagram of the text would need to label, together with detail questions.
  2. Remind them to imagine the picture and ask what it would make clearer.

Close

2 min
  1. Show the polar bear diagram. Ask one question only the diagram can answer: "What is between the underfur and the blubber?" (The black skin.)

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Says the diagram is "just a picture to make it look nice."

Why: In storybooks pictures often decorate, so they expect images to repeat the words, not add to them.

Fix: Cover the diagram and ask a question only it can answer. When they cannot answer, uncover it. The image carries information.

Reads the labels but cannot say what they point to: "blubber is a word on the bear."

Why: They read labels as words, not as names joined to a part by a line.

Fix: Trace each label line with a finger to its end and say "This part is called...". Then cover labels and ask them to point to the blubber.

Answers a map question from the words alone: "The station is near the beach" when asked "Which side of the beach?"

Why: Words feel like where answers live; checking the map is an extra step they forget.

Fix: Before answering, ask: "Which tells you more for this question — the words or the map?" Make them point to the map.

If they are not there yet

  • Give label cards to stick on the camel rather than writing them.
  • Use a diagram with three labels only and one question per label.
  • Read the text aloud while pointing at the matching part of the diagram.

If they finish early

  • Draw a diagram for the volcano text with magma, lava and layers, and write a caption.
  • Decide whether a photo, map or diagram would help most for a text about the fire station, and explain why.
  • Write two questions a partner can only answer by using your diagram.

Exit ticket

The text says: "A camel has wide feet." What could a diagram show about the feet that this sentence does not?

What to look for: How wide or what shape they are, or how they stop the camel sinking. "A picture of a camel": they know images help but not what this one adds. Repeating "wide feet": they need the cover-and-ask move again.

Printable practice for RI.2.7

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Diagrams That Explain

How long does the Diagrams That Explain lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Diagrams That Explain teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.7 — RI.2.7, Reading: Informational Text for Grade 2: “Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.” In plain terms, explain what a diagram adds that the words alone do not.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Text "How a Polar Bear Stays Warm" with a labeled diagram of the layers (guard hairs, underfur, blubber, black skin), a simple map of a town with a lifeboat station and a beach, blank diagram outline of a camel for labeling and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says the diagram is "just a picture to make it look nice."; reads the labels but cannot say what they point to: "blubber is a word on the bear." and answers a map question from the words alone: "The station is near the beach" when asked "Which side of the beach?". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “The text says: "A camel has wide feet." What could a diagram show about the feet that this sentence does not?.” How wide or what shape they are, or how they stop the camel sinking. "A picture of a camel": they know images help but not what this one adds. Repeating "wide feet": they need the cover-and-ask move again. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Diagrams That Explain?

Yes — 1 printable RI.2.7 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Diagrams That Explain free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RI.2.7 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.