Skip to content
LessonPrint

Pictures and Words Together

A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on using illustrations and words together to understand characters, setting and plot.

Pictures and Words Together is a free 40-minute Grade 2 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.2.7 — put the pictures and the words together to explain the story. 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:
RL.2.7

Grade 2 · Reading: Literature

RL.2.7

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Objective

Students will be able to use information from an illustration and the words of a story together to describe a character, setting or event.

Students are successful when they can

  • Names one thing the picture shows that the words do not: "The picture shows it is snowing."
  • Uses a picture clue to describe how a character feels.
  • Uses words from the text to picture a setting when there is no illustration.

What you need

  • A picture book page projected with its words covered, then uncovered
  • The story "The Kite" (in the Teach section) with a teacher's sketch of Leo on the hill
  • A two-column chart: "The words tell me" / "The picture tells me"
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — picture walk

5 min
  1. Show a picture book page with the words covered. Ask: "Where is this? Who is in it? How do they feel?"
  2. Collect answers from the picture alone.
  3. Uncover the words and read them. Ask: "What did the words add? What did the picture add?"

Teach — two sources of clues

13 min
  1. Read: "Leo held the string tightly. The kite pulled hard. 'Don't let go!' called Grandpa." Ask: "Where are they? What is the weather?" The words do not say.
  2. Show your sketch: a hill, dark clouds, Leo's hair blowing, a worried face. Ask: "What does the picture tell us?" Fish for "on a hill," "it is windy," "stormy clouds," "Leo looks worried."
  3. Fill the chart. Words: Leo holds the string, the kite pulls, Grandpa calls. Picture: on a hill, windy, clouds, Leo is worried.
  4. Ask: "How does Leo feel? Which source told you?" Fish for "worried — his face in the picture, and the words 'held tightly'". Both sources together.
  5. Now read with no picture: "The rock pool was full of tiny crabs and green weed. Tess knelt on the slippery, wet rocks." Ask the class to picture it and describe it. Say that the words can paint a picture in our heads too.
“Read the words, then read the picture. Put the clues together to understand the whole page.”

Guided practice — what does each add?

12 min
  1. Show a second picture book page (or a sketch: a girl in a kitchen, flour everywhere, a flat loaf, a frown). Read the words: "Ada opened the oven door."
  2. Pairs fill the chart: words — she opened the oven. Picture — the bread is flat, there is flour everywhere, she is unhappy.
  3. Ask: "What happened in the story that only the picture tells us?" (The bread did not rise.)
  4. Pairs then read a short setting description with no picture and draw a quick sketch from the words, labeling which words gave each part.
“Point to the word or the part of the picture that gave you that clue.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable. One sheet asks what a picture would add to a story; the other asks them to use details in the words to work out what a scene looks like, along with setting and sequence questions.
  2. Remind them to imagine the picture and name the words that create it.

Close

2 min
  1. Show one sketch from a pair. Ask the class: "Which words in the story did this come from?"

What goes wrong, and why

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

Looks only at the picture and makes up a story that the words do not support.

Why: Pictures are quicker to read than words, and younger books relied on pictures, so the picture wins.

Fix: Ask for one clue from each column before any answer. "What do the words say?" comes first.

Ignores the picture and says "The story doesn't say" when the picture shows it.

Why: Reading now means words to them, and pictures feel like decoration for younger children.

Fix: Ask a question only the picture can answer, such as "What is the weather?" Show that the picture is part of the story.

Draws a setting from imagination, not from the text: a sunny beach when the words say "slippery, wet rocks."

Why: They draw what they like or what a beach usually looks like, not what the words describe.

Fix: Ask them to label every part of the drawing with the word that gave it. Parts with no word are guesses.

If they are not there yet

  • Use pictures with one strong clue, such as a big frown or heavy rain.
  • Ask one question at a time: "Where?" then "How does she feel?"
  • Give the chart with the "words" column already filled.

If they finish early

  • Draw a picture for a page of text that adds one thing the words do not say, and explain the addition.
  • Find a picture in a class book that disagrees with or surprises the words, and explain the effect.
  • Write the words for a wordless picture book page so they add something the picture does not show.

Exit ticket

The words say: "Mia walked home." The picture shows rain, a broken umbrella and Mia frowning. What do you know from the picture that the words did not tell you?

What to look for: Rain, a broken umbrella and that Mia is unhappy or cross. "She walked home": only the words used. "She was happy to play in the rain": imagining beyond the picture. Feelings plus weather with the clue named is secure.

Printable practice for RL.2.7

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

Questions about Pictures and Words Together

How long does the Pictures and Words Together 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 Pictures and Words Together teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7 — RL.2.7, Reading: Literature for Grade 2: “Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.” In plain terms, put the pictures and the words together to explain the story.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

A picture book page projected with its words covered, then uncovered, the story "The Kite" (in the Teach section) with a teacher's sketch of Leo on the hill, a two-column chart: "The words tell me" / "The picture tells me" 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: looks only at the picture and makes up a story that the words do not support; ignores the picture and says "The story doesn't say" when the picture shows it and draws a setting from imagination, not from the text: a sunny beach when the words say "slippery, wet rocks.". 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 words say: "Mia walked home." The picture shows rain, a broken umbrella and Mia frowning. What do you know from the picture that the words did not tell you?.” Rain, a broken umbrella and that Mia is unhappy or cross. "She walked home": only the words used. "She was happy to play in the rain": imagining beyond the picture. Feelings plus weather with the clue named is secure. 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 Pictures and Words Together?

Yes — 1 printable RL.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 Pictures and Words Together 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 RL.2.7 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.