No matter the season, we all hit points in the school year when things feel harder. Our energy runs low, students feel less focused, and creating engaging lessons becomes more challenging.
That’s why today I want to go back to a strategy that is powerful, flexible, and easy to implement: Picture Talk.
But instead of doing Picture Talk just once in a while, let’s rethink how it can become a regular part of your class—across different levels, with very little prep, and with more student involvement.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through five specific ways to use just one image to guide an entire week of meaningful, student-centered lessons.
And if you’d like to try it without having to start from zero, I created a free Spanish lesson with a compelling image and reading about pets during natural disasters—a great option for Earth Day or any time you want to connect language and the real world.
Download it here
Why Picture Talk Still Works—Even When the Year Feels Long
Here’s why I continue to use Picture Talk—even when energy drops:
- It brings curiosity and visual support, which helps with engagement
- It allows for comprehensible language in context
- It connects easily to any subject.
- It can be used across levels, simply by adjusting your questions and language.
- It keeps prep simple while still offering lots of input and interaction
If you’re working on any unit, Picture Talk can easily become part of your cycle of activities—offering listening, discussion, reading and structured follow-up.
Let’s walk through the five ways you can stretch one image throughout your week, while keeping it meaningful and manageable.
1. Start With a Class Story
Choose a compelling image that shows something happening or about to happen. For example, in this free lesson I’m sharing with you, there is this photo of a scared dog during a storm.
Use that image to ask questions:
- There is a dog.
- How is the dog?
- What’s the name of the dog?
- Where is the dog?
- Does the dog have a family?
- Where is their family?
- There is water. Why? What happened?
- What does the animal want?
- Who helps?
- What happens next?
Students can answer out loud, or in small groups using whiteboards. If your students answer some questions in their common language, you can accept their ideas and rephrase them in the target language—that way, the input stays in the target language.
Once you build the story with your class, you can:
- Co-write the story together
- Read it as a class
- Retell it the next day
- Illustrate the story
- Act it out in groups
- Answer comprehension questions
2. Use the Image Before a Reading or Audio
If you already have a text or listening activity planned, use the image to support comprehension before students begin reading or listening.
Here are three ideas:
➤ Make Predictions
Give students 5–6 statements related to the image. Let students work in small groups and decide if they think the statement will be true or false. Once they read the text, they can come back to their predictions and check their answers.
➤ Ask “I Wonder…” Questions
In Episode 47 of Growing With Proficiency The Podcast, Chelsea Lawrence shared one of my favorite activities. Using a compelling image, have students work in pairs or groups of three and write 6 questions they wonder about the image.
They might ask:
- Who is the dog?
- What happened to it?
- Is there a person helping?
- Did the animal survive?
Even novice learners can do this if you offer support (like question word posters or sentence starters). Later, they look for answers in the reading or listening text.
➤ Try a Memory Game
I learned this game from AnneMarie Chase. She used art work but images will be fine too. Show the image for 1 minute. Take it away. Now ask 10 questions or make 10 statements about what they saw. They respond with true or false, or give specific answers.
Then, you show the image again and students check their answers. This is a great opportunity to describe the picture one more time. Students will be very engaged since they are checking their answers. It’s such an easy way to provide input using an image and that input will be connected to the reading or audio preloading many of the structures and vocabulary needed.
3. Co-Write a Text With Your Class
You can also use an image to describe what happened. You can engage in some questions and answers with the students using the image as a prompt.
After the discussion, you can co-write a text about the image using “Write and Discuss,” where the teacher writes on the board while students help create the text.
During this time, I:
- Model writing in the target language
- Reinforce grammar features depending on the level
- Highlight details like connectors or sentence structure
Once the text is complete, you can:
- Read it together
- Illustrate it
- Create comprehension questions
- Use it as input for future writing tasks
This activity works at all levels and helps students see how ideas become organized in writing.
4. Adapt the Image for All Your Classes
If you teach different levels, you don’t need different materials. You just need to adjust the language and the type of questions.
Let’s take the same image of the scared dog in the storm:
In Spanish 1 you might ask:
- “Is the dog alone or with someone?”
- “Is it happy or scared?”
- “Is it day or night?”
In Spanish 3, you could ask:
- “What type of natural disaster is this?”
- “What are the consequences for pets during disasters?”
- “What would you do if you saw an animal in that situation? What would you do if your pet gets lost during a disaster?”
This allows you to:
- Reuse one prep across levels
- Be more intentional about the language you use at different levels and therefore create better questions.
This also supports differentiation and builds confidence, because the topic stays familiar while the language increases in complexity.
5. Extend With Real-World Connections
Once the image has been discussed, turn the focus to your students.
Here are a few ideas:
- Ask students to bring in or find a related image and describe it
- Create a mini-poster with a short description and two questions
- Research local shelters and write about how animals are supported during emergencies
- Brainstorm actions people can take to protect animals during natural disasters
In my lesson, I include a reflection about how we can care for pets during events like hurricanes or fires. It opens the door to real conversations—and real communication. You can use that full lesson in Spanish here: growingwithproficiency.com/mascotas
Final Thoughts
A single image can do much more than fill a few minutes of class time.
It can:
- Spark curiosity
- Provide strong visual context
- Lead to listening, speaking, reading, and writing
- Build classroom routines that feel manageable and familiar
- Create space for student ideas and real-world connections
And when you build it into your regular planning, Picture Talk becomes a sustainable tool, not a one-time activity.
If you’d like to try it without extra prep, feel free to download the free Spanish lesson about animals and natural disasters here: growingwithproficiency.com/mascotas
Let me know how it goes or tag me @claudiamelliott on Instagram. I love seeing how you bring these ideas to life in your classroom.
