Creating Entry Points #4: Try Using Short Texts to Spark Curiosity Using a Photo of the Week

We keep saying it because it’s true—short texts are everywhere! They are also often at our fingertips and can be consumed for free. If we want kiddos to read the world around them, we have to expand the types of texts that we ask them to read, inside and outside of school. Said another way—our kiddos deserve to read texts everyday that go beyond textbooks and test prep passages. In addition, kiddos deserve to spend their learning time doing things that boost their curiosity, creativity and ingenuity.

TRY THIS

1. Remind students that a short text is…short! Share some of your favorite examples with them. This can be a quick “short text hot read” share OR you can use a few short texts for shared reading.

2. Share this amazing photo of the week. Consider:

   • Giving students a chance to figure out the content of this photo. Instead of telling them it’s a picture of the sun’s surface, ask them to share some guesses with peers. You could say: This may look like kernels of corn, but it’s not. What is it?

   • Give students time to swap ideas.

   • Then, give students some information about the photo [share information included in the caption of the photo and/or from other information you find about the latest photos of the sun.].

   • If there’s time and interest, ask students to go on a hunt for other short texts about the sun that they could consume during independent reading time.

3. Give students time to find other photos of the day/week. There are lots of credible sources out there! Here are a few examples:

   • The Atlantic

   • National Geographic

   • NASA

   • The Guardian

   • NYT

4. Remember to give students time to share and talk about the photos they discover. This talk time increases motivation and engagement and leads to greater transfer of knowledge, skills and understandings.

SOME TIPS

• If you are an administrator or instructional coach, consider taking 5 minutes during a staff meeting or co-planning session and sharing a photo of the day/week. Teachers could:

  • View the photo of the week together and discuss their thinking in small groups.

  • Brainstorm ideas about ways photos/images could be used in the classroom to increase spark curiosity.