Reading Strategy of the Week

Picture Walk

A picture walk is an activity that takes place before reading a story. It involves the reader in making a prediction about what the story is going to be about based solely on the pictures. Making a prediction before reading sets a purpose for the reader. This purpose is to read in order to find out whether or not the prediction is correct or incorrect and why. Please remind your child that a prediction is only a guess, and it is okay if their prediction is incorrect. Here are the steps for using this strategy:

  1. Select a story that your child will enjoy.
  2. Tell your child that before you both begin to read you are going to take a picture walk and predict what the story is going to be about by just looking at the pictures.
  3. You and your child should look at the pictures on the cover of the book and discuss what you both see.
  4. Turn to the first page and discuss what you both see.
  5. Repeat step four for every page in the story.
  6. When you have completed the picture walk, ask your child to make a prediction about what he/she thinks the story is going to be about using the pictures to help.
  7. After a prediction is made, ask your child which pictures helped with their prediction and why.
  8. Tell your child that now it is time to read the story in order to find out if the prediction is right.
  9. After a couple of pages, discuss whether or not the prediction is right, wrong or don’t know yet.
  10. After your child is able to confirm or disconfirm the prediction, discuss why it was correct or incorrect using information from the picture walk as well as from the text.

Happy reading!

Mrs. Malinowski