A Picture is Worth 1000 Questions

I’ve been researching images for a chapter in an A level physics textbook I’m writing and have come across some stunning pictures.  It happens that at the same time I’ve been talking with schools about raising literacy levels through science. It’s a great starter to a lesson – show the class a picture and invite them to suggest questions that the image raises.  You can choose whether to answer the questions yourself or bounce them around the class.  You could pick the best 3 questions and set them as a homework task. This idea is not exclusive to science lessons, of course, and it’s nothing new, but it’s a good ice-breaker for classes from age 2 to 82!  You can even use the same images with classes of different ages – the questions the students will invent might be a bit different..! Here are a couple of examples:

1. STAR TRAILS OVER CHILE

(Key stage 3-5 physics/astronomy) How was this photo taken? (Long exposure – shutter left open) For how long was the shutter open? (Ooh, not long, judging by the length of the arcs as a fraction of a whole circle of 24 hours)  Where are these telescopes? (Chile, the Very Large Telescope or VLT) Why is Chile a good place to site telescopes? (Dry atmosphere, high altitude – less atmospheric distortion) Why are the star trails all different colours? (Because stars are different colours depending on their temperature.  Blue = hot; red = cool)   The students might need a prompt, with the five Ws, plus How:

 Where?  What?  When?   Why?  Who?  How?

2. DOROTHY HODGKIN – PORTRAIT BY MAGGIE HAMBLING (Any age, any science) Who is this? (Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel prize-winning scientist) Where is this? (In Dorothy’s study at her home) Why has she been painted with 4 hands? (Because she was always so busy, doing lots of things; she also had arthritis from an early age) What is the model on her desk? (It’s a molecule of insulin, an important chemical produced by the body – people with diabetes do not produce enough) What other clues does the painting give us about her? (An avid reader and writer, proud of her achievements, engrossed in her work, living in an old house, collector of nice things on the window sill…) When was the painting made? (In 1985, when Dorothy was an old lady, but still working hard!)  

EMBEDDING LITERACY IN SCIENCE LESSONS

So, how might a picture prompt help improve children’s literacy skills?

• framing questions appropriately
• distinguishing open and closed questions
• discussing in pairs before sharing with the class
• using a range of different interrogative words (The five Ws, plus How?)
• writing down their questions
• using correct punctuation
• listening to others and crafting answers to each others’ questions

Here are some more pictures I’ve found for science lessons.  Have fun!