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This school year we added a new feature to our daily lineup of student activities. Called “Picture Prompts,” these short, accessible, image-driven posts feature photographs and illustrations from The Times, and invite a variety of written or spoken responses — from creative storytelling to personal narrative to constructing an argument or analyzing what a work of “op-art” might be saying.
Teachers tell us they use these prompts to inspire student writing — whether in their journals, as a timed opportunity or to practice inferring meaning “without worrying about getting the right or wrong answer.”
They also use them with a variety of learners, from high school to middle or elementary school students to English Language Learners of all ages. As one teacher put it, she uses them “for helping teenagers to start talking to each other.”
Below, we’ve categorized the 160+ prompts we published during the 2016-17 school year based on the type of writing they primarily encourage students to do. All are still open for comment. Plus, we have a lesson plan on how to teach with Picture Prompts, along with other Times images, in case you’re looking for more inspiration.
