Introduce children to the concept of foreshadowing with movies. Choose several movie scenes from older children's films that your students most likely have not seen. Show a clip of the movie, which hints or gives clues as to what may happen next. Ask students to discuss foreshadowing techniques. Students should share what types of clues they saw that led them to think a particular event would occur next. Let students know whether they have predicted correctly or incorrectly the upcoming action. This activity works well for various age levels, based on the movies chosen.
Gather various pictures that give students a clue as to what may happen next. For example, a picture of two children throwing a ball in the living room over an expensive lamp would lead the viewer to believe that the lamp is going to get broken. Place the pictures on cardstock and ask children to gather in the middle of the room. Take turns flipping over each picture and discussing what may happen next. Finally, ask students to go back to their desks and create their own picture card that suggests what may happen next. Discuss the concept of foreshadowing and how writers use it to effectively build suspense.
Give students a mystery to solve. Either read a short story or distribute one page that includes a storyline and all of the information necessary to predict what will happen next. Show students how they can gather clues from the story that will help them figure the mystery out. Monitor students as they discuss possible scenarios with their friends. After the students have had adequate time to think, read the ending and solution aloud. Ask students to talk about how foreshadowing led them to figure out the way the story would end.
Gather various books from different genres. Cover the title with a piece of construction paper. Review how foreshadowing helps the reader stay engaged, make predictions and build suspense. Hold up the various books one at a time. Ask students to try and guess what genre the book is part of by only viewing the cover. If the students are unable to guess based on the cover alone, show them how they can read the title, flip through the pages and look at the pictures. This activity helps reinforce some of the ways to use foreshadowing techniques.