Incorporating visual materials such as photographs, paintings and other images into the language arts curriculum encourages students to read, write and discuss. Students at all levels can talk about what the parts of a picture seem to mean and how they feel about the image. Research skills can be added to the activities for older students, who can learn about the artist or photographer, or the image's context. Students can write essays and journal entries using visuals as a prompt, or do more imaginative activities such as writing a story around the picture's content, or writing a letter to the artist.
For younger learners, activities which emphasize logic and critical thinking can expand language skills and build vocabulary. Students can read or listen to part of a story and try to predict what comes next, or organize a jumbled set of sentences into a narrative. Ordering activities such as arranging lists of words in the correct order, or alphabetizing book titles also reinforces word and alphabet skills.
Students who are beginning to learn about letters and words and the relationships which create sentences can make physical models of these elements in substances such as clay, which allows them to see shapes more clearly and practice arranging and rearranging parts of words and sentences. This kind of activity especially benefits kinesthetic learners, who learn best using touch and three-dimensional tools.
Activities based on crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blank problems and jumbles offer practice not only in spelling and word formation, but also test students' general knowledge of course content. Puzzle activities can involve word or concept searches and can be designed for group or individual work, with rewards and competitions to engage students' interest and reduce classroom boredom.