What the Illustrations Contribute

A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on explaining how a story's illustrations contribute to its mood, characters and setting.

What the Illustrations Contribute is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.3.7 — explain what the illustrations add to the mood or the characters. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:: Grade 3
Length:: 40 minutes
Standard:: RL.3.7

Grade 3 · Reading: Literature

RL.3.7

Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).

Objective

Students will be able to explain what an illustration contributes to a story's mood, a character or the setting, point to the specific feature of the picture that does it, and say whether it repeats or adds to the words.

Students are successful when they can

Names what the illustration contributes: a mood, something about a character, or something about the setting.
Points to a specific feature that does it — color, light, size, a facial expression, an object.
Says whether the picture reinforces the words (says it again) or adds to them (says something new).

What you need

Three illustrations sketched on the board or projected, as described in the Teach and Guided sections
The matching story sentences on strips
A two-column chart headed Reinforces and Adds
The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — mood without words

5 min

Show two quick board sketches with no words. Picture A: a tiny house under a huge night sky, one lit window, bare trees. Picture B: the same house in sunshine, washing on the line, a dog chasing a ball.
Ask: "How does each one feel?" A — lonely, quiet, a bit scary. B — cheerful, busy.
Ask: "What did I change to make that happen?" Collect: dark versus light, a tiny house under a big sky, empty versus things happening. Write these on the board as "Tools pictures use: light, color, size, faces, objects."

Teach — the specific thing that does it

13 min

Show the words: "Nadia walked into the old library to return her book." Ask what mood the words give. Hardly any — it is a plain sentence.
Reveal the illustration (describe or sketch): tall dark shelves leaning over Nadia, Nadia very small at the bottom of the page, one lamp, long shadows stretching toward her.
Say the mood: "It feels nervous, a bit spooky." Then point to each feature doing it: the shelves leaning in make her feel trapped; her small size makes the library feel huge; the long shadows add mystery.
Ask: "Did the words tell us any of that?" No. Write the illustration under "Adds."
Second example. Words: "Grandpa's kitchen was always warm." Picture: orange light, steam rising from a pot, a cat asleep on the windowsill, Grandpa laughing. Ask: "Did the words already say warm?" Yes — so the light and steam REINFORCE that. But the cat and the laughing Grandpa ADD setting and character the words never mention. Write it in both columns.
Name the rule on the board: "Reinforces = says the same thing again. Adds = says something new. Both count; say which."

“Do not just tell me it is spooky. Put your finger on what makes it spooky — and then tell me whether the words had already said so.”

Guided practice — the brave boy

12 min

Show the words: "'I'm not scared,' said Leo, and he started up the stairs to the attic." Sketch or describe: Leo gripping the banister with both hands, eyes wide, one foot still on the bottom step, a dark doorway at the top.
Pairs answer three questions on a whiteboard: What does the picture show about Leo? (He is scared.) What exactly shows it? (Gripping with both hands, wide eyes, one foot still on the bottom step.) Does it reinforce or add? (Adds — it even shows the opposite of what he says.)
Take answers. Point out that here the picture tells us Leo is not telling the truth, which the words alone never reveal.
Pairs then return to the library picture and add one more feature you did not mention (e.g. the book held tightly to her chest).

“Read his words, then look at his hands. When they disagree, which one do you believe?”

Independent practice

8 min

Students complete the illustrations page. Described illustrations and the passage are on the sheet.
Remind them to underline the feature that does the work in each description.

Close

2 min

Show picture A from the warm-up again. Take the mood and the one feature that does most to create it.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Names a mood with no feature, e.g. "The library picture is spooky" and nothing more.

Why: Mood is felt at a glance, before the reader has noticed what is causing it, so the cause seems invisible or obvious.

Fix: Ask them to put a finger on the part of the picture that is most spooky, then name it. Use the board list of tools (light, color, size, faces, objects) as prompts: "Is it the light? Is it how big she is?"

Says the picture just shows what happens, e.g. "It shows Leo going up the stairs."

Why: That is true and it feels like the safe answer: the picture matches the words, so it seems to add nothing worth saying.

Fix: Ask: "What does the picture tell us that the words do not?" Cover the picture and read the words, then uncover it. The difference — Leo is frightened — is the contribution.

Says the illustration adds when it only repeats, e.g. "It adds that the kitchen is warm."

Why: They have spotted the feature correctly but have not gone back to check what the words had already said.

Fix: Reread the sentence: "Grandpa's kitchen was always warm." Ask whether warm was new. No — so that part reinforces. Then ask what in the picture the words do not mention: the cat, the laughing. That part adds.

If they are not there yet

Use the library picture only, and give the mood word ("nervous"); the task is to point to two features that create it.
Provide a frame: "The picture makes me feel ___ because of the ___."
Give three features to choose from for each picture, one of which does not create the mood, and ask which two do.

If they finish early

Describe in three sentences how a second illustrator could draw the library scene to make it feel safe and cozy instead, naming the features they would change.
Write the words for a page where the picture should add something the text leaves out, then describe the picture.
Choose which of the three illustrations they would keep if the book could have only one, and argue why using the Reinforces/Adds chart.

Exit ticket

The words say: "Mia waited for her turn on stage." The picture shows Mia small at the edge of a huge dark stage, one spotlight on an empty microphone, her hands twisted together. What does the picture add, and what exactly in it does that?

What to look for: That Mia is nervous, from her twisted hands or her small size on the dark stage, and that this adds to the words. "It is scary" with no feature means the point-at-it step needs repeating; "it shows Mia on stage" means reinforce versus add needs reteaching.

Printable practice for RL.3.7

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

What the Illustration AddsRead the text, then answer the questions.

Questions about What the Illustrations Contribute

How long does the What the Illustrations Contribute lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does What the Illustrations Contribute teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7 — RL.3.7, Reading: Literature for Grade 3: “Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).” In plain terms, explain what the illustrations add to the mood or the characters.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Three illustrations sketched on the board or projected, as described in the Teach and Guided sections, the matching story sentences on strips, a two-column chart headed Reinforces and Adds and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: names a mood with no feature, e.g. "The library picture is spooky" and nothing more; says the picture just shows what happens, e.g. "It shows Leo going up the stairs." and says the illustration adds when it only repeats, e.g. "It adds that the kitchen is warm.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “The words say: "Mia waited for her turn on stage." The picture shows Mia small at the edge of a huge dark stage, one spotlight on an empty microphone, her hands twisted together. What does the picture add, and what exactly in it does that?.” That Mia is nervous, from her twisted hands or her small size on the dark stage, and that this adds to the words. "It is scary" with no feature means the point-at-it step needs repeating; "it shows Mia on stage" means reinforce versus add needs reteaching. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with What the Illustrations Contribute?

Yes — 1 printable RL.3.7 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is What the Illustrations Contribute free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RL.3.7 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.