Skip to content
LessonPrint

What the Picture Shows You

A 30-minute Kindergarten lesson on saying what an illustration in an information book shows and what part of the text it belongs to.

What the Picture Shows You is a free 30-minute Kindergarten English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.K.7 — say what a picture in a fact book is showing you. 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:
Kindergarten
Length:
30 minutes
Standard:
RI.K.7

Kindergarten · Reading: Informational Text

RI.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

Objective

Students will be able to say what a picture in an information text shows and which sentence it goes with.

Students are successful when they can

  • Matches each part of the plant diagram to its sentence in "Parts of a Plant."
  • Places the label "roots" below the ground line and "flower" at the top.
  • Names one thing the diagram shows that the words do not, such as how many leaves there are.

What you need

  • The fact text "Parts of a Plant" (in Teach) with a labeled diagram drawn large
  • A photocopy of the diagram per pair with the labels covered, plus label cards: roots, stem, leaves, flower
  • A real potted plant, if you have one
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — labels covered

4 min
  1. Show the plant diagram with all labels covered. Ask: "What can you see?" Fish for "a flower," "leaves," "a green stick."
  2. Point below the ground line: "What is down here, under the ground?" Fish for "roots."
  3. Say: "This picture has a job. It is going to help us understand some facts."

Teach — a picture with a job

10 min
  1. Read: "A plant has roots, a stem, leaves and a flower. The roots are under the ground. They drink water. The stem holds the plant up. The leaves catch sunlight. The flower makes seeds."
  2. Uncover one label at a time. For each, ask: "Which sentence goes with this part?" Reread it while pointing: roots with "under the ground," stem with "holds the plant up."
  3. Say: "A picture with labels is called a diagram. The labels are words with lines that point."
  4. Ask: "What does the diagram show us that the words do not?" Fish for "how many leaves," "that the roots look like strings," "what color the flower is."
  5. If you have a real plant, gently tip it out of the pot and show the roots: "The diagram showed us where they are, and here they are."
“The words tell us what each part does. The picture shows us where each part is.”

Guided practice — where would the labels go?

8 min
  1. Pairs get the covered copy and the four label cards.
  2. Reread one sentence at a time. After each, pairs place the matching label on the diagram.
  3. Ask: "How did you know roots go at the bottom?" Fish for "the words said under the ground."
  4. Ask: "Where would the seeds come from?" Fish for "the flower," from the last sentence, and let a pair point to it.
“Listen to the sentence. Then put the label where the words tell you.”

Independent practice

6 min
  1. Read the text on the sheet aloud twice.
  2. Children answer what the picture would show for each part, circling the right description, or say what a diagram would need to label.

Close

2 min
  1. Point to the stem on the diagram. Ask: "What is this, and what does it do?"
  2. Fish for "the stem; it holds the plant up."

What goes wrong, and why

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

Puts the "roots" label on the leaves.

Why: The child knows the word roots but not where roots are, and spiky leaves can look like roots in a drawing.

Fix: Reread "The roots are under the ground." Ask: "Where is the ground in the picture?" Trace the ground line with a finger. Only things below it are under the ground.

Says the diagram is "just a pretty picture of a plant."

Why: Most pictures they have met in storybooks are for enjoyment, so they do not expect a picture to carry information.

Fix: Ask: "Could you find the stem without the picture?" Cover the diagram and see. Then uncover it: "The picture helps us find it."

Says "the picture and the words show the same things."

Why: The labels repeat words from the text, so the extra information in the drawing goes unnoticed.

Fix: Ask: "How many leaves does this plant have? Did the words tell us?" No, so the picture added something.

If they are not there yet

  • Label two parts only: roots and flower.
  • Use the real plant to point to each part before using the diagram.
  • Read each label word aloud with the child as they place it.

If they finish early

  • Draw and label a diagram of a tree, adding "trunk" and "branches."
  • Add an arrow to the diagram showing water going up from the roots, and explain it.
  • Find a diagram in a class fact book and tell a partner what it shows that the words do not.

Exit ticket

Point to the roots on the diagram. Which sentence goes with them?

What to look for: The roots below the ground line and "The roots are under the ground." Pointing at the leaves means the label is not yet linked to the words. A right point but no sentence means the picture is read but not connected to the text.

Printable practice for RI.K.7

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

Questions about What the Picture Shows You

How long does the What the Picture Shows You lesson take?

30 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 4 min, teach 10 min, guided practice 8 min, independent practice 6 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 Picture Shows You teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.7 — RI.K.7, Reading: Informational Text for Kindergarten: “With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).” In plain terms, say what a picture in a fact book is showing you.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

The fact text "Parts of a Plant" (in Teach) with a labeled diagram drawn large, a photocopy of the diagram per pair with the labels covered, plus label cards: roots, stem, leaves, flower, a real potted plant, if you have one 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: puts the "roots" label on the leaves; says the diagram is "just a pretty picture of a plant." and says "the picture and the words show the same things.". 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: “Point to the roots on the diagram. Which sentence goes with them?.” The roots below the ground line and "The roots are under the ground." Pointing at the leaves means the label is not yet linked to the words. A right point but no sentence means the picture is read but not connected to the text. 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 Picture Shows You?

Yes — 1 printable RI.K.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 Picture Shows You 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 RI.K.7 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.