Making Predictions in StoriesActivities & Teaching Strategies
Making predictions in stories works best when students interact with text and pictures in active ways. Talking, drawing, and moving let young learners test their thinking in real time, which strengthens comprehension and builds confidence early in the year.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify clues in text and illustrations that suggest future story events.
- 2Formulate predictions about upcoming story events based on textual and visual evidence.
- 3Justify predictions by citing specific words, phrases, or details from the story.
- 4Analyze how a character's described traits or actions might influence plot developments.
Want a complete lesson plan with these objectives? Generate a Mission →
Think-Pair-Share: Prediction Practice
Read a story page aloud. Students think alone for 1 minute about what happens next and note one clue. In pairs, they share predictions and evidence, then report one class prediction on the board.
Prepare & details
Predict what might happen next in a story based on given clues.
Facilitation Tip: During Think-Pair-Share, set a timer so both partners have equal turns to speak and listen.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Story Prediction Chart: Whole Class
Display a picture book. Pause at key points for whole class predictions on a shared chart with columns for 'Prediction' and 'Evidence.' Reveal the page and discuss matches or surprises.
Prepare & details
Justify your prediction using evidence from the text or illustrations.
Facilitation Tip: On the Story Prediction Chart, model using a different colored marker for evidence than for predictions to help students visually separate the two.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Character Role-Play: Small Group Predictions
In groups, assign character roles from a story. Students use traits to predict and act out next events with simple props. Groups perform for class and justify choices.
Prepare & details
Analyze how a character's personality influences potential future events.
Facilitation Tip: For Character Role-Play, assign clear roles so every student contributes a prediction and a reason.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Illustration Clue Hunt: Individual then Pairs
Give students story illustrations. Individually, they write or draw a prediction. In pairs, swap and find evidence to support or change the partner's guess.
Prepare & details
Predict what might happen next in a story based on given clues.
Facilitation Tip: In Illustration Clue Hunt, have students circle clues directly on printed images to make connections visible.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Teaching This Topic
Teach predictions by modeling your own thinking aloud during read-alouds, pausing often to point to text and pictures. Avoid rushing to the next page before students have time to share their ideas. Research shows that young readers benefit when teachers explicitly name the type of clue they are using, such as a character’s speech or an object in the illustration.
What to Expect
Students should clearly state what they predict will happen next and point to specific clues from the story or pictures to explain why. Clear speaking, listening, and reasoning show that predictions are based on evidence, not random guesses.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Think-Pair-Share, watch for students who make predictions without explaining their reasons.
What to Teach Instead
Guide students to use the sentence frame 'I predict ___ because ___' during partner talks. Circulate and prompt with 'Which word in the story or detail in the picture helped you?' to refocus their reasoning.
Common MisconceptionDuring Illustration Clue Hunt, watch for students who ignore visual details and rely only on text.
What to Teach Instead
After the hunt, ask students to share one clue they found in the pictures and one clue from the words. Hold up illustrations and ask, 'What does this face tell us?' to draw attention back to visual evidence.
Common MisconceptionDuring Character Role-Play, watch for students who act out characters exactly as people would in real life.
What to Teach Instead
Before the role-play, review character traits on the board and ask students to predict how their character would behave based on those traits, not real-life rules. Afterward, have peers give feedback on whether the actions matched the clues.
Assessment Ideas
After Illustration Clue Hunt, provide a single illustration showing a character in a new setting. Ask students to write one sentence predicting what happens next and one sentence naming the clue from the picture that supports their prediction.
During Think-Pair-Share, pause at a key moment in the read-aloud. Ask students to turn to a partner and share one prediction and one piece of evidence from the text or illustration. Listen for clear reasoning and note students who struggle to justify their ideas.
After Story Prediction Chart, show an illustration of a character looking sad after an event. Ask, 'What do you predict might happen next because the character is sad? What in the picture makes you think that?' Encourage students to use the word 'evidence' when sharing their ideas.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge advanced students to make two predictions at key moments in the story and explain which clue from the story or picture is stronger.
- Scaffolding for hesitant students: provide sentence stems like 'I predict ____ because I see ____ in the picture.'
- Deeper exploration: After finishing a book, invite students to create a new ending based on predictions and illustrate a new final scene.
Key Vocabulary
| prediction | A guess about what will happen next in a story, based on clues. |
| clue | A piece of information from the story, like words or pictures, that helps you make a prediction. |
| evidence | The specific words or pictures from the story that support your prediction. |
| illustration | A picture in a book that helps tell the story and can give clues. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for Language Arts
ELA
An English Language Arts template structured around reading, writing, speaking, and language skills, with sections for text selection, close reading, discussion, and written response.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
More in The Magic of Narrative and Story Elements
Character Journeys and Traits
Analyzing how characters respond to challenges and how their traits influence the story's direction.
3 methodologies
Setting and Atmosphere
Investigating how the time and place of a story impact the mood and the events that occur.
2 methodologies
Retelling and Sequencing Events
Developing the ability to summarize a story by identifying the beginning, middle, and end.
3 methodologies
Identifying Main Idea in Stories
Students learn to identify the central message or lesson of a story.
2 methodologies
Problem and Solution in Narratives
Students identify the problem characters face and how they resolve it.
2 methodologies
Ready to teach Making Predictions in Stories?
Generate a full mission with everything you need
Generate a Mission