Flashing

Students try to identify and describe the content of a picture, text, or object shown to them for only a brief moment.

Procedure

1. Flash any of the following for a brief moment: a picture, a text, a newspaper headline, or an object (e.g., fishing it out of a bag briefly). You can use paper mounted on card, or project it on screen for a moment.
2. Students identify and/or describe what they saw.
3. Encourage differences of opinion — do not confirm or reject any ideas yet.
4. Flash several more times to promote further attempts at identification and discussion.
5. Finally, show the text, picture, or object fully.

Tips

• Can also be done by displaying part of a picture or showing it out of focus, then gradually revealing more or reducing fuzziness while encouraging guesses.
• Variation: choose a picture story of about four frames. Give one frame to each group (flashed briefly). Groups reconstruct what they saw, then regroup so new groups have one member from each original group. Together they reconstruct the full sequence.
• Works well online using screen share — display briefly then stop sharing.