My students love doing directed drawings every year. They are basically step-by-step directions that students follow to make a picture. I like doing them as whole group kindergarten art activities that students do with me. I do each step of the drawing on our projector, and my students follow along.
We do one about every 2 weeks, and I have been keeping the completed ones this year to put them together in a book to give to families at the end of the year.
Listening and Comprehension Skills
To successfully complete the drawing, they need to listen and follow each step. This takes listening and comprehension skills that not all students have when they begin kindergarten. Using directed drawings is such a fun way to reinforce these skills and build on students’ abilities.
We never judge a student’s finished drawing – we compliment every one of them to build their confidence!
Fine Motor Skills
We use different tools when creating our directed drawings. We start off by using a pencil to outline our picture, then a black crayon to go over the lines to make them stand out. I put a huge emphasis on reinforcing fine motor skills with my students, and this is just one more way that we can work on them in a fun way!
Artistic Skills
By doing these directed drawings, we are also exposing our students to various art materials and methods. You can use crayons, oil pastels, watercolours. Whatever you have!
This is a fun way to explicitly teach how to use each material and have students explore and use it.
Where I find directed drawings
Finding directed drawings is easy – I just Google them! I can usually find one related to a topic we are learning about or the season. I just try to find one that I know my students will have fun with and isn’t too hard. The drawings should challenge them, but still be fun!
These are a few that I’ve done:
Have you tried directed drawings with your students? What’s your favourite you’ve done? Let me know in the comments!