A Simple and Stress Free Way to Add Some Holiday Cheer Into Your Classroom
It’s that time of year, when you are trying to get in the holiday spirit, have some fun with your students, and also FINISH ALL THE THINGS.
You are juggling the standards, and the assessments while also trying to provide your students with a bit of holiday fun. It is so difficult and can also feel like such a high-pressure, challenging situation. It is easy to just throw out the fun and stick with the bare minimum as you chug through the most exhausting weeks of the school year.
My monthly themed directed drawings are EXACTLY what you need to provide your students with some holiday spirit and cheer while also keeping your sanity and not having to go overboard on the prep.
What are directed drawings?
Directed drawings are simple, step-by-step instructions for students to follow as they learn to draw people, objects, and places! Although there are many different formats and types or directed drawings, mine are created with young students in mind. Once you teach your students how to use them (grab my Illustration Unit for more extensive drawing instruction) they can easily complete these independently!
How are they useful? What do they teach students?
Oh, I love this question!! They do so many things for young students!!
- They provide fine motor practice. Whether they are drawing shapes, straight lines, or coloring, it gives students a chance to hone in on their handwriting skills.
- They give students a chance to practice following step-by-step instructions. Students will not be able to complete these drawings without following each step in order. If they skip steps or go too fast, they won't come out right! Students will need to go slow and carefully as they work through these!
- They teach them to create objects and places out of shapes and lines! We have all had students who really struggle with drawing. They are constantly asking how to draw this or that. This is an easy and excellent way to help your students gain some confidence and drawing skills.
How do you use them in the classroom?
As I mentioned earlier, once students are taught how to use them, they can be totally independent activities!
Here is what I would do. First, make sure you walk through how to use them. Maybe do one or two as a class before asking them to complete it independently.
Then, choose how you want your students to complete these! Each directed drawing bundle comes with five different options. You’ll find one sheet that has just the step-by-step instructions and one with the basic instructions and a large place for drawing. Two of the options include lines so that your students can write sentences about their drawings.
I’ve also included a way for you to easily print the drawing instructions and put them on a binder ring so that with a little prep you can have centers your students can complete anywhere.
Students can do these as an independent center during reading rotations or as a fast-fisher activity at any point in the day!
I LOVE using these throughout the entire year. Switch them out each month and you’ll have a little bit of festive fun without a whole bunch of prep work!
How can I get started?
Grab the December Bundle here!! These are such a great way to celebrate the holidays and have some fun without adding another craft or too much more chaos to an already crazy month.
If you LOVE the December Directed Drawings and would like more, save big and grab my Monthly Directed Drawings with Shapes Bundle!
If you are looking for even more drawing instruction, check out my Illustration Unit! This is a great way to help your students in the early stages of writing. You can read my blog about how to use it mid-year here!
