Go Slow to Go Fast: Pause The Illustration Unit and Start with Scribbling!

Kindergarten teachers are generally prepared for anything at the beginning of the school year. Both academically and behaviorally, our students come in all over the place. You may have spent the whole summer meticulously planning the beginning of the school year hoping to start right off the bat with my Illustration Unit. Only to discover that much of your class cannot hold a pencil or draw straight lines. Don’t panic, remember that sometimes you need to go slow (or very slow) to go fast later! 

Instead of pushing your students into a unit they aren’t ready for, take a week or two and work on their fine motor skills! Use my Preschool Drawing Unit to embrace the scribble and encourage creativity. 

How do I know if my students need this? 

If the majority of your students are struggling to hold a pencil, draw lines and closed shapes, or generally are struggling with basic fine motor skills, I would pause the Illustration Unit and take time to focus on those skills. 

If you have students struggling to find confidence and creativity, the Scribble Scrabble Preschool Unit may also help you! You’ll read my mentor text, Scribble Scrabble to encourage students to create stories out of scribbles. Throughout the book you’ll see various scribbles be turned into beautiful and creative drawings. Then, your students will have the chance to do this themselves. They’ll learn to embrace the imperfect while becoming artists. 

What will my students learn that will help them be successful with drawing and writing? 

There are a few key concepts that students will practice throughout this unit. Some students may have naturally caught onto these skills while others may not have had the practice time necessary to do so. Others may have larger development concerns regarding fine motor skills and may need more support. In any case, this unit will take you and your students through the keys to drawing development. 

First, you’ll walk through the basics, scribbling up and down and side to side. You’ll discuss making scribbles into art and using them to tell stories. Then, you’ll talk about using the right colors. Throughout these lessons, you’ll have opportunities to help your students hold pencils correctly and give them time to strengthen those fingers! 

After that, you’ll begin to focus more on some skills that are so important to writing! You will begin teaching about curved and straight lines. Although these may seem like simple skills, they can be very challenging for students and practice is important. Once they begin to master these skills they’ll be able to draw shapes and eventually letters! 

Finally, your little scribblers will have the chance to draw their own pictures and stories using scribbles and lines! Their creativity can truly come out here and it is the perfect segway into the Illustration Unit! 

Now that they have practiced these key concepts students will be much better prepared for the Illustration Unit and much better prepared for writing down the road. 

Do I have to take the full two weeks to do this? 

Although the Preschool Drawing Unit is set up to take two weeks, ultimately teachers know their class best! You may notice that your students only need practice drawing curved lines, or maybe they just need encouragement with creating their own illustrations. You could easily pick one or two lessons out of the unit to complete. You could also take five days to complete the unit, stacking lessons together or skipping ones you feel your class has already mastered! 

Will it be hard to go back and start this when I have already planned to start the Illustration Unit? 

Something that I strive for when I create ALL of my units is easy, print-and-go lessons that teachers can do without lots of prep! Although it is important to know the goals of your lessons and where you are ultimately headed within the unit, this is something you could pick up in the 20 minutes you have before the kids come in and teach that very same day! 

You can purchase the mentor text, Scribble Scrabble here! And click here to see everything included in the Preschool Drawing Unit!