How to Differentiate While Teaching the Illustration Unit
Picture this, it’s the first day of school. You are a kindergarten teacher and are now in charge of twenty little humans who have never had to sit on the carpet and listen to a teacher, let alone follow that teacher's instructions. Now it’s time for them to color their perfectly prepped, super cute, first day of kindergarten crowns. It is all going according to plan until you realize that six of them can’t hold a pencil, one will only use the color blue, another is coloring so slowly it will take them all day to finish, and two more are sitting at their desks crying because they “don’t know what to do”. Now, in your head, you are thinking, “How in the world am I supposed to start curriculum tomorrow!?”
My apologies if I just gave you a bit of PTSD…
The first few weeks of kindergarten are… well… they are insane. And that insanity is made much more insane when you know an intense curriculum is coming but you also have students on drastically different levels developmentally. Some are reading and writing already, some cannot spell their name, and some can’t hold a pencil.
I’ve created this one-of-a-kind Illustration Unit specifically designed to help give your students a strong foundation for writing at the very beginning of the school year. The 4-week unit is filled to the brim with easy, print-and-go lessons that teach your students the basics of drawing and the foundations of writing. You can read all about how it looks in the classroom or grab this freebie to try it with your own class!
Now, you may be thinking, all of this sounds really lovely except how can I start a unit when so many of my students need so much extra support with the fundamentals? Throughout this post, I will take you through all the ways that this unit can be differentiated to meet the needs of ALL your students.
Teach it slow…
The first thing to note about this unit (and all my units!) is that my philosophy is, teach it slow. If you are starting this unit on day 3 or 4 of the school year, you are not only focusing on teaching students how to draw a person using shapes, but also how to follow one-step directions, hold a pencil, and recognize shapes. Don’t rush through the lessons, take your time and do what you feel is best for your students. This alone will help you feel much less frantic when all your students are in different spots.
As you work through each lesson, if you notice the class as a whole struggling with a concept, stop and take the time to reteach. For example, if you begin drawing people using shapes and then notice many of your students struggling to draw the diagonal line needed to make a triangle, don’t skim over it! That is a fundamental skill needed to move successfully through the unit and to draw both illustrations and letters. Instead, stop, model, and practice! Slowing down now will pay off big time in the future.
I am teaching it slowly, but I still have students who cannot follow the directed drawings!
Following multi-step instructions is often a new skill for kindergarten students. Each year I have a couple of students who need their paper differentiated with a yellow highlighter. I draw the picture for them and they trace it! This allows them to practice and helps ease the frustration when they aren’t quite able to draw each shape. These students may also benefit from manipulating shapes with their hands for a few extra days while the rest of the class begins drawing them. We want learning to draw and write to be fun, so meet them where they are developmentally!
I also include several different options for each direct drawing so that you can provide your students with materials they will be most successful with!
Help! I have a student who cannot hold a pencil!
There are a few different ways that you can help this student grow and engage in the lessons. The differentiation needed is very dependent on the individual's fine motor abilities so here are a few tips that may help!
- Use pattern blocks! This will help students begin to recognize how different shapes can create new objects and also give them a different way to strengthen those fine motor skills. Then, once the student is ready to draw you could begin with tip number two.
- Similar to what I mentioned above, you could draw the illustrations for them in highlighter and then help them to trace the shapes. This works well if the student needs practice holding the pencil but hasn’t gained the strength and skill to draw independently yet.
- You could also try the cut-and-paste option! With each directed drawing I’ve included a cut-and-paste option. Maybe students are getting very frustrated and struggling to draw their own shapes but they are better at cutting. Allow them to use this option for a few lessons to help them build confidence and strengthen their fine motor skills.
Remember to work on holding a pencil and fine motor skills at different points throughout the day, not just during the writing block! Tearing paper is one of my favorite ways to help build those skills. I have a huge bundle of tear art activities!
If you have a student or two who are still struggling and you think even the above strategies will be overwhelming for them, I have a big bundle of prewriting activities you could try. I suggest differentiating the lesson and giving them one of these worksheets in place of the directed drawings.
Okay, this unit seems AMAZING! How can I learn more about what’s included?
This unit is a game-changer! You will be so glad you started the year off building these skills. You can read more about how the unit looks in the classroom and what is included here!
If you want to give it a try but aren’t quite ready to make the leap, download my free version here! Then, save this link because you’ll want to grab the full version when you finish!
