How to Use the Illustration Unit Mid-Year

It’s January and you just got back from a lovely, long, relaxing winter break. You are recharged and refreshed and ready to see all your little learners again. They learned so much through the fall and now it is time to jump back into things. You plan a couple of days of review and then get going on your next writing unit only to realize that your students are still struggling with the basics. 

Sound familiar? Yep, I thought so. That two weeks is just the right amount of time for some of those foundational skills to begin slipping away. Or maybe, you realize that they just didn’t quite have them to begin with. And now you are wishing you would have taken it much slower at the beginning of the year and hammered home the foundations. 

But guess what, it is not too late! No matter where you are in the school year, my Illustration Unit can be plugged in and taught to enhance your student's fine motor and illustration skills. 

Already heard enough? Grab this freebie and try it in your classroom! 

How will the Illustration Unit help me teach the basics? 

This 4-week unit is designed to help your students build up their drawing, coloring, and illustration skills all while creating confident, independent learners. The unit will teach your students how to use shapes to draw the people, places, and things around them. Throughout it, you will discuss how to add details to drawings, use the proper colors, and draw illustrations with both characters and a setting. Students will be taught to use a directed drawing to draw illustrations independently. 

Drawing illustrations is a huge part of writing in the primary grades. If you’re finding that you have many students getting stuck and giving up once they get to the drawing component of the lesson, or maybe you have students who just need some extra support when it comes to their fine motor skills, this unit is perfect for you! If you have students who need even more fine motor support, take a look at these fine motor activities!

But it is right in the middle of the school year! I don’t have a month to teach this! 

The beauty of this unit is that you can adjust and differentiate as you see fit. You’ve got to do what is best for your classroom and it is likely that at this point, your students do not need a full 4 weeks to master these skills. 

I suggest choosing just 10 of the 21 lessons and focusing heavily on illustrating for just 2 weeks. Within these ten lessons, you can remind students to use shapes to draw the objects around them, that details like hairstyles and clothing are important, and that illustrations should include characters and a setting. If you have a few students who enjoy getting a little extra creative when they are coloring, the lesson on accurate versus creative colors would be a good one. 

Take two weeks, pause your curriculum, and see the huge growth your students can make using this unit. It is also super fun and engaging! Your students will LOVE learning how to draw things like parks, schools, and trucks. They will be so proud of themselves and you will be amazed by their newfound independence. It is the perfect break to amp up your writer’s workshop time and get your students excited about writing again. 

How can I get started? 

If you are thinking about grabbing this unit but not quite sure if it will fit, grab this freebie! It will take you through the first three lessons of the Illustration Unit so that you can try it in your classroom. 

If you are on board and ready to amp up writer’s workshop grab the full unit here! Then hop over to this blog post all about using the Illustration Unit in the classroom.