Fun & Easy Directed Drawing for Kindergarten with Free File

Published: April 16, 2024
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Are you currently using directed drawings in your classroom? Seeing a student steadily gain confidence in their drawing skills is pretty magical. Drawing, especially directed drawing, is more than just fun; it’s a vital tool in our teaching arsenal that helps kids grow in so many ways.

Directed drawings are a fun way to strengthen those fine motor muscles while sparking each student’s creativity. It is also an easy way to incorporate activities related to following directions in the classroom.

Today, I’m excited to share why incorporating directed drawing into your classroom can be a game-changer. These are great for not just kindergarten, but also first grade students.

Directed drawings can be used as a center activity or an early finisher task. The best part? Directed drawings are easy to get started!

What Are Directed Drawing Activities?

Directed drawing is a structured yet creative activity where children are guided, step-by-step, through drawing specific subjects. In a classroom setting, a teacher typically demonstrates each step visually and verbally while students follow along with their own drawings. This method helps children learn how to create a recognizable image and provides a clear framework to express their creativity.

Why Are Directed Drawing Activities Significant for Little Learners?

Directed drawing activities are great for kindergarten and first-grade students for several reasons:

Development of Fine Motor Skills: Directed drawing helps young children improve their fine motor strength and coordination. They hone the small muscles in their hands and fingers as they grasp pencils and learn to control their movements to form lines and shapes. This development is crucial as it supports other essential tasks such as writing, cutting, and typing.
Following Instructions: These activities teach children to follow step-by-step instructions and pay attention to detail. Each step in a directed drawing session builds upon the previous one, requiring children to listen, understand, and apply what they’ve learned.
Boosting Creativity and Confidence: Directly drawing provides structure but leaves room for creativity. Children can add unique touches to their artwork, choose different colors, use various supplies, or add background options. This freedom encourages creative thinking and problem-solving. As children complete their drawings and recognize the shapes forming familiar objects, their confidence grows. They feel a sense of accomplishment in creating something recognizable!
Visual and Spatial Awareness: Children learn about spatial relationships through directed drawing as they place objects on paper. They understand size, perspective, proportion, and critical visual perceptual skills. Have you ever seen a student draw a picture of their house and their whole picture is just 1 inch tall…LOL?
Emotional Expression and Relaxation: Drawing can be a calming activity that allows children to express their emotions visually. For many young learners, it provides a peaceful break from more rigorous academic tasks, which can help manage stress and boost overall mental health.

Does Research Support the Use of Directed Drawing Activities?

Here is some research on why you may want to include directed drawing activities in your classroom:

Directed drawings can be valuable in enhancing kindergarten students’ learning experiences. Research has shown that drawing can significantly improve children’s creativity (Ernawati et al., 2022).

Improving Children’s Creativity Abilities Through Drawing Activities in Kindergarten

Ernawati, E., Aini, N., Lukmawati, L., & Hastuti, T. (2022). Improving children’s creativity abilities through drawing activities in kindergarten. Tematik Jurnal Pemikiran Dan Penelitian Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 8(1), 33.

When Should You Use Directed Drawings?

One of my favorite things about directed drawing is how flexible you can be in using them.

Directed Drawing Center Activities

You can add these step-by-step directions to your writing, drawing, fine motor centers, or even your art center. You can add a variety of writing papers and art supplies and you are good to go!

I often saw students refer to the drawing directions during our writing time. I would see them hop over to the writing center to see how to draw something. Then, they would add that image to their own paper. Easy… and yes, your students are building their confidence in their drawing abilities at the same time.

Morning Activities

Directed drawings make a great morning activity. My directed drawing unit includes different themes, but they are also differentiated so you can have your young artists also work on phonics skills.

These are be differentiated by student skills and needs.

Early Finisher Activities

Create a few fine motor journals that students can grasp when they have completed their work. This open-ended art collaboration is an easy peasy way to add a purposeful drawing activity to your early finisher bins. Throughout the school year, you can rotate a different theme or two into those bins. You can even add dry-erase boards to the bins if you want to keep the photocopies down to a minimum.

EACH PHONICS SET INCLUDES

A step-by-step directed drawing set of images
6 to 8 different response options

Picture with drawing and word practice
Picture with word practice and simple lines
Picture with word practice, handwriting lines, and a writing checklist
Picture with word practice and “find the word,” and simple picture
Notebook or Journal version of the directed drawing
Writing center version of the directed drawing

EACH THEMATIC SET INCLUDES

Picture with drawing practice
Picture with sentence practice and simple lines x 2
Picture with sentence practice, handwriting lines, and a writing checklist x 3
Notebook or Journal version of the directed drawing
Writing center version of the directed drawing

Beginning Sound Directed Drawing Word List:

APPLE, APRON, BALL, BUTTERFLY, CAKE, CAT, DONUT, DRESS, ELEPHANT, ENVELOPE, FISH, FLOWER, GIFT, GLUE, HAMBURGER, HOUSE, ICE CREAM, IGLOO, JAM, JELLYFISH, KING, KITE, LADYBUG, LION, MILK MOUSE, NECKLACE, NEST, OCTAGON, OCTOPUS, PENCIL, POPCORN, QUEEN, QUILT, RAINBOW, ROBOT, SNAIL, SOCK, TABLE, TREE, UMBRELLA, UNDERWEAR, VASE, VOLCANO, WATCH, WATERMELON, XRAY, YO-YO, ZOO

CVC Directed Drawing Word List:

CAT, BAT, BAT, MAT, HAT, BAG, FAN, VAN, CAN, PAN, JAM, CAB, BED, WEB, GEM, DEN, HEN, MEN, PEN, TEN, JET, NET, PET, VET, BIB, KID, LID, BIN, PIN, TIN, KIT, PIG, WIG, LIP, ZIP, SIX, TOP, MOP, POP, LOG, DOG, HOG, ROD, COT, POT, COB, BOX, FOX, BUG, MUG, TUX, SUB, TUB, BUD, DOG, CUP, SUN, HUT, NUT, BUS

CVCe Directed Drawing Word List:

CAKE, BAKE, RAKE, TAME, CAGE, VASE, CAPE, TAPE, FACE, CANE, MANE, CAVE, GAME, GATE, DATE, FIVE, HIVE, KITE, RIDE, HIDE, FILE, MICE, RICE, BIKE, NINE, PINECONE, WIPE, FIRE, TIRE, LIME, HOSE, ROSE, NOSE, BONE, CONE, DOVE (not a long o sound), VOTE, NOTE, RODE, DOME, HOME, ROBE, WOKE, ROPE, HOLE, CUVE, TUBE, HUGE, CURE, MUTE, FUSE, DUNE, JUNE, TUNE, MULE, RULE, FUME