Art and artists
Line Safari
Go hunting for eight kinds of lines and draw one of each: zigzag, wavy, dotted, spiral and more.
Thinking sheet · Art and artists
Thumbnail Sketches
Try four tiny layouts of the same idea before drawing the big one. Artists call these thumbnails.
- Grades
- 2–5
- Time
- about 25 minutes
- Topic
- Art and artists
- Kids practice
- composition, planning, choosing
What kids do
“Small and fast! Try the same idea four ways, then pick the best one.”
- My idea:
- Four tiny layouts
- The big version of my favorite
- I picked number… because…
How to run it
- Thumbnails should take about one minute each.
- Try close up, far away, from above and off to one side.
- Illustrators do this for every page of a picture book.
Talk about it
- How were your four layouts different?
- Which one tells the story best?
- Why not just draw the big one first?
Take it further
Make thumbnails for the cover of a book you love.
Pairs well with
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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Art and artists
One Shape, Six Ideas
Six circles, six different drawings. Can a circle become a clock, a pizza and a planet?
Art and artists
Mix a Color Wheel
Color the wheel with three primary colors, mix the three in-between colors and record the recipes.
Art and artists
Warm and Cool Twins
Draw the same picture twice: once in warm colors and once in cool colors. How does each one feel?
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.