|
Enrich the Curriculum
Drawing enriches the curriculum, giving children practice in managing tasks, noticing details, and developing observational skills.
Managing Tasks
Drawing instruction helps children realize that a visually complex object can be reduced to smaller, more manageable pieces.
The swan lesson, Draw Write Now, Book 1, isolates basic shapes and lines. The child realizes that they can recreate the swan by focusing on the head and neck, then directing their focus to the body and the wings. This approach to problem solving carries over into the rest of the curriculum.
 
Details
Regular drawing practice helps children notice details.
The heron in the Great Blue Heron lesson, Draw Write Now, Book 6, is basically the same form as the swan, it simply has more details. What may appear complex, is simply a task with more details.
Observational Skills
Drawing helps children observe their world. The mud in the heron drawing is a darker brown than the dry ground, and the heron's blue feathers are many shades of blue. You can model observational skills. Look for opportunities to point out the color of the evening sky, the unique shape of a leaf, or the pattern on the surface of a pineapple.
 Spatial Reasoning
Guide the child who is just beginning to draw.
Scale:
"Where should the swan's head be placed on the paper, so there will be enough room for the tail feathers?"
Proportion:
"Compare the size of the heron's head and its body. How much smaller is the head?"
Speaking and Listening Skills
Ask a child about their drawing. Drawing provides a topic to focus discussion.
Discussion:
"How many eggs did you add to the nest?"
"Did something happen to make the swan flap its wings?"
Following Directions:
"Now draw the wing. It curves up and back, but is not higher than the swan's head."
Building Vocabulary
Demonstrate the meaning of words and use descriptive words while the child draws.
Vocabulary:
"The swan's eye is in the center of the oval."
Use descriptive words -- horizontal, diagonal, curved, over, and under.
|
