Drawing Lessons, Kindergarten 301

This is the third in a series of five blog posts about teaching kindergartners to draw recognizable pictures.  Drawing Lessons, Kindergarten 101 offers my ideas and materials for a directed drawing center.  Drawing Lessons 201 shares how to help kindergarteners create a booklet where they transform shapes into common objects.  Today's post, Drawing Lessons 301, is similar to the last post in that I'm describing how students create a booklet based on shapes. 

My Yummy Lunch is a whole class, directed drawing activity where children learn to draw common objects from shapes.  It is also a lesson in brainstorming and categories.  In addition, children learn the concept of overlapping, always intriguing to young minds.

Here are images of all the pages for an old copy of the booklet, My Yummy Lunch.  

You can click here for a downloadable, printable version of the entire booklet.  As you can see from this photo of the cover, it is a MUCH more professional-looking version, thanks to the modern-day wonders of Google Drawing!

The lessons for My Yummy Lunch can take place over the course of a week.  Start on Monday by reading a favorite book about lunch.  Here are a few of my favorites:

After reading and discussing the book, share YOUR copy of the booklet, My Yummy Lunch.

Yes, I do think you should share a completed copy of the booklet so the students have an idea of what they will be doing.  However, you'll want to explain that they will each be able to choose what kind of foods they illustrate and write about.  Here are some ideas, if the brainstorming needs some "lightning bolts:"

square: different kinds of sandwiches like cheese, turkey, ham, pb and j or maybe a bento box! Please notice how some of the sandwich "filling" peeks out around the perimeter of the bread.

circle: different kinds of round fruits like apples, oranges, peaches, plums, kiwi. I also have had students suggest bowls of applesauce, fruit cocktail, yogurt, and pudding.  Cookies are obvious possibilities.

triangle:  different kinds of tortilla chips, crackers, a slice of pizza, wedges of watermelon or cake.

beverage:  milk or water (nothing to color but ask them to draw a striped straw, maybe?), juice, chocolate milk, lemonade

I always proceed by having the children complete the two pages for the square-shaped food on Monday.  I have them carefully trace the square on page 1, modeling for them how to make "sharp corners." Then, on page 2, have them brainstorm the sandwich ideas as a class before choosing their crayons to color the "fillings."

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, continue to have the children complete the two pages pertaining to the next shape.  These sessions might only take 15 minutes of class time.

On Friday, the children can complete their booklet by coloring the last page to correspond with their own food choices.  I like to keep the front cover as is (no coloring) because it doesn't reveal what the book is all about.  This is a good literature concept for the class: sometimes the cover of a book makes us wonder what's inside!