Draw It With Shapes: Directed Drawing Unit
Category: Education / Drawing Lessons
A 4-week illustration unit for PreK to 2nd grade: 30 shape drawings in 5 levels, 20 lesson plans, slides, anchor charts and 3 mentor books.
Turn "I can't draw!" into "Look what I made!" This 4-week illustration unit teaches young writers to draw people, places, vehicles and animals using only simple shapes, then add feelings, settings, labels and sentences.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
• 1 ZIP file with 10 PDF files
• Teacher Guide: 107 pages (Color + Black and White, A4 + US Letter = 4 files)
• Student Drawing Book: 187 pages (Color + Black and White, A4 + US Letter = 4 files)
• Teaching Slides: 350 slides, 16:9, for a projector or interactive board (1 file)
• Print Guide: which file to use, how to print, terms explained (1 file)
• 644 pages and slides in all
30 DIRECTED DRAWINGS, MADE ONLY OF SHAPES
• People: me, my friend, a grown-up, a baby
• Places: castle, lighthouse, tent, tree house, store
• Nature: tree, sun and cloud, rainbow, snowman, mushroom
• Things that go: train, rocket, airplane, hot air balloon, tractor, submarine
• Animals: owl, turtle, bird, bunny, frog, bear, elephant, snail
• Treats: cupcake, pizza
5 PAGES FOR EVERY DRAWING (150 pages)
• Level 1 Trace: dotted drawing to trace and color, great for PreK and early K
• Level 2 Step by Step: 4 to 6 big numbered steps, the new shape shown in pink
• Level 2 Draw and Write: draw it, label it with a word bank, write a sentence
• Level 3 Challenge: draw it in a setting with 3 or more details and write about it
• Build It: cut out the real shapes and glue them in number order
TEACHER GUIDE (107 pages)
• Welcome, page finder, 4-week pacing guide and other ways to use the unit (2-week fast track, PreK path, centers, homeschool)
• 20 daily lesson plans: I can goal, connect, teach, try it together, work time, share, support and challenge, and the page numbers you need
• 17 anchor charts: I Can Draw with Shapes, Make It Big, Coloring Checklist, Careful or Rushed?, I Can Build a Person, Faces Show Feelings, Hairstyles, Every Skin Color Is Beautiful, warm and cold clothes, Accessories, Add a Setting, Character + Setting = Story Picture, True Colors or Creative Colors?, Label Your Picture, Draw Label Write, My 5-Star Drawing
• 3 printable mentor books: Shapes Can Be Anything!, Hair Like Mine, How Do You Feel?
• Teacher rubric, class skills tracker, 2 drawing trackers, before and after page
• 2 family letters and a Draw at Home challenge
• Certificate, illustrator crown, Illustrator of the Day badges
• Bulletin board pennant banner (LOOK WHAT WE CAN DRAW!) and gallery artist cards
• Drawing notebook cover labels and a notebook table of contents
STUDENT DRAWING BOOK (187 pages)
• Cover and Before: Draw Yourself page
• Shape and line warm-ups, Shape Hunt, What Can a Circle / Square / Triangle / Rectangle Be?
• People pages: This Is Me, Faces Show Feelings (12 feelings), Hair Like Mine (12 hairstyles), My Skin Color Recipe, Dress for the Weather, Accessories, My Family, Me and My Friend
• 150 drawing pages (5 for each of the 30 drawings)
• 30 notebook strips to glue in a composition notebook
• My 5-Star Drawing self-check, After: Draw Yourself, Drawings I Can Make
PERFECT FOR
• Kindergarten and 1st grade writers workshop, especially at the start of the year
• PreK (Level 1 and Build It pages) and 2nd grade (Level 3 pages)
• Art centers, writing centers, early finishers and indoor recess
• Homeschool art and writing
• Fine motor practice, special education and English learners
HOW TO USE
• Follow the 20 lesson plans in order, or pick any drawing on any day
• Show the slides and draw each step live with your class
• Give each student the level that fits them
• Glue the notebook strips into a drawing notebook students can use all year
HOW TO PRINT
• Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Chrome, Edge or Preview
• Choose "Actual size" or "100%"
• Normal copy paper (20 lb / 75-80 gsm) for student pages; card stock for anchor charts and books if you like
• Use the Black and White files for class copies
PLEASE NOTE
• This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped.
• Colors may look a little different on screen and on paper.
• For one teacher with their own students, or one family. Please do not share, resell or upload the files.
• Made with the help of AI: the lesson text and page content were written with AI tools and computer code, then checked by hand. All pictures are original and drawn with code from simple shapes.
Questions? Please send a message before you buy. I am happy to help!