Drawing in Writer's Workshop

We have been working hard AND having fun in Writer's Workshop. 

One of our absolute favorite parts of the day!

To watch 22 of my little kindergarten friends {all with very different strengths, needs, personalities, and interests} be so focused, engaged, and excited during workshop time is BEYOND REWARDING!

Our first unit focuses on drawing...

During the workshop framework we...

read great mentor texts

have a mini lesson about a specific drawing strategy

 practice the skill in our Doodles and Drawings book 

{which is ALWAYS connected to our mini-lesson}

have time to draw things that interest us

{which may or may not connect to that day's mini-lesson, but gives us an opportunity to grow as writers}

We will be wrapping our drawing unit this week and having a fun writing celebration! 

We've learned a great deal and have a lot to celebrate. 

The students have learned about...

drawing with different tools

and how to take care of those supplies

drawing lines

Madilynn and I stopped by the classroom and she found our roll a doodle bin and couldn't wait to play! :)

drawing faces that show emotion

practicing specific steps or tricks to make drawing easier

working on how to fill the white space and add details

adding speech bubbles

drawing animals

 learning from our peers

studying craft choices that authors and illustrators make 

and SO much more!!!

Several of the students have loved their doodle book so much that they made extra copies to doodle in during free choice or at home! :)

Teachers - you can grab your Doodle Book at TpT:

or stop by the Literacy and Laughter Facebook Page to a flash giveaway. :)

To see other Drawing ideas check out this board:

I am excited to celebrate with my growing writers and their families this week... and look forward to watching them grow throughout the year! 

Doodles and Drawings

I absolutely love starting off the year in writer's workshop by teaching drawing. 

Last year I created a Doodles and Drawings book to help capture student learning and growth.

 While it accomplished things that I wanted - to ensure each student attempted a skill that was modeled in the mini-lesson and to have an organized collection of drawings from our first unit. BUT... it also accomplished a lot more...

students were SUPER proud and excited about their drawings - eagerly asking what they'd learn about next to add to their Doodles and Drawing book. Several students also made extra doodle and drawing books to use during free choice! 

Parents {absolutely adored} these collections of doodles and said they'd would treasure them for years to come! :)

Check out how I use this resource in my classroom by clicking HERE! 

Check it out at TpT here:

Grab your students Doodle books for less than $2 during the TpT sale! {Use promo code BTS14}

We {heart} Pigeon!

My growing artists are feeling great about their growth in drawing and writing. 

I am SO proud of them all!

Check out the beautiful Pastel Pigeons they created after reading all of Mo's (awesome!) Pigeon books. 

Want to teach your students how to draw Pigeon just like Mo Willems?

Click HERE for directions!