Authored by:
TeacherVision Staff
Last edited: November 15, 2019
Use a School Readiness Activity to provide early literacy thinking experiences for preschool children that will prepare them to do well in the early grades.
Grades:
Subjects:
Nature Drawing and Labels
Purpose/Skills- To use pictures and words to represent objects from nature
- To use fine-motor skills
- To connect language arts and science
Materials
Pictures of natural settings, small pictures of plants and animals (cut out of magazines), paper, crayons, glue
Read Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Aronsky, or any other book about nature.
Vocabulary
| draw | nature |
| plants | grass |
| animals | trees |
| rocks |
Warm-Up
- Explain nature as everything outdoors that wasn't made by people--such as plants, rocks, and animals.
- Take a walk outside to look at plants and trees, or look at pictures of plants and trees. Have the children name and describe them.
Procedure
- Read the book or flip through it and talk about the nature pictures.
- Ask the children to make a nature drawing and label the plants and animals. If children need encouragement, ask them to think about what they saw in the book or on their nature walk.
- Teacher Tip: Some children will feel comfortable scribbling to represent words; others will want to know what letters to use. Work with each child at his or her own comfort level.
Provide notepaper and some small pictures of plants and animals, perhaps cut out of magazines. Encourage children to write notes and decorate them with the nature pictures.
Observation Assessment
- Proficient - Child is comfortable drawing a plant or animal, and may write some scribbles, letters, or a name as a label.
- In Process - Child tries to draw pictures and may write some simple scribble marks.
- Not Yet Ready - Child is not yet ready to attempt writing.
