Exploring Growth Drawing

Lesson Overview

In this 45-minute lesson for Year 3 students, learners will develop observational drawing skills by sketching plants or animals that show growth. This lesson is part of the "Art of Change: Growth" unit (Lesson 2 of 9). Students will focus on details and textures to better capture their subjects' essence, enhancing their ability to observe closely and represent natural growth in visual art.

Australian Curriculum Links (Version 9)

Learning Area: The Arts - Visual Arts

Strand: Visual Arts Practices

• Use materials, techniques, technologies and processes to explore visual conventions when making artworks (ACAVAM111)
• Use visual language to communicate ideas, experiences, observations and imagination in artworks (ACAVAM112)

Strand: Visual Arts Responding

• Respond to visual artworks and consider where and why they may be displayed, starting to describe how these artworks make them think and feel (ACAVAR114)

Content Descriptions - Year 3

• Explore ideas, artworks and understandings from different cultures and times to use as inspiration for their own representations (ACAVAM108)
• Use visual conventions of colour, line, shape, form and texture when making artworks in different art forms (ACAVAM109)

Learning Outcome
Students will:

• Demonstrate and practice observational drawing skills focusing on natural growth in plants or animals.
• Experiment with mark-making to represent textures and details observed in nature.
• Begin to express their observations and feelings about growth through drawing.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Observe and sketch details of a plant or animal that displays growth stages or changes.
• Use a range of drawing techniques (lines, dots, scribbles) to depict textures and patterns observed.
• Describe how their drawing represents the growth process and what techniques they used to show texture.

Resources and Materials

• Pencils (HB and 2B recommended)
• Paper or sketchbooks
• Erasers
• Examples of plants or animals showing growth (real specimens, photos, or videos)
• Magnifying glasses (optional, for detailed observation)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Visual aids showing different types of textures and mark-making techniques

Lesson Plan

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome students and briefly remind them about the unit "Art of Change: Growth."
• Show examples of growth in nature, such as a seedling, a flower bud, or a caterpillar turning into a butterfly (real objects or images).
• Discuss with students: What does 'growth' mean in nature? How can we notice changes when we look carefully?
• Explain that today they will draw a plant or animal that shows growth, focusing on details and texture.

2. Warm-up Activity: Texture Exploration (5 minutes)

• On the whiteboard or a large paper, demonstrate different mark-making techniques to show texture (e.g., short lines, dots, zigzags, cross-hatching).
• Invite students to try some marks on their paper briefly as a practise to feel comfortable with drawing textures.

3. Observational Drawing Activity (25 minutes)

• Distribute plants, pictures, or videos of animals at different growth stages to each student or pair.
• Instruct students to carefully observe their subject. Encourage them to look at shapes, colours (if possible), and especially textures (e.g., rough bark, soft leaves, scaly skin).
• Ask students to begin sketching their subject lightly, focusing on outlines first.
• Then, encourage them to use various marks to show texture and detail.
• Circulate throughout the room providing individual feedback and encouragement.
• Prompt students to think about how their drawing shows 'growth' or change.

4. Sharing and Reflection (7 minutes)

• Invite a few students to show their drawings to the class and describe what they drew and how they used texture to show growth.
• Facilitate a short discussion: What did you find easy or difficult about drawing textures? How can drawing help us understand growth better?
• Highlight the importance of close observation in drawing and how it helps us to appreciate changes in nature.

5. Conclusion and Cleanup (3 minutes)

• Remind students that drawing from nature helps artists understand and communicate growth and change.
• Collect materials and ensure students leave their drawings neatly in a designated space for future lesson use or display.

Assessment and Evaluation

• Observe students’ engagement and effort in drawing from direct observation.
• Review students' drawings for evidence of attempting detailed marks and textures that represent the growth subject.
• Use informal questioning during sharing/reflection to assess understanding of growth concepts and visual techniques.
• Provide positive, specific feedback to each student about their technique and observational skills.

Differentiation and Support

• Provide additional visual aids or magnifying glasses for students who need extra support observing details.
• Encourage students who find drawing challenging to focus on simple shapes and marks representing textures.
• Challenge advanced students to experiment with layering marks and varying pressure for richer texture.

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This lesson integrates closely with the Australian Curriculum (v9) Visual Arts for Year 3 by focusing on practical skills of using materials and techniques to represent ideas related to natural growth and by fostering students’ abilities to observe and respond to the world around them through artwork. The lesson appropriately respects the 45-minute time frame by balancing teacher-led demonstration, individual exploration, and group reflection, suitable for the developmental stage of Year 3 students (typically 8-9 years old).

If you wish, I can help generate complementary lesson plans for the other 8 lessons in the "Art of Change: Growth" unit.