Creative ways to use classroom doodles with your students
I thought I would do a three part blog post series on classroom doodle books, drawing, vocabulary building and writing in your Primary French Immersion classroom.
Classroom Doodles
I’ve been doing classroom doodles in blank notebook for years. It’s a super basic activity that you can do for an entire month. Probably best to try and do it at the same time each day, mostly to keep your routines and rhythms of your classroom consistent for your students. For me, that time was the best, first thing in the morning. I love having their excitement and creativity flow as soon as they walk into my classroom. I also love starting my day by seeing what they drew the previous day. So a doodle drawing is exactly what you think it is. A beautiful picture that was inspired by a line. Kind of like looking up at the clouds and seeing an elephant dancing on a beach ball chasing a butterfly.
How-To Use Classroom Doodles All Month Long
Grab some blank notebooks with your classroom order. I love the Hilroy 40 Pages School Exercise Book from Staples. I’ve used whole size and I’ve also used Hilroy 40 Pages 1/2 Plain 1/2 Ruled School Exercise Book and cut journals in half (just used the lines part for Daily 5/Cinq au Quotidien word work or work on writing). You can also use any notebook or paper you have on hand, a journal just makes it easy for you and your students to keep the drawings together.
Start by drawing a doodle on the first page. Draw the same doodle in all the notebooks. A doodle is a very simple line or design that students will draw on top of to create a picture.
Give students time to draw their pictures, grab colouring tools to add details and be sure to have a quick glance to see how it’s going and what’s inspiring your students.
Encourage students to add a little colour, for some students that may mean asking them to use three colours and for others that may mean asking them to try and use the whole space.
The Theory of Why Doodles Help Students in the Long Run
I choose the classroom doodles daily. I think of a doodle. The students turn that doodle into a drawing, simply by using their imagination, some colours and some time to be creative without any expectations on them. There is no timer, there is no success criteria, there is no comparison to anyone else’s drawing. In fact, I like to show the classroom doodles from the previous day to the rest of the class and I choose the most unique ones. For example, if I drew a doodle of three ) ) ) in the centre of the page: and most students turned that into a fish, some more made three people dancing, a few others made a shark BUT only one student drew a dolphin jumping through hoops, another student turned their paper 90 degrees and made a flying carpet, another student added more ) ) ) ) and created their own kind of birds on the beach, and another student made bananas dancing with top hats and I would show those ones to the rest of the class.
The reason being, it doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be super detail oriented (although it can be) but it does have to show effort and creativity and hopefully *in time* it will create a classroom full of students who are proud of their drawing abilities when it comes to using drawing in other subjects to show comprehension.
The Learning Behind Classroom Doodles
I tend to draw the doodle with an idea in my own head of what I would turn it into and I’m always curious if students see that too. It’s sooo fun to look through their classroom doodle books at the end of the month and see the changes in their drawings. I can almost guarantee that you will see improvements in:
their general creativity and use of drawing tools,
the level of detail in their drawing (and the background),
their actual colouring skills,
their use of colours in general,
their interest in encouraging and supporting their peers,
and their own investment in their learning.
The Implementation of Doodling
You may be thinking, I don’t have time for classroom doodling. But you do. Making time for students to be creative and use a pencil for more than writing is critical in a Primary French Immersion classroom. It’s the foundation for vocabulary building, for writing, for all other subjects, for their fine motor skills and so much more. Especially for students who are not strong writers, being able to draw and communicate their understanding will be life changing for you, and for them, because eventually they will understand and not be able to accurately communicate their understanding of an oral or written assignment if they can’t draw or be willing to try harder with their drawing.
The Reason Behind Classroom Doodles In a French Immersion Classroom
It’s also a super great way for you to start your day and your morning routine. I wish I had taken more pictures of the amazing classroom doodle books over the years but even as I’m writing this I can remember my mornings with my students so clearly. I can feel the buzz and excitement of their slow mornings and quiet drawing time. I can see students at their tables, chattering away, grabbing their colours, zooming around to come show me and see my reaction to their creativity. But most importantly, I remember their drawings years later. And I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
