Drawing and Labeling Pictures: First Steps for Kindergarten

Inside: Discover ways to support young children in drawing and labeling pictures during the emergent stages of writing in kindergarten.

Why I Teach Drawing and Labeling Pictures

With all that you have to teach in kindergarten, you might wonder how (or even why) someone would take the time to teach children how to draw.

You might even think it’s the art teacher’s job to do that. You could be right.

But here’s the thing.

Drawing is a great vehicle for teaching lots of skills that I DO need to teach. Think fine motor, directionality, shapes, visual-spatial awareness, following directions, details and more. And I can easily fold in lessons on labeling pictures alongside the drawing lessons when my kiddos are ready to do that.

And more importantly, it gives them the confidence they need to see themselves as writers as they take these first steps to communicate through print.

And did I say that it’s a fun way to teach those skills for both parties involved?

So, if you are even beginning to think about adding some drawing and labeling lessons to your writing block, read on to find some essential first steps.

Teach children to draw with shapes

Many children are intimidated by drawing, until they learn that a picture is just a bunch of shapes put together. Before we even start drawing, I teach children about the 5 basic elements of shape that include a dot, circle, straight line, curved line, and angle. We practice drawing these in isolation and then “hunt” for these elements in picture books, classroom furniture, clothing, and backpacks.

This tunes them into looking at the objects around them in a new way and also supports the work we are doing with letter shapes during word work.

Follow the Steps of Directed Drawings

Directed, or guided drawings as they are sometimes called, are a great way to see how pictures are broken down into shapes as they offer step-by-step directions to draw an animal, person, or object.

We use these to to draw several animals, as well as people, and then I make Draw it! Label it! an ongoing activity in my writing center all year long.

Teach Labeling Pictures Alongside Drawing

Once children understand that pictures are made up of shapes, and we’ve drawn several pictures together, I model the steps to label a picture with a word (i.e. dog).

I teach them the process of how to tap and spell the word, by slowly stretching out the sounds. This isn’t something that most kids can do independently from the start, so we repeat this with each new drawing, and I incorporate it into other areas of our day using interactive writing.

Move From Labeling Pictures with Words to Phrases and Sentences

We gradually progress from writing a word (i.e. dog), to a phrase (i.e. a dog), and then a simple sentence (i.e. The dog can run.) I purposely keep the language and spelling simple, to keep the focus on the process and to allow them to feel successful.

Later, when they are writing their own ideas, they will have plenty of opportunities to try spelling more complex words.

Use Picture Books to Teach Drawing Details

Teaching children to draw details can support them in eventually writing details to make their sentences more interesting. Use picture books to show how illustrators have drawn pictures to show clothing, movement, feelings, age, place, and time.

We use No David, by David Shannon, to teach how movement can be shown in illustrations. This helps them to understand that not all their drawings need to show people standing straight up with arms at their sides. This same illustration could also be used to teach about clothing details, feelings, and place.

Getting Started with Drawing and Labeling Pictures

Rather than jump “write” into personal narrative writing, as many kindergarten writing programs suggest, I set aside time at the beginning of the year to teach drawing and labeling pictures. In doing so, I’m supporting my emergent writers in taking those first steps, to gain both the confidence and foundational skills, they will need to tackle genre writing later in the year.

And you can too!

Use the ideas shared above, or follow the detailed mini-lessons in Growing Writers Unit 3: Drawing and Labeling. These lessons walk you through the whole process beginning with drawing pictures from shapes and then slowly adding in labeling the pictures with words, phrases, and eventually simple sentences.

All lessons are available in both print and Google Slides format, so you can easily project them onto your digital white board.

Soon, your beginning writers will be on their way!

For more ideas and resources on supporting beginning writers, check out the Growing Writers page inside the Roots & Wings resource library.

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