Observational Drawing

One of my most favorite fall activities is our Observational Drawing unit.  We do a lot of drawing in life science.  I expect my students to be able to replicate objects pretty accurately.  In order to do this, we must practice.

We start by copying a design.  Then we work on contour drawings of plants.  We spend some time on color blending, and then our final activity is to wander outside, find a plant and draw it as accurately as possible.  The students do an amazing job of this.  They are focused and quiet (usually).  And their drawings are full of details down to the smallest leaf or petal.