Drawings That Add to Your Ideas
A 40-minute Grade 1 lesson on adding drawings or visuals to a description to clarify ideas, thoughts and feelings.
Drawings That Add to Your Ideas is a free 40-minute Grade 1 English lesson plan for Common Core standard SL.1.5 — add a drawing when it would make your idea clearer. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 1
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- SL.1.5
Grade 1 · Speaking & Listening
SL.1.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
Objective
Students will be able to add a drawing to a spoken description that makes clear something their words left unclear.
Students are successful when they can
- Picks the part of their description that is hardest to say, such as the shape of a snail's shell or the way to the library.
- Draws that part, not a whole picture of everything.
- Says what the drawing shows that the words did not: "My drawing shows the shell goes round and round."
What you need
- A real or pictured snail shell, and paper and pencils
- A whiteboard for your quick sketches
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — the hard-to-say part
5 min- Say: "I saw a shell. It goes round and round and gets smaller in the middle." Ask the class to draw it in the air.
- Many will struggle. Draw a quick spiral on the board. Ask: "Is that easier?" Yes.
- Say: "Some things are hard to say, but easy to draw."
Teach — draw the hard part
13 min- Describe the way from the classroom to the library: "Go out of the door, turn left, go past the toilets, go up the stairs, and it is the second door on the right."
- Ask: "Could you get there from just my words?" Some can, some cannot.
- Draw a simple map: the classroom as a box, an arrow left, the toilets, stairs, two doors with a star on the second. Ask: "Which helped more?" Most say the drawing.
- Say: "I did not draw the whole school. I only drew the part that was hard to say — which way to go."
- Now a feeling: "On my first day at school, I felt... nervous and excited at the same time." Draw a face with a wobbly mouth and big eyes. Ask what the drawing shows that the words did not quite say.
- Ask: "When should you add a drawing?" Fish for: "When the words are hard, like shapes, ways to go, or how you feel."
“Ask yourself: what part of my idea is hardest to say? That is the part to draw.”
Guided practice — one drawing each
12 min- Each child chooses a topic: their favorite toy, how to get from the classroom to the playground, or how they feel on their birthday.
- They say their description to a partner first, using words only.
- The partner says which part was hardest to picture. The speaker then draws only that part.
- They describe it again, pointing to the drawing. The partner says what the drawing added.
- Circulate and ask "Which part did you draw, and why?" If a child drew everything, ask which part their partner found confusing.
“Tell your partner first. Partner, tell them which part you could not picture. That is what they draw.”
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the drawing page: putting steps in order and choosing pictures that match the words.
- Remind them a good picture matches the words and makes them clearer.
- Ask finishers to add a small drawing to one step that makes it clearer.
Close
2 min- Ask one child to show their drawing and say what it added.
- Fish for an answer that names a part: "It shows the way to turn."
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Draws a whole detailed picture of everything, taking all the time, and stops talking.
Why: Drawing is fun, and a complete picture feels like the best picture. They see the drawing as the task, not as a helper for their words.
Fix: Give a small card, not a big sheet. Ask "Which part was hard to say?" and draw only that. Then they must describe it again with the drawing.
Draws something that does not match the words: describes a red ball and draws a blue car.
Why: They draw what they enjoy drawing, rather than what helps the listener.
Fix: Ask the partner "Does the drawing match what you heard?" If not, they redo it. The drawing must help this description.
Shows the drawing but says nothing about it.
Why: They think the drawing speaks for itself, so they stop explaining.
Fix: Teach the line "My drawing shows..." and ask them to point to the part they mean as they speak.
If they are not there yet
- Give a choice of two things to draw: a shape or a face.
- Draw the first line with the child, then let them finish it.
- Let the child describe a real object they can hold and copy.
If they finish early
- Make a labeled drawing with arrows and two words, like a mini diagram.
- Describe a feeling that is hard to explain, such as being nervous and excited at once, with a drawing that shows both.
- Explain when a drawing would not help, such as describing a sound or smell.
Exit ticket
Which part of your description needed a drawing, and why?
What to look for: A named part and a reason: "The way to the playground, because turning left and right is hard to say." "All of it" means they need the draw-one-part rule again. A drawing that does not match their words means they need to check it with a partner.
Printable practice for SL.1.5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- A Drawing That ClarifiesNumber the boxes to show the right order.
Questions about Drawings That Add to Your Ideas
How long does the Drawings That Add to Your Ideas lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Drawings That Add to Your Ideas teach?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.5 — SL.1.5, Speaking & Listening for Grade 1: “Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.” In plain terms, add a drawing when it would make your idea clearer.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
A real or pictured snail shell, and paper and pencils, a whiteboard for your quick sketches and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: draws a whole detailed picture of everything, taking all the time, and stops talking; draws something that does not match the words: describes a red ball and draws a blue car and shows the drawing but says nothing about it. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Which part of your description needed a drawing, and why?.” A named part and a reason: "The way to the playground, because turning left and right is hard to say." "All of it" means they need the draw-one-part rule again. A drawing that does not match their words means they need to check it with a partner. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Drawings That Add to Your Ideas?
Yes — 1 printable SL.1.5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Drawings That Add to Your Ideas free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to SL.1.5 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.